Lt. Gov. Bev Perdue, the Democratic candidate for governor, was on the attack during a speech in Winston-Salem yesterday afternoon, saying that her Republican opponent, Pat McCrory, was out of touch with voters.
McCrory, she said, doesn't believe it is important to allow laid-off workers to get GEDs and believes that one of the ways to create jobs is by having New York and New Jersey dump their trash in North Carolina.
"The choices are stark," she told about 50 supporters at Forsyth County Democratic Party headquarters on Burke Street.
She walked into headquarters amid cheers and hugs as well as shouts of "Sister Governor" from state Rep. Earline Parmon.
Polls show a tight race between McCrory, the mayor of Charlotte, and Perdue. McCrory has accused Perdue of engaging in some trash talk, and he meant that literally.
McCrory has demanded that Perdue pull campaign ads that show trash-filled barges in New York harbor. An announcer says, "It's trash day in New York City. What will they do with all that garbage?"
The ad says that McCrory wants to allow New York and New Jersey to dump their garbage in North Carolina.
Perdue didn't back down from that claim yesterday. She said McCrory has suggested that allowing New Jersey and New York to dump their trash in North Carolina would help create new jobs.
Those are not the kinds of jobs that North Carolina needs, she said. As governor, she said, she would work to create opportunities in biotechnology and alternative sources of energy.
"I'm going to be a different kind of governor," Perdue said. She said she would be an "on-site, hands-on" governor who would lead North Carolinians through a tough economy.
McCrory has called the recent campaign ads misleading and deceptive.
He said he would have vetoed the 2007 Solid Waste Management Act, which would have restricted the location of new landfills in the state. He has said he would have vetoed the bill because it would have cost North Carolina residents jobs, hurt the economy and raised taxes.
Perdue said that McCrory favors urban areas to the detriment of rural ones and accused the mayor of saying he would not support highways or paved roads in rural areas of the state. McCrory has said that Perdue is just playing into the fears of Eastern North Carolina residents.
Yesterday, she asked if McCrory had taken the time to talk to Wachovia employees in Charlotte who are afraid their jobs will be lost in the aftermath of its merger. Wells Fargo announced earlier this month a plan to merge its bank with Wachovia.
Perdue said that this election is important and urged supporters yesterday to knock on doors and help get out the vote.
"This is a moment where every single vote makes a difference," she said.
■ Michael Hewlett can be reached at 727-7326 or at mhewlett@wsjournal.com.
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