“Because there are so many issues at the forefront of the public dialogue critical to our state’s business climate and quality of life, North Carolina businesses must be engaged in shaping our state’s future.” Chamber President and CEO Lew Ebert.
2008 Elections: What’s at Stake for Business?
Candidates Answer Chamber’s Questions on Critical Issues
Elections matter now more than ever, particularly in these challenging economic times. In fulfilling its mission to make sure that North Carolina is a leading place in the world to do business, the North Carolina Chamber is committed to providing valuable information to its members and encouraging the pivotal business vote during the upcoming 2008 elections. While the race for President is getting a lot of media attention in our state and is certainly important for North Carolina employers, it is equally important that state Chamber members are informed about the positions of the two major-party candidates for Governor on critical business issues. (A future edition of this newsletter will include information on the positions of the Presidential candidates.)
As part of our state Chamber’s efforts to keep our members informed, we asked a number of questions to the Democratic and Republican candidates for Governor in recent issues of NC Magazine – our monthly magazine (September & October 2008). The questions posed reflect top priorities for our state Chamber: education, business climate and economic development.
Candidates Respond to Education Questions
World-class education systems that produce a globally competitive workforce are a top priority for the North Carolina Chamber, recognized by our members as one of the essential pillars of a strong, prosperous future for North Carolina. North Carolina and its residents will not continue to prosper without strong education and workforce development systems that are effective, agile and accountable, and that continually produce a 21st-century workforce to lure, grow and keep good jobs here. As our state Chamber remains dedicated to deriving solutions to our state’s most pressing education challenges, we posed the following three education questions to the candidates for Governor:
1) According to the state Department of Public Instruction, in 2008 only 69.9 percent of students who started ninth grade in 2004-2005 had completed high school in four years or less. North Carolina’s current dropout rate of 30 percent is a great concern for employers across the state. How would you marshal the state’s resources, both public and private, to ensure that more North Carolina children graduate from high school?
Click here to view responses.
2) North Carolina employers depend on having qualified workers to keep their businesses and the state’s economy growing. What is the most important thing you can do as Governor to make sure that we have enough qualified workers and that the workforce matches the needs of the business community here?
Click here to view responses.
3) As Governor, what will be your primary strategy for bringing more technology and innovation to our state’s classrooms?
Click here to view responses.
Candidates Lay Out Economic Development Priorities
The economy is clearly the top concern of voters on the national and state levels. It is imperative that policies put forth by the next Governor serve to stimulate the economy to help protect North Carolina against the most severe effects of a national economic downturn. Because it is our state Chamber’s vision to positively and proactively impact North Carolina’s business climate and quality of life, economic development and job creation are a top priority. Therefore, our state Chamber asked the candidates the following questions of the topic of economic development:
1) Other than education, what is your top priority for generating economic development in North Carolina?
Click here to view responses.
2) If elected Governor, what would be your top three tax policy priorities for growing North Carolina’s economy and creating jobs?
Click here to view responses.
3) Adequate infrastructure is a cornerstone of any state’s healthy economy. What do you see as North Carolina’s most important infrastructure needs and how would you meet them?
Click here to view responses.
Hot off the Polls . . .
With just a few weeks left until Election Day, recent polls indicate an extremely competitive race for NC Governor. Public Policy Polling (PPP) released polling data on Sept. 30 on the race for Governor that showed a difference of only three percentage points between the Democratic and Republican candidates, with Republican Mayor Pat McCrory having a slight lead over Democratic Lieutenant Governor Bev Perdue – 44 percent to 41 percent. Click here to access a press release about the poll, along with the survey results.
Similarly, Rasmussen poll results released the same day shows McCrory ahead of Perdue 50 to 46 percent. Click here to read the online story about results from this poll.
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