Philadelphia

What Easley's up to in D.C., Florida

ryanteaguebeckwith — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 11:40:15 -0500

Gov. Mike Easley is discussing foreclosure, education and the law this week.

According to a schedule provided by the governor's office today, Easley had several stops in Washington after going to an economic summit with President-elect Barack Obama in Philadelphia Tuesday.

During a three-hour stopover, he was interviewed by BBC America about the summit, met with state and federal education experts interested in the state's Learn and Earn and 21st Century Skills programs and met with 20 of his colleagues at the Democratic Governors Association.

Easley, a former North Carolina attorney general, is meeting today and tomorrow with the National Association of Attorneys General conference in Florida about the state's predatory lending laws and home foreclosure reduction laws, which other states are considering as a model.

He will make a formal speech in the morning.

"The National Association of Attorneys General winter conference is an all business, non-press event, which is why they asked the Governor not to publicize his speech," wrote spokeswoman Renee Hoffman in an e-mail to Dome.

She added that Easley reimburses the state for any trips "of a political nature."

Previously: Why is Easley stopping in D.C., Florida?

Easley stops in D.C., Florida too

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 17:29:43 -0500

Gov. Mike Easley is on the road this week, but he won't say exactly why.

Easley took a state jet to Philadelphia yesterday for an economic summit with President-elect Barack Obama and other governors.

According to publicly available flight records, the Cessna Citation twin-jet plane left Philadelphia International at 1:33 p.m. for Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C.

After a three-hour layover, the plane was scheduled to go to Hollywood International Airport in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., arriving later tonight. A flight plan filed with the N.C. Department of Commerce, also a public record, shows the plane won't leave Florida until 1 p.m. on Thursday.

Although the flight records are widely available on the Internet and through public records, spokeswoman Renee Hoffman would not discuss Easley's travel plans "for security reasons" and gave only a vague answer about his reasons for stopping in Washington and Florida.

"I can tell you that the governor is on a business trip to make a speech and attend a meeting," she said in an e-mail to Dome.

The flight plan shows Easley is traveling with executive counsel Ruffin Poole and a sergeant from the N.C. Highway Patrol.

Easley makes his case in Philly

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 17:14:30 -0500

Gov. Mike Easley made his case for foreclosure help in Philadelphia today.

During an economic summit with President-elect Barack Obama and other governors, Easley gave a short presentation on the state's foreclosure reduction program, which some would like to use as a model for federal legislation.

"It will help if we can get that program passed on the federal level because then we don't have 50 different rules that the banks have to figure out," he said in a statement to Dome. "If the federal government will pass what we have, then each governor could either opt in or opt out."

Easley said he discussed the issue with Obama during the summer. He said the National Governors Association will be promoting the legislation as well.

He also attended an informal governors get-together last night, eating across the table from Georgia's Republican Gov. Sonny Perdue.

Perdue, Easley attend Obama meeting

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 15:58:38 -0500

North Carolina's two governors attended an economic meeting with President-elect Barack Obama today.

Gov. Mike Easley and Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue both attended a closed-door session at Independence Hall in Philadelphia with the president-elect, Vice President-elect Joe Biden and other governors.

Both had a moment in the spotlight, according to Perdue. She was recognized as one of three newly elected governors, while Easley was called on to give a three-minute speech about North Carolina's year-old program to reduce home foreclosures.

Perdue said she feels confident that Obama understands North Carolina's plight, given the number of times he visited the state during the contentious primary and general elections.

"I believe we have a relationship with the country's president and vice president, and many of their staffers that we worked with during the campaign," she said. "At the very least we'll get our calls answered."

Despite traveling separately — Perdue on a campaign-funded plane, Easley on a state jet — the two sat next two each other at the meeting. The governors were seated in the order that their states entered the union, placing North Carolina between Tennessee and Virginia.

After the summit, Perdue, who has an undergraduate degree in history, said she took some time to see the Liberty Bell nearby.

"It was nice to finally see it," she said.

Perdue stresses infrastructure with Obama

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 15:35:37 -0500

Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue pressed President-elect Barack Obama for federal help yesterday.

Attending a get-together of Democratic governors the night before a meeting today on the economy in Philadelphia, Perdue had several chances to talk with the newly elected president.

She said she was intrigued by his definition of infrastructure spending, which would include not just roads and water and sewer projects, but also public schools, universities, broadband Internet access in rural areas and better medical technology.

"He sees the social and infrastructure agenda as woven together," she said.

Perdue was one of 29 Democratic governors at the informal get-together, which was held at the Independence Visitor Center. As Obama worked the room, she had three or four chances to chat with him, and not all of the talk was work-related.

The two also compared notes on looking for dogs. Obama publicly promised his daughters a new dog after the election, while Perdue and her husband are considering a third dog.

This morning, Louisina Gov. Bobby Jindal said his kids were now pushing for a puppy.

"(Obama) says he's caused trouble all over the country," she said.

Related: Perdue, Easley attend economic summit.

How are Easley, Perdue getting along?

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 09:50:24 -0500

How well are North Carolina's two governors getting along?

There are always some bumps in the road when a lame duck and a governor-elect spend an uneasy two months sharing the stage, even when they're from the same party.

Still, a few public relations slips in the past week may show a little strain between outgoing Gov. Mike Easley and Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue.

* HOW BIG A SHORTFALL? On Monday, Perdue warned the budget shortfall could reach $3 billion — a number far higher than anything Easley has put forward to date. His office neither endorsed nor challenged the figure.

* MEETING OBAMA: Last week, Perdue announced that she would join President-elect Barack Obama at a roundtable in Philadelphia. On Monday, Easley said he'd go too. Why the separate travel plans and announcements?

* FAST TRACKING PROJECTS: Last week, Easley called for the state to speed up $700 million in state spending on prisons, colleges and other projects. A few hours later, Perdue issued a press release backing the idea. Again, why the separate releases?

Though they share party affiliations and some key backers, Perdue and Easley are not as close as Republican criticism from the election would have you believe.

But these little hiccups indicate the two teams are not working as closely as they could.

Double the governors from N.C.

markjohnson — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 16:36:50 -0500

North Carolina's outgoing and incoming governors will both join President-elect Obama at a meeting with the nation's governors in Philadelphia tomorrow.

Gov. Mike Easley, who typically skips National Governors Association events, is slated to discuss the state's foreclosure prevention program during tomorrows meetings, according to a statement released by his office announcing the trip.

Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue's office announced more than a week ago that she would attend the meeting, which is aimed at examining the partnership between the federal government and the states in efforts to rebuild the economy.

Perdue paying her own way to Philly

ryanteaguebeckwith — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 13:29:29 -0500

Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue is not using state money to meet with Barack Obama.

A spokesman for the governor-elect said she will be traveling to Philadelphia on a chartered plane paid for by her campaign account.

Perdue will join a meeting of the nation's governors with the president-elect and vice president-elect Joe Biden to talk about the economic crisis.

The 10 a.m. meeting tomorrow is sponsored by the National Governors Association. Perdue and other newly elected or incumbent governors will argue for a federal-state partnership to boost the economy.

North Carolina could face a state budget shortfall of as much as $3 billion next year, according to a Perdue press release.

House Speaker Joe Hackney joined a press conference co-sponsored by the National Governors Association on the same topic in Washington today.