Meet the Pundit: Gary Pearce

Gary Pearce is the go-to guy for the press corps.

The longtime Democratic consultant is knowledgeable, friendly and accessible as well as a reliable source of pithy quotes on the current state of political affairs.

It's no surprise, then, that he was quoted 47 times in the state's major papers over the past year.

"I like being quoted," he told Dome via e-mail. "I feel like I've gained some knowledge over the years, and I like sharing it with people — just as I like learning from people who know things I don't. The secret to life is to keep learning."

A former adviser to longtime Gov. Jim Hunt, former Sen. John Edwards, Senate candidate Erskine Bowles and Lt. Gov. Dennis Wicker, Pearce is the definitive Democratic insider. At the same time, he's not working for any current campaigns, so he's considered an independent voice.

"I'm willing to be more candid than are most partisans," he wrote. "I'm not spinning anybody anymore."

More after the jump.

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Pearce, 59, is currently self-employed, running Pearce Research Associates out of a North Raleigh office.

He focuses on communications strategy, especially getting research and polling data out through advertising, media outreach and the Internet. These days, his clients are mostly corporate interests who he advises to be more open.

"In the long run you're best off if you tell your story aggressively and face up honestly and squarely to questions and criticisms," he wrote.

Since 2005, he's also been the liberal voice on Talking About Politics, a political blog he runs with former Jesse Helms advisor Carter Wrenn, another media favorite.

The short pieces he writes there — which have been linked to on Under the Dome, among other blogs — also lead to more media interviews, since reporters can tell in advance that Pearce has an opinion on their subject matter.

He's been media shy on at least one recent topic: Helms' death.

"I didn't want to sound like a hypocrite, and I thought it was the wrong time to say what I think," wrote Pearce, who advised Hunt in his historic 1984 race against Helms.