Richard Moore

Biography

Richard Moore is the two-term state treasurer, former secretary of crime control and public safety, former state representative and a candidate for the Democratic nomination for governor in 2008.

Early Life and Education

Richard Hancock Moore was born on Aug. 30, 1960, in Oxford, N.C., to Tingley and Lucy Moore. His father ran a storage warehouse company based in Butner.

The mother's side of his family was politically active. Her father, Franklin Wills Hancock Jr., served as a U.S. Representative from 1930 to 1939. One colonial ancestor was a solicitor for King George and six generations of his family served in the N.C. House.

Moore graduated from J.F. Webb High School in 1978, then earned a bachelor of arts from Wake Forest University in 1982. 

In 1984, he earned a graduate degree in accounting and finance from the London School of Economics, and in 1986, a law degree from Wake Forest.

Religion

He is a member of St. Stephens Episcopal Church in Oxford. 

Family

He and his wife, Noel, have two sons, Will and Charles, and a daughter, Mary Eleanor. They live in the small town of Kittrell near Oxford.

His wife is one of several grandchildren of the founder of the H.E. Butt Grocery Co. of San Antonio, a privately held grocery store chain that had 60,000 employees and $12.4 billion in revenue in 2005, according to Forbes magazine. 

Professional Career

After law school, worked as a corporate lawyer in Washington, D.C.

From 1989 to 1991, he served as a federal prosecutor in North Carolina's Eastern District, where he successfully prosecuted one of the largest check kiting schemes in U.S. history.

In 1992, he was elected to the N.C. House of Representatives, where he served one term. His bills changed open meetings and public records laws, required seat belts on school buses and expanded a child care tax credit.  (See a complete list here.)

Because of his boyish looks, he was once mistaken for a page by a sergeant-at-arms. 

He was ranked the 40th most effective of 120 state representatives. 

In 1994, he ran unsuccessfully for the 2nd District Congressional seat. 

In 1995, Gov. Jim Hunt appointed Moore secretary of the Department of Crime Control and Public Safety. In that role, he led the state's response to Hurricane Fran and Hurricane Floyd and oversaw the state Highway Patrol and National Guard. He was nicknamed the "Flood Stud" for his near-constant television presence during the aftermath of both storms. He served in that position until 1999.

After considering a run for lieutenant governor, Moore was elected treasurer in 2000 and again in 2004.

In 2004, he co-authored "Faces from the Flood," a collection of interviews with victims of Hurricane Floyd and an assessment of the state's response. The book was published by The University of North Carolina Press. A documentary based on the book aired on UNC-TV.

State Treasurer

In office, he promoted the state's unclaimed property fund and refinanced state bonds, saving the state an estimated $100 million. He also worked to increase financial literacy among high school students.

When the state pension fund lost tens of millions of dollars because of the collapse of Enron and WorldCom, Moore began speaking out about corporate governance.

He also criticized what he called excessive pay for executives of major companies. In May of 2006, Moore withheld votes from five Exxon Mobil directors who had approved a $100 million retirement package for former CEO Lee Raymond.

At the time, the pension fund's 11 million shares in Exxon were its singlest largest holding.

He later served a year-long stint on the board of the New York Stock Exchange.

In 2004, he was named one of Governing magazine's Public Officials of the Year. 

In 2006, Moore traveled to China, Taiwan and India on an Eisenhower Fellowship to study pension systems and meet with foreign companies doing business in North Carolina.

Recently, he has been criticized for accepting campaign donations from employees of investment firms he's hired as treasurer. A House bill would create a new board to oversee the state pension fund, but it is stuck in committee.

Gubernatorial Campaign '08

On May 22, 2007, Moore launched a campaign for the Democratic nomination for governor at J.F. Webb High in Oxford. He said he would work to extend access to health care to all North Carolinians and bring a "fix-it mentality" to state government.

He proposed an endowment to fund gubernatorial campaigns, cutting property taxes for seniors and raising the minimum wage, increasing the homestead exemption, promoting alternative energy, reforming the state transportation board and giving the governor the line-item veto on the state budget.

In late February, he endorsed Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. He attended an Obama speech in Fayetteville and later ran an ad on black radio stations around North Carolina noting the endorsement.

He was endorsed by a group of female legislators, including Sen. Ellie Kinnaird and Reps. Maggie Jeffus and Pricey Harrison; a group of former teachers; UNITE HERE, Equality NC, the Professional Fire Fighters and Paramedics of N.C., the People's Alliance, and the Winston-Salem Journal.

He faced Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue and retired Air Force colonel Dennis Nielsen in the Democratic gubernatorial primary.

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.

In mid-July, he endorsed Perdue by e-mail 71 days after the primary. The Republican Governors Association later re-created Moore's anti-Perdue site, essentially using his primary attacks against her in the general election.

Political Future 

Moore leaves office as state treasurer in January of 2009. Some have speculated he may run for the Democratic nomination to face U.S. Sen. Richard Burr in 2010. Others have said he will likely retire from politics.

Research and reporting by Ryan Teague Beckwith.

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