Fred Smith likes proclamations. Pat McCrory doesn’t.

The two Republican gubernatorial candidates expressed strong opinions today about the value of the formal statements given by governors, mayors, city councils and other government entities.

At a forum sponsored by the N.C. Center for Nonprofits, they were asked whether they would proclaim November as nonprofit awareness month.

“Proclamations don’t accomplish a whole lot, and I say that as someone who’s signed probably a 1,000 of them,” said McCrory, Charlotte’s mayor. “When you read them, most people aren’t listening anyway.”

Smith, a state senator from Clayton, said he disagrees.

“Proclamations are a call to action. Many times in life you need a call to action,” Smith replied. He added, “It’s through our nonprofits that the moral fiber of our state is woven.”

Two other GOP candidates for governor – Salisbury lawyer Bill Graham and former N.C. Supreme Court Justice Bob Orr – also seemed warm toward proclamations, though their answers were more tongue-in-cheek than Smith’s.

“I think we ought to just declare the Year of the Nonprofit,” Graham said.

Update: Democratic candidates Richard Moore and Dennis Nielsen said they like the idea of a nonprofits Awareness Month, but they didn't take a position on proclamations. Beverly Perdue did not attend the forum.

The four major Republicans running for governor are fans of nonprofits.

They expressed their gratitude today at a forum in Raleigh sponsored by the N.C. Center for Nonprofits and Generation Engage, reports David Ingram of The Charlotte Observer.

One candidate cited the 19th century French writer Alexis de Tocqueville, who toured America.

"He went and looked at the nonprofits, which were at that time the churches, and he said that’s what makes America great," said state Sen. Fred Smith.

Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory said nonprofits are important in economic development, citing the Charlotte area’s recruitment of Johnson & Wales University, a culinary school.

"It took cooperation between the private and public sectors, and a lot of speed to beat out our competition," McCrory said.

Read more after the jump.

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