Walter Dalton

As democrats take a long hard look at these women [and the men] we have running as our candidates. They are quality people, one and all, and we should be proud to have them carrying the banner of our party.

As a county party chair I have had a chance to work with almost all of them over the last year.They are to a person great folks that care about the people of this state and their lot in life. They are kind and concerned about this state, and are willing to take the time and efford to move this state forward.

I have had the honor of hosting many of these candidates at events in my county and surrounding counties in Eastern North Carolina. They are, to the man or woman, people of substance. They are people that are willing to work for the good of the state and her people.

Yesterday Morning the Republican Party here in North Carolina landed a "scathing" attack on Education and Jobs for our Rural citizens.

Apparently Linda Daves really is against Education.

I've taken a few days to digest all the post-primary chatter, and found myself distressed by the discussion as it relates to Kay Hagan and Bev Perdue. At the center of the distress is the presumption that candidates "owe" voters answers to whatever questions are asked. From where I sit, candidates don't owe voters anything. Just as we can choose or not choose to ask questions, so can they choose or not choose to answer them. I may be upset if candidates decline to answer my questions, but that's my problem, not theirs. I can either vote for them or not vote for them, but that's pretty much the extent of my power.

Which brings me to the real question: What do I do when they're silent ... or worse yet, when I don't like their answers?

I've just said this in an email, and I want to say it directly to all my BlueNC friends:

THANK YOU to everyone who supported my run for the office of North Carolina's Lieutenant Governor!

Hampton Dellinger has come out with a new ad, which once again showcases the stark difference between the old school politics of Raleigh and Hampton's bright, optimistic outlook.

Check it out, here:

23, 17, 9, 5

Those are the numbers in the newest (only) public poll released on the Lt. Governor's race. The big number, though is 46 - that's the number of undecided voters in that race. The MoE is 5.

Walter Dalton has the backing of the entire Democratic State Senate, 53 Sheriffs, and all the money industry can throw at him. He's been on the air for months with the same ad repeating his name over and over and claiming to have saved the world from destruction and done everything but deliver babies, and he can't get over 23.

A progressive is going to win this election, and it's going to be Hampton Dellinger.

Which of you Raleigh-smart BlueNCers can explain to this poor mountain boy why the Sheriffs are all hot for Walter Dalton?

AC-T: State Sen. Walter Dalton plans to appear in Asheville Wednesday with Buncombe County Sheriff Van Duncan and Rutherford County Sheriff Jack Connor to promote his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor.

Dalton’s campaign said he plans to announce endorsements of more than 50 North Carolina sheriffs at the event at 11:30 a.m. at the Buncombe County Courthouse. The press conference follows a three-day meeting of the N.C. Sheriff’s Association in Asheville.

Today I, and I am sure many of you, received an email from Senator Walter Dalton, touting his support among "prominent African American leaders from all across the state." Dalton received the endorsement of the George C. Simkins Committee PAC in Greensboro and the members of the Senate Black Caucus. I congratulate Senator Dalton on this accomplishment. Any baseball player will tell you, however, that going 1 for 6 will lose you your spot in the Show.

With years of effort and dedication to not only the pretty talk, but the actual hard facts and effort of working for equality of opportunity and racial progress, Hampton Dellinger put himself in a position to receive 5 of the 6 major endorsements from African American political organizations across the state. More on why these endorsements of these two candidates are indicative of their leadership below the fold.

I received an email from Doug Massengill, President of NCFCD (North Carolina Federation of College Democrats) asking if BlueNC could once again contribute questions for the debate between the four candidates for Lt. Governor. Here's his message.

The NCFCD is now accepting questions for the Lt. Governor's Debates in Charlotte at UNC Charlotte in the Cone Center. Questions are welcome from all interested persons, including non-college students. Questions should not be addressed to a particular candidate; however you may mention a candidate's position on an issue. The deadline for submitting questions for the April 12th debate in Winston Salem, North Carolina is 12:00pm on April 11th.

This interview/profile was written for my readers over at Pam's House Blend, so a good portion of the information about Dan Besse is familiar to the BlueNC crowd. Dan gave me a solid two hours of his precious time to discuss a full range issues, and in this piece I discuss LGBT rights issues of concern here in NC. He was frank and forthcoming on a topic that many pols are skittish about -- as we've seen in some of the liveblogs.

NC politicians, take a look at how it can be done, after the jump.

--Pam

My 48th birthday was on Monday, Feb. 25th. I work for a non-profit agency that gets most of its funding from the state, so budgets are tight. One year, we weren't able to give cost of living increases, so the board voted to give our birthdays as a personal holiday. What do you choose to do with a personal holiday? Get a manicure, a massage? Maybe some people would. Not me. I chose to haul my butt out of bed early, get stuck in construction, and fight traffic to get to a Forum on Mental Health so that I could listen to most of the candidates for Governor and Lt.Governor talk about the crisis in North Carolina's Mental Health System. As some of you might have realized by now, I am a political geek, but what you might not know is that I've had two family members struggle with mental illness and fall through cracks - one in NJ, and one in NC. So this was a very important day for me.