North Carolina's former state treasurer, Democrat Richard Moore, said yesterday that he doesn't intend to run in 2010 for the U.S. Senate seat held by Republican Richard Burr.
"We have just finished an election cycle, but I don't have any plans right now," said Moore, 48. "But you never say never."
Moore, N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper and U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler have been mentioned as possible Democratic challengers to Burr, who seat is up for election next year.
Moore briefly discussed his political future after he spoke to about 100 people at the Wake Forest University School of Law.
In May 2008, Moore lost the Democratic primary for the governor's job to Bev Perdue in a hotly contested and expensive race. During the primary campaign, Moore questioned Perdue's commitment to Democratic Party principles. However, he later endorsed Perdue in the general election, which she won.
During his stop at WFU, Moore said that he has enjoyed the six weeks since he left office and that he has not applied for a job in the Obama administration.
Moore received his bachelor's degree in history at WFU in 1982. After receiving a graduate degree at the London School of Economics in 1984, he obtained a law degree at WFU in 1986.
During his speech, Moore discussed the federal stimulus plan, investing and saving in the recession and the future of market regulations.
Moore serves on the regulation board of the New York Stock Exchange, which aims to protect investors by enforcing marketplace rules and federal securities laws.
The recession, with its mounting job losses and mortgage foreclosures, is unprecedented in American history, Moore said. Congress approved the $787 billion stimulus plan because Americans want government to be involved in job creation.
"We are asking our government to do something that (it is) not very good at," he said. "We are at a dangerous place in our society. Our government is picking winners and losers."
On a CNBC television show last year, Moore criticized the government bailout for automakers, because the government had previously forced Wachovia Corp. to merge with Wells Fargo & Co. That move cost thousands of jobs at Wachovia, he said.
One factor fueling the economic meltdown, Moore said, was a mortgage industry that treated houses as assets that it thought would keep increasing in value. In such states as California, Nevada and Florida, no one considered what would happened if values declined and people could not make their mortgage payments, he said.
Government regulators also failed to regulate financial markets adequately for more than 20 years -- a factor that led to risky investment practices, he said. He encouraged people to save more of their earnings and only invest money that they do not need for daily living expenses.
■ John Hinton can be reached at 727-7299 or at jhinton@wsjournal.com.
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