Robert Pittenger, a Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, has a new TV ad about pork projects in North Carolina, reports David Ingram.
What the ad says: Announcer: ‘The politicians in Raleigh are pigging out, and we’re paying for it. They spent over $200,000 to dig up an old pirate ship. $400,000 on a teapot museum. Half a million on the Randy Parton theater. But one conservative leader said no: Robert Pittenger.’
Pittenger: ‘I’m Robert Pittenger. I opposed wasteful spending in Raleigh, even when it wasn’t popular. That’s exactly what I’ll do as your lieutenant governor.’
Announcer: ‘For lieutenant governor, the conservative is Robert Pittenger.’
The background: The pirate ship was the Queen Anne’s Revenge, once belonging to Blackbeard and now on the National Register of Historic Places. The proposed Sparta teapot museum was to hold the collection of a wealthy Los Angeles lawyer but has since been scaled back. And the theater in Roanoke Rapids has been a money-losing attempt to draw tourism.
Pittenger opposed the projects, along with at least 14 other senators, out of 50 total.
Pittenger, first elected to the state Senate in 2002, has been an outspoken opponent of ‘pork projects,’ and his opposition was not always popular. Many of the projects moved forward despite his opposition.
It should be noted that the office of lieutenant governor has few powers beyond presiding over daily sessions of the state Senate. The lieutenant governor does not vote on legislation, except in cases of a tie vote, and would have limited powers to change how state money is spent.
Is the ad accurate? The ad’s account of the projects and the amounts the state contributed are all accurate. Whether they are worthy of public money is up to the viewer.
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