Politics.MyNC.com

President Honors Vets, Considers Afghan Troop Decision

Jennifer Wig — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:15:18 +0000

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In an unscheduled visit on this Veterans Day, President Obama spent time among the graves at Arlington National Cemetery. Specifically in a section set aside for the fallen from Iraq and from Afghanistan, where Mr. Obama’s considering sending more U.S. troops. It’s a tough decision for the president. “And as long as I am commander-in-chief, [...]

Golden Leaf Accountability

Jennifer Wig — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 19:23:52 +0000

Winston-Salem Journal Editorial When an agency handles almost a billion dollars of public money, it must do so in the open and with both scrupulous adherence to the state ethics law and the fundamentals of good record-keeping. None of that should come as news to Dan Gerlach, president of the Golden Leaf Foundation. So [...]

Gov. Perdue Honors Veterans

Jennifer Wig — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:53:23 +0000

JACKSONVILLE, N.C. – Gov. Bev Perdue today thanked North Carolina veterans at a Veterans Day Remembrance Ceremony in Jacksonville and issued a proclamation honoring the men and women who have served and sacrificed for our country. During the ceremony, Gov. Perdue announced the creation of the “I Hire Military” campaign to encourage businesses to hire veterans [...]

Report: 10 States Face Looming Budget Disasters

Jennifer Wig — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:17:27 +0000

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – California’s ongoing fiscal crisis has attracted national attention, but a study warns that nine other states are barreling toward similar economic disaster. A report released Wednesday by the Pew Center on the States says Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island and Wisconsin also are at risk of fiscal calamity. That [...]

McCrory Leaves Office Popular

Jennifer Wig — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:51:12 +0000

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Pat McCrory is leaving office as Mayor of Charlotte with a pretty high level of popularity, but it doesn’t mean voters in the city are yearning for him to run for Governor again. 59% approve of the job McCrory is doing with 26% disapproving. He gets good reviews from 81% of Republicans, 62% of [...]

President’s Veterans Day Speech

Jennifer Wig — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:49:28 +0000

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENTON VETERANS DAY Memorial Amphitheater Arlington National Cemetery Arlington, Virginia THE PRESIDENT: Thank you so much. Thank you. Please, be seated. Thank you, Secretary Shinseki, for the generous introduction — more importantly, the extraordinary bravery in service to our country, both on and off the battlefield. I want to thank our outstanding Vice President, Joe Biden, and [...]

Cunningham Won’t Seek NC Democratic US Senate Bid

Jennifer Wig — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:52:27 +0000

RALEIGH, N.C. – A former state senator said Tuesday he won’t seek the Democratic nomination to challenge Republican U.S. Sen. Richard Burr next year despite spending months traveling the state and testing out a campaign. Cal Cunningham, a Lexington attorney and Army reservist who served in Iraq, confirmed he wrote a Facebook message to supporters saying [...]

Southern Dems Cast Wary Eye At Election Results

Jennifer Wig — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:18:43 +0000

WASHINGTON – Southern Democrats who watched the trouncing of their party’s gubernatorial nominee in Virginia this week are starting to worry that a rising anti-Democratic tide in the South may reverse their hard-fought gains from the last two national elections. “They say people won’t walk a mile to vote for you but they’ll walk 100 miles [...]

People Already Lining Up to Succeed Sen. Rand

Jennifer Wig — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:56:18 +0000

RALEIGH, N.C. – People are already lining up to replace Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand one day after he announced he was leaving the Legislature for North Carolina’s parole commission. Several Senate Democrats said Thursday that Sen. Martin Nesbitt of Buncombe County and allies have called asking for support to elect Nesbitt the next majority leader. Sen. [...]

Ethics Panel Clears NC Rep. Shuler In TVA Probe

Jennifer Wig — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:09:09 +0000

RALEIGH, N.C. – Congressional ethics investigators say North Carolina Rep. Heath Shuler did not act inappropriately when a residential development that he was involved in sought lake-access rights from the Tennessee Valley Authority. Top lawmakers on the House Ethics Committee said in a letter to Shuler that it was closing the matter after reviewing a TVA [...]

Both Sides of Healthcare Reform Want Voice Heard

Jennifer Wig — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:21:03 +0000

They came with strollers and strong opinions…moms converged on Capitol Hill demanding universal coverage for kids. Pamela Shaw, Senior Policy Consultant of the Children’s Defense Fund said, “Without significant changes children will be worse off rather than better off. We say that children must be better off after health reform.” Today opponents of health care reform stage [...]

Legislators to Speak on State Budget Process

Jennifer Wig — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:18:08 +0000

DURHAM, N.C. – On Nov. 12, State Representatives Paul Luebke and Mickey Michaux and State Senator Robert Atwater will visit Durham Technical Community College for a panel discussion about how the state budget is developed and the challenges faced in the 2009 legislative session. The legislators will discuss the difficulties of plunging revenues during the recession [...]

Perdue Wants NC To Be Global Player

Jennifer Wig — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:16:29 +0000

Gov. Bev Perdue says the time and energy she placed into a trade mission to Asia will be well worth it. The governor and commerce secretary spent two weeks in Japan and China to drum up new business for the state. According to the North Carolina Commerce Department, China is the state’s second largest trading partner importing [...]

Perdue Launches New “Race to Top” Website

Jennifer Wig — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:12:45 +0000

RALEIGH, N.C. – Gov. Bev Perdue today launched racetothetop.nc.gov and called upon North Carolinians to participate in the federal “Race to the Top” initiative. As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Race to the Top is a federal $4.5 billion competitive grant fund that rewards states for educational innovation and achieving significant improvements in [...]

NC Sen. Hagan Drops Backing For Judge

Jennifer Wig — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:07:16 +0000

GREENSBORO, N.C. – North Carolina Sen. Kay Hagan has withdrawn her support for a possible lifetime federal appointment for a state judge who ruled in favor of a company that includes Hagan’s husband. The News & Record of Greensboro reported Thursday that Hagan three weeks ago recommended Superior Court Judge Calvin Murphy to fill a vacant [...]

PAC Supporting Runoff Winner Files Complaint with State Board

Jennifer Wig — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:23:01 +0000

Incumbent Jennifer Robinson came just a few votes shy of retaining her seat back in October’s municipal election. She won Tuesday’s runoff with more than 53 percent of the vote, holding off challenger Lori Bush. Wednesday, though, a political action committee supporting Bush filed a complaint with the North Carolina Board of Elections. Steering committee members for the [...]

PPP: Election Good For Both GOP and Dems

Jennifer Wig — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:47:09 +0000

In the end the 2009 elections in North Carolina told us very little about 2010. There were good signs for Republicans: -Energized conservatives turned out in large numbers for the Wake County School Board races, electing all of their candidates and defeating an incumbent Democratic Raleigh City Councilman in the process. -Defeated Democratic Mayor Yvonne Johnson in Greensboro, [...]

Lawmakers Willing To Consider Campaign Fianance Reform After Easley Hearing

Jennifer Wig — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 03:44:19 +0000

RALEIGH, N.C. — The State Board of Elections wants campaign finance reform following the $100,000 penalty it handed the Mike Easley campaign committee for unreported flights. Right now, the board can only penalize campaign committees for violations, not the candidate him or herself. So in former Governor Mike Easley’s case, he is not personally responsible for [...]

Charlotte Voters Elect Democratic Mayor

Jennifer Wig — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 03:37:07 +0000

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Voters have narrowly elected a Democrat to lead Charlotte, North Carolina’s largest city. With most of the votes counted, Anthony Foxx was leading challenger John Lassiter, a Republican, by nearly 3,000 votes out of 105,000 cast. But Lassiter conceded defeat before the final, unofficial results were released by the Mecklenburg Board of Elections. Foxx [...]

Nov. 3 Election Results

Jennifer Wig — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:01:44 +0000

Get the full list of area Election results.