Roland Burris

Perdue's polling numbers plunge

janestancill — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 15:10:15 -0400

North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue is now getting into Roland Burris territory.

Perdue’s approval rating continues to plummet, with the latest survey showing that only 25 percent of voters approve of the job she's doing, according to a new survey by Public Policy Polling, a Democratic-leaning polling firm. Fifty-five percent disapprove, reports Rob Christensen.

The firm has done polling on 48 out of 150 governors and senators and found only one with worse numbers – Burris, the Illinois senator whose appointment by ousted Gov. Rod Blagojevich is under investigation.

Perdue’s numbers have been steadily falling since March, when she faced difficult budget decisions to cut programs, furlough state employees, and propose tax increases.

Her biggest drop has been among Democrats. She has fallen from 66 percent approval in March to 38 percent now, with 40 percent of Democrats disapproving the job she's doing.

The poll was taken after Perdue proposed a menu of $1.6 billion in new taxes to help make up North Carolina’s budget deficit.

The survey of 767 North Carolina voters was taken July 10-12 and had a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.

Update: Post has been changed to clarify that PPP has not polled all governors and senators in the country.

Hagan shows off new office

ryanteaguebeckwith — Wed, 06 May 2009 10:43:38 -0400

Sen. Kay Hagan is settling into Washington.

The Greensboro Democrat held a coffee klatsch for constituents in her new office in the Dirksen Senate Office Building this morning.

As a freshman senator, Hagan has one of the less-desirable office spaces, but it's leagues better than the quote-unquote temporary basement room her staff was stuck in while the Minnesota Senate race dragged on.

The temporary office also delayed Hagan's hiring, since there wasn't enough room for the legislative assistants and constituent services staffers. She's now about 65 to 70 percent staffed, with about 52 employees in D.C. and North Carolina.

For now, the office is sparsely decorated, with just a few scenic photos of the beach and the Triad and several flat-screen TVs. As a reminder of favorite campaign haunts, four of the TVs are named for Greensboro restaurants: Grey's, The Burro, Natty's and M'Couls.

Hagan's new space, Suite 521, used to be part of three different offices: Sens. Kristen Gillibrand, Roland Burris and Wayne Allard. If you crane your neck out of one of Hagan's personal windows, you can just see the Capitol dome.

"I think I might need some curved mirrors in here," Hagan joked.

RB on RB's appointment by RB

ryanteaguebeckwith — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 16:50:05 -0500

Republican Sen. Richard Burr says Democrat Roland Burris ought to be seated in the U.S. Senate.

The Illinois Supreme Court today ruled that the Illinois Secretary of State does not need to sign off on Burris’ appointment to replace Barack Obama in the Senate, Barb Barrett reports.

"Given today’s decision by the Illinois Supreme Court, Roland Burris should be seated as a United States Senator as expeditiously as possible," Burr said.

Burris was appointed by embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who was arrested last month on suspicion of trying to sell his appointment to the highest bidder. When Burris showed up to the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday for swearing-in, he was rebuffed by officials who said his paperwork lacked the proper signatures.

Democrats had said they would not seat anyone appointed by the governor, but since Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has seemed more open to the idea.

The state Supreme Court's decision came on the same day that the Illinois state House of Representatives impeached Blagojevich. His case now goes to the state Senate.