As mayor of Charlotte, Pat McCrory vetoed a minimum wage for city employees in 2001.

The long-ago City Council dispute has come up again in a different context, with the Republican gubernatorial candidate facing an attack ad from an independent group that argues that he opposes raising the state minimum wage.

In a memo backing up its claims, the Alliance for North Carolina cited news coverage of the 2001 dispute.

McCrory's campaign says the attack is unfair. They argue that he supports raising the state minimum wage, but only if it is coupled with tax breaks or tied to the cost of living in order to lessen the impact on small businesses.

Still, McCrory made some provocative statements during the long-ago fight to pay Charlotte city workers at least $9 an hour.

"I just got back from East Germany where they're trying to get away from socialism," he said, according to a May 26, 2001 article in the Charlotte Observer. "I've got some very liberal council members who are going the opposite direction."

Campaign manager Richard Hudson said that remark was not directed at the state minimum wage.

"The living wage for the city of Charlotte is very different from a minimum wage for the state of North Carolina," said campaign manager Richard Hudson. "We're not talking about going from $5.15 to $6.15; we're talking about a proposal for a $9 an hour wage for city employees."

More after the jump.

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