Beverly Perdue

Biography

Beverly "Bev" Perdue is the first female governor of North Carolina, a two-term lieutenant governor, and a former state representative and state senator.

Early Life and Education

Beverly Marlene Moore was born on Jan. 14, 1947, in Grundy, Va., to Alfred P. and Irene Morefield Moore.

Her father left school in the ninth grade to help his parents during the Great Depression. He worked as a coal miner before enlisting in the Marines during World War II. After being injured in the Pacific, he returned to the coal mining business, eventually becoming the owner of several companies and a partner in the United Coal Co.

Perdue graduated from Grundy High School, where one of her classmates was author Lee Smith. 

She then attended the University of Kentucky, graduating with a bachelor of arts in history in 1969.

She then earned a master's in education in community college administration on June 8, 1974, and a doctorate in education administration on March 20, 1976, both from the University of Florida in Gainesville, Fla.

She wrote her Ph.D. dissertation on how Florida's educational system could better provide for senior citizens. 

After visiting her brother in North Carolina, she moved to New Bern in 1975.

Religion

She is an Episcopalian. 

Family 

Her brother, Dr. Rick A. Moore, died in the late 1980s. Their parents endowed a professorship in dermatology in his name at the University of Virginia School of Medicine and donated the United Way building in New Bern in his memory.

On Jan. 3, 1970, she married her first husband, Gary Raymond Perdue Sr. He worked as an attorney with Stubbs, Perdue, Chesnutt, Wheeler and Clemmons (now Stubbs & Perdue) in New Bern.

On Sept. 19, 1976, their first son, Garrett Raymond Jr., was born. He is now married to April Perdue and works as a lobbyist with Womble Carlyle.

A second son, John Emmett Morefield, was born on June 19, 1979. He is engaged to Sara Thomas.

The couple separated on Aug. 17, 1993, and, after a mandatory year-long waiting period, divorced on Sept. 6, 1994. Gary Perdue died on June 10, 1997, in Pollocksville.

She married Robert W. Eaves Jr. in Craven County on Oct. 2, 1997, and changed her name to Beverly Eaves Perdue in 1998.

From that marriage, she has a stepdaughter, Charlotte Bock (married to Doug Bock), and a stepson, Robert Eaves III (married to Michelle Eaves).

Perdue and Eaves have five grandchildren: Bennett, Jake, Rachel, Sarah and Amelia. 

Professional Career

Perdue has worked as a school teacher and a health care consultant.

From 1970 to 1971, she taught kindergarten at Auburn Elementary in Winder, Ga.

From 1971 to 1973, she taught ninth grade at Highlands Junior High in Jacksonville, Fla.

From 1973 to 1974, she taught 12th grade at Vanguard High in Ocala, Fla. 

From 1974 to 1975, she worked as a graduate assistant in program and curriculum development at the Center for Gerontological Studies and Programs at the University of Florida.

From 1975 to 1977, she worked as director of human services at the Neuse River Council of Governments (now the Eastern Carolina Council) in New Bern.

From 1978 to 1982, she worked as a consultant in geriatics and activity programs in long-term care.

In 1982, she worked as a consultant for Craven County Hospital (now Craven Regional Medical Center), where she was in charge of administering a $1 million grant on in-home care for the elderly from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

From 1983 to 1986, she worked as director of geriatric services for the hospital.  

Political Career

Perdue was elected to the N.C. House of Representatives in 1986, serving two terms.

In 1989, she joined a group of dissident Democrats and Republicans seeking to overthrow House Speaker Liston Ramsey, but she backed out at the last minute.  

In 1990, she was elected to the N.C. Senate, where she served five terms. She was appointed chairwoman of the powerful appropriations committee in 1995 and served as a key liaison to then Gov. Jim Hunt.

While in the Senate, she was given the nickname "Dumpling" by her male colleagues.

In her last three terms in the Senate, Perdue was ranked within the top six most effective legislators. Along with Senate leader Marc Basnight, she pushed for a bill that eventually established the Clean Water Management Trust Fund.

She was elected the state's first female lieutenant governor in 2000 and re-elected in 2004. She is the first female lieutenant governor in North Carolina history.

She chaired a commission that spent money from a settlement with tobacco companies on health care, and she led the state's efforts to protect North Carolina's military bases from closure by the U.S. Department of Defense.

She also served as chairwoman of the N.C. Health and Wellness Trust Fund Commission.

In her role as head of the Senate, she cast the deciding vote for the lottery.

2008 Gubernatorial Primary

On Oct. 1, 2007, she officially kicked off her campaign for the Democratic nomination for governor in 2008. She faced state Treasurer Richard Moore and retired Air Force colonel Dennis Nielsen in the primary.

The centerpiece of her campaign was a proposal to increase health coverage for children by extending coverage to their parents over several years. She estimated the proposal would cost $120 million, although Moore's campaign pegged the cost as much higher.

She also proposed expanding the homestead exemption for seniors, creating a trust fund for elections, starting an online database of state contracts and ending the transfer of money to the Highway Trust Fund. She opposed new coal plants in North Carolina.

In mid-March, she endorsed Barack Obama in the Democratic presidential primary. She made automated calls and sent mailers to black households about the endorsement.

After running several negative ads attacking Moore, she announced in mid-April that she would run a positive campaign and asked groups supporting her to do the same. (The N.C. Association of Educators later sent a negative mailer.) Some political consultants called the move "political risky," though a poll showed a majority of likely primary voters liked it.  

She was endorsed by EMILY's List, the N.C. Association of Educators, the National Association of Social Workers, the United Transportation Union, the National Women's Political Caucus, the N.C. Academy of Trial Lawyers, the Communications Workers of America, the N.C. Troopers Association, the N.C. Sheriff Police Alliance, the N.C. Association of Nurse Anesthetists, the Black Political Caucus of Charlotte-Mecklenburg, former U.S. Rep. Eva Clayton, the N.C. Teamsters, the N.C. Police Benevolent Association and the National Rifle Association. 

Perdue beat Moore, 56 to 41 percent, aided in part by record turnout among black and female voters drawn to the presidential primary race between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

2008 Gubernatorial Campaign

In the general election, Perdue faced Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory, a Republican, and Duke University political science professor Mike Munger, a Libertarian.

When the issue of offshore drilling in North Carolina was first raised in mid-summer, Perdue said she was "100 percent opposed" and said it would not occur on her watch. Later, she said she would appoint an independent panel to look into the issue before making a decision.

She argued she would be more "active and engaged" than Gov. Mike Easley but often took pains to avoid criticizing the incumbent Democrat.

Perdue said she would strip the state Board of Transportation of much decision-making authority after controversies over fundraising, post all state contracts on the Internet, approve state funding of embryonic stem-cell research and bar illegal immigrants from attending community colleges.

She also pledged to hold more open press conferences and retain official e-mails. 

Though she appeared in five locally broadcast debates with McCrory, she was criticized for not agreeing to statewide debates such as two held on UNC-TV. Despite her positive pledge in the primary, she ran a number of ads attacking McCrory.

In the general election, she was endorsed by Planned Parenthood's Central North Carolina chapter, the N.C. Nurses Association, the Conservation Council of N.C., the State Employees Association of North Carolina, and two newspaper editorial boards.

Polls showed a close race throughout the election, but Perdue beat McCrory on Election Day.

She is the state's first female governor and the first lieutenant governor since Jim Hunt in 1976 to win the top spot.

Perdue Administration

Perdue took the oath of office on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2009, becoming the 73rd governor of North Carolina. In her inaugural address, she pledged to be a "fully engaged, hands-on governor" and noted that the state was "in the midst of a global economic crisis."

The 10 members of her Cabinet included three black men and two women, tying former Governor Easley's first-term Cabinet for diversity. It also included one Republican.

As one of her first acts in office, Perdue signed an executive order stripping the Board of Transportation of much of its power, an effort to reduce political influence on road-making decisions. She also signed executive orders creating a budget commission and a Web site on state contracts, among other things.

However, she said campaign promises to provide free community college and boost the minimum wage would have to wait until the economy improved.

Research and reporting by Ryan Teague Beckwith and Denise Jones. 

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Contact Info

Email: info@bevperdue.com

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