Democratic gubernatorial candidate Richard Moore is airing an ad attacking rival Beverly Perdue's votes on college tuition, Ben Niolet reports. Click here to watch the ad.
What the ad says: "On college tuition, Bev Perdue's been flat-out wrong. She voted to raise tuition seven times. Perdue even sponsored a 24 percent tuition increase and said it was just 'beer and party money.' But Richard Moore doesn't think the rising cost of college is a joke. Moore's plan allows high school graduates to attend community college tuition free. It's time for a leader who will do right by families like yours. I'm Richard Moore, candidate for governor, and I sponsored this ad."
The background: As a candidate for governor, Perdue has touted her plans to make college affordable. As a legislator, she voted seven times to raise tuition. Her votes were for larger budget bills that spent billions and made policy decisions on many items, including college tuition.
Some of those budgets also allocated money to help poor students get financial aid for college.
The 24 percent increase refers to a seperate proposal in 1993 in which Perdue spoke in favor of a $200 surcharge at UNC-Chapel Hill and N.C. State University. The surcharge was designed to improve libraries, increase student aid and increase salaries for faculty who were being lured out of state by higher pay.
Perdue, then a senator, told the Associated Press that only a few people had contacted her to complain about the $200 hike. "The students have openly admitted that it's beer and party money," Perdue said, according to the AP report.
The $200 surcharge was not adopted.
Moore has proposed using funds from the Golden LEAF Foundation, a nonprofit set up to allocate tobacco settlement funds, and state money to offer free community college tuition for two years to all students who graduate high school and immediately enroll in a community college degree program.
Is the ad accurate? Yes. Whether Perdue is "flat-out wrong" is a subjective judgement. But she did vote to increase tuition, although all but one of the votes were for broad budget bills and not just college tuition.
Previously: Moore attacks Perdue on tuition increase at debate.
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