Gov. Bev Perdue’s visit this afternoon to Roanoke Rapids was brief, but upbeat, this after a morning session with administrators from the Halifax County school system.
“I’m real surprised anybody likes me,” Perdue told a group of the county’s elected officials and business people at the Kirkwood Adams Community Center, referring to the state’s deficit, state employee cuts and and a high unemployment rate. “I’ve been here six months. I took over at a time unparalleled in history.”
Perdue spoke of the state’s $4.7 billion deficit, one of the highest unemployment rates in the country, a state where only California, New Jersey and New York have lost more jobs.
“Every single county in North Carolina has lost jobs,” the governor said.
The governor said, however, “I sleep well at night because I have made tough decisions.”
In calling for citizens to get behind Raleigh’s efforts to create more jobs, the governor said, “This is North Carolina. We can stand up to anything. We can do anything.”
Despite bleak economic news, Perdue said there were early signs of an upturn in the state’s economy. An Outer Banks realtor sold seven condos, she said. “The unemployment rate did not go up (this month). This is the first month I’ve felt confident about paying (the state’s) bills. This is the first month I’ve had a car dealer say, ‘Bev, it ain’t all bad.’”
Perdue asked for statewide support of military bases and the Main Street program, which Roanoke Rapids is applying for membership. She called for adults in the community to stand up for students.
In a brief question and answer session before going in to meet with elected and other officials, Perdue said the only way she saw getting on equal footing with China in the global marketplace was for the state and country to concentrate on specialty manufacturing.
Honestly, the governor said, “In my time I don’t think you will see a level playing field.”
She explained only a demand by China’s people for democracy and increased wages could help.
Asked if she supported the president’s health care initiative, Perdue said she didn’t want something which would end up costing and penalizing states. “It has to be the right care, right place, right time.”
