Bill Ritter

Perdue presses for stimulus in Va.

ryanteaguebeckwith — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 09:46:17 -0500

Gov. Beverly Perdue is making her case for the stimulus.

Perdue flew to Williamsburg, Va., this morning on a state plane to participate in a panel of governors urging Congress to pass an economic stimulus package.

She has said that spending on infrastructure and other economic development projects will help reduce North Carolina's high unemployment rate.

Also attending are New York Gov. David Paterson, Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland and Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter, along with members of the U.S. House Democratic caucus.

The meeting at the Kingsmill Resort is closed to the press, although Perdue and others will speak afterward.

Govs. in town, but not at Obama rally

ryanteaguebeckwith — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 16:31:20 -0400

Who didn't play hooky to see Barack Obama?

As noted previously, three governors in town for a training session at the Hunt Institute for Educational Leadership showed up at an Obama event Monday: Gov. Brian Schweitzer of Montana, Gov. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and former Gov. Roy Romer of Colorado.

Though they were on the guest list, Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter and Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley did not show.

They had a good reason, of course. The Hunt Institute had scheduled discussions on education all day Monday in Chapel Hill, and seeing Obama meant making a 40-minute drive to Raleigh and missing a healthy chunk of the three-day session.

But it's worth noting who else didn't make the drive: Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe , Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen, Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle, former West Virginia Gov. Bob Wise, Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Guam Gov. Felix Perez Camacho.

Camacho and Pawlenty have a good excuse: They're Republicans.

For their part, Sebelius, Napolitano and Kaine may not have wanted to fuel further speculation that they'll be picked as Obama's vice president (though that didn't stop Schweitzer from glad-handing.) And Doyle and Sebelius have already done their duties here.

Update: Sebelius and Napolitano were at an Obama fundraiser in Chapel Hill.

Not in the crowd at Obama event

ryanteaguebeckwith — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 15:45:10 -0400

A few notable politicians were not in the audience today.

Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue, who endorsed Barack Obama, was the most notable absence at an event at the N.C. State Fairgrounds, especially since her former Democratic opponent Richard Moore was on hand.

U.S. Senate candidate Kay Hagan and lieutenant governor candidate Walter Dalton were also not in the audience. Neither has endorsed Obama.

A few out-of-state politicians expected to attend were no-shows.

Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter and Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley were supposed to be at the event, according to an advance e-mail from Obama staffer Jen Psaki.

The governors are in town to attend a Hunt Institute training session in Chapel Hill. Three of their colleagues from the session that Psaki said would be at the event were there, however.

Former Gov. Jim Hunt was also not in attendance, though he has been at Obama events in the past.