Former N.C. Supreme Court Associate Justice Bob Orr – the only candidate in the Republican primary for governor who has won a statewide race – is getting a little impatient with Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory’s dalliance with the thought of getting into the race for governor.
Orr won four statewide races for appellate court judgeships, and though he’s handicapped by not having a ton of money to run on, he’s working hard at it and relying in part on his campaign blog to reach voters.
In Orr’s blog today (“More From Orr”, and here’s a link, Orr says McCrory’s coyness is doing himself, and voters in the primary, a disservice.
“The unintended impression is simply that this whole exercise is a some kind of a lark and if and when he gets in the race he has nothing to lose and everything to gain...,” Orr writes.
“The sense is that old Pat will throw his hat in the ring, make some obligatory appearances at GOP functions, pontificate on being a big city mayor, splash up a million or so in slick TV ads and see if he can win the May primary. If not, no political harm done.
"My impression is that Pat’s being nudged into the race because his real political ambitions to replace Congresswoman Sue Myrick are blocked for the time being and his supporters want him to do something. Frankly, that’s not a good reason to be running for governor and the whole cavalier attitude about the process and the last minute interest in running only adds credence to the perception about Charlotte.”
I called Orr to ask about that reference. Here’s some of what he said: “It’s the Great State of Mecklenburg perception that you’ve probably written about,” he said. McCrory’s toying with running, he said, “comes across to me as ‘Ho-hum, the three other candidates are not catching on....’ “It’s sort of that cavalier attitude that we are Charlotte and we are coming in to save you.”
In North Carolina politics there’s a presumption that it’s hard for candidates from Mecklenburg County to win statewide races. Hard, but not impossible, as Jim Martin proved in 1984 and 1988 (I know, I know, he had a Lake Norman address, but folks knew where he worked and where he was chairman of the county commissioners before he went to Congress) and as N.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Sarah Parker of Charlotte proved in the last election.
I don’t think there’s a hex on candidates from Mecklenburg. I think every one who lost just was not as good a candidate as those who won the race, for a lot of reasons having to do with political ability, understanding the North Carolina electorate and what appeals to them, and raising the considerable loot to finance their campaigns.
Republicans Fred Smith, a state senator from Johnston County, and Bill Graham, a Salisbury lawyer, are also in the GOP race. You can see them as well as the Democratic candidates, Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue and Treasurer Richard Moore, on UNC TV Thursday night live at 8 p.m. on UNC-NC, the digital channel, and rebroadcast at 10 p.m. on UNC-TV in a forum on the economy for the gubernatorial race.
