Phil Kirk, a former state school board chairman, has been named chairman of the Public School Forum of North Carolina, a nonprofit policy think tank.

Kirk was chief of staff under former Republican governors Jim Martin and Jim Holshouser and state school board chairman under Democratic governors Jim Hunt and Mike Easley. Kirk is now a vice president for external relations at Catawba College in Salisbury.

The forum was founded in 1985. It focuses on public policy research and oversees community programs, such as a network of elementary and middle school programs, according to a news release.

"The Public School Forum has a history of providing leadership on key educational issues," Kirk said in the release. "Everything we do should be based on what is best for the students, even if we have to take unpopular positions." 

Former Gov. Jim Holshouser has endorsed Jim Snyder for lieutenant governor.

"He was our 2004 nominee and has the name recognition state wide to win," the former Republican governor said in a statement. "Jim is leading the way on education, health care, immigration reform, and ending corruption in Raleigh."

Snyder faces former Congressional candidate Greg Dority and state Sen. Robert Pittenger in the Republican primary. 

Pat McCrory says Jack Hawke came to him.

The Republican gubernatorial candidate said that his new campaign manager became interested because of the endorsements of former Republican governors Jim Martin and Jim Holshouser.

He said Hawke came to his campaign headquarters about three weeks ago, but not necessarily because he was looking for work.

"I don't think that was his sole purpose," he said. "He was actually talking about Civitas, and we just hit it off extremely well and kind of mutually we said we might make a good team."

McCrory also said that his much-quoted "garage band" remark at his campaign kickoff was misunderstood. At the time, McCrory said he wasn't going to hire "high-priced consultants" to tell him what to say.

But he told Dome last night that he was referring to the early stages.

"When I was saying garage band, I literally meant it because we had just put a team of five people together when I announced in Jamestown, but I knew that we were going to be gradually building upon that team and bringing in true professionals like Jack Hawke," he said.

He said that he will be running a grassroots effort and a pretty extensive media campaign.

"We are still running a garage-band type of campaign, but we've moved onto a big arena," he said, laughing. "We get to play the arena occasionally."

Jim Martin has endorsed Pat McCrory and Bob Orr.

The former Republican governor said he is backing both the longtime Charlotte mayor and the former Supreme Court justice in their bids for the Republican gubernatorial nomination.

"They're both long-term friends," he told the Charlotte Observer.

At McCrory's kickoff last week, former Gov. Jim Holshouser endorsed McCrory and said Martin did as well. In an interview later, McCrory confirmed the endorsements but did not mention Orr.

Martin, a former Mecklenburg County commissioner, knows McCrory through civic work in Charlotte, while Orr served as his driver in the 1984 election.

For good measure, Martin added that he also likes Bill Graham and Fred Smith and will endorse whoever wins the GOP primary.

Did Republicans Jim Holshouser and Jim Martin become governor because of Democratic infighting?

That's the argument made by D.G. Martin in a column in the Chatham Journal Weekly. He says that splits between Democrats in the 1972 and 1984 primaries led to acrimony in the general elections, allowing the Republican candidates to win.

In '72, the split was between Lt. Gov. Pat Taylor and Skipper Bowles. Though Bowles won, Taylor backers were disinclined to vote for him, Martin argues.

In '84, former Charlotte Mayor Eddie Knox bitterly fought Attorney General Rufus Edmisten. Though Edmisten won, Knox and some of his supporters did not back the winner, Martin says.

Martin makes the case that the same could happen because of the fierce battle between Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue and state Treasurer Richard Moore for the Democratic nomination.

A couple quibbles: 1) The analysis is a bit blue-centric. Democrats lost, but Republicans also won. 2) In both cases, Martin's own history suggests the key test was after the primary, when Bowles failed to reach out and Knox refused to endorse. 3) With four candidates, the GOP may also split.

Hat Tip: Tom Jensen

Will the endorsements of two former governors help Pat McCrory?

History suggests some reason for doubt. Both former Republican governors Jim Holshouser and Jim Martin endorsed George Little in the 2004 Republican primary, and Holshouser served as co-chairman of his committee.

Little was a longtime Republican fundraiser and Moore County insurance broker who was the most moderate candidate in the field. He supported the lottery and was widely considered one of the few Republicans who could win Democratic votes in the general election.

He came in last, after state Sen. Fern Shubert, Davie County Commissioner Dan Barrett, former state GOP chairman Bill Cobey, former Charlotte mayor Richard Vinroot and and the eventual nominee, state Sen. Patrick Ballantine, who lost the general election.

"Endorsements rarely matter," Rob Christensen wrote afterward. "Candidates work very hard to get the blessings of well-known political figures. But the primary results suggest there are better ways to spend their time."

McCrory stressed that he did not seek out their support and would not rely on endorsements.

Former Gov. Jim Holshouser introduces Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory at a campaign kickoff in Jamestown, N.C., today. 

Pat McCrory said he didn't seek Jim Holshouser's endorsement.

The longtime Charlotte mayor talked with the former governor Wednesday afternoon as part of a recent outreach effort with state Republican leaders.

The two met in an empty conference room at the Carolina Inn on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus, where McCrory had been attending a meeting of North Carolina mayors. They mostly talked shop about state government, McCrory said.

"After about 45 minutes of conversation, he said, 'I want to help you.'"

Afterward, Holshouser dropped McCrory off at the Tar Heels' basketball game. McCrory said he was glad to have Holshouser's support, though he's not stressing endorsements in his campaign.

"In the long run, people are going to judge you on what you can do, not how other people may endorse you," he said. "It was more important to me from a private standpoint to get his support."

Holshouser introduced McCrory at his kickoff, calling him a "21st century thinker."

Former Gov. Jim Martin has endorsed Pat McCrory.

The announcement was made by the other former Republican governor, Jim Holshouser, in introducing McCrory at his campaign kickoff in Jamestown a few minutes ago.

"He joins me in saying that we're both confident that Pat McCrory is going to be a great governor," Holshouser said.

McCrory then came to the podium, just as a freight train began blaring its way through a nearby intersection.

"We knew the train was coming sooner or later," McCrory joked.

His kickoff speech mentioned many of the urban problems he's tackled as mayor: Gangs, transportation funding and education. He also mentioned illegal immigration and corruption in state government.

He said his campaign team would work "like a garage band," not relying on expensive consultants and polling, but using their gut instincts.

Pat McCrory will have two special guests at his kickoff.

The longtime Charlotte mayor will be joined tomorrow by Jamestown Mayor Keith Volz and former Gov. Jim Holshouser, both Republicans.

The event, billed as a "major announcement," will be at 1 p.m. at the Jamestown Public Library, formerly the Jamestown elementary that McCrory attended.