Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue talks with local residents during an appearance at the Alleghany Wellness Center.

Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue visits Sparta; heralds run for governor

Lt. Governor Beverly "Bev" Perdue has opted to put her name in the hat for the upcoming governor's race. The announcement was made Tuesday during a visit to the Alleghany Wellness Center. The local event was hosted by Sandy Woodie.

"I believe—I'm not bragging on myself—I believe I'm the most qualified person to lead North Carolina," Perdue said. "There's a room in Raleigh where pictures of all the 72 governors are lined up in a row. Their pictures all share one common thing." With a smile, she said, "I hope to put a skirt on that wall in 2008." After a few giggles from the audience, Perdue continued, "It would be history for North Carolina. That's not why I'm running. I'm running because I believe that I can lead this state. Because I have the vision to move North Carolina forward."

At the present time, Perdue is traveling the northwestern part of North Carolina. Recent stops have included Ashe, Watagua and Wilkes counties.

Alleghany County Commission Chair Ken Richardson welcomed the audience. "I have the honor of introducing our guest today. I first of all want to tell you how excited I am. I hope everyone who's here today (has) an opportunity to meet the lieutenant governor." He noted that some local officials were present, including Sparta Mayor John Miller, County Commissioner J. Warren Taylor, House Representative Jim Harrell III and Lizabeth Reeves Roupe with the Register of Deeds Office. Richardson continued, "We have a very special guest today. We have an individual who has literally dedicated her life to make North Carolina a better place, over 20 years of service in Raleigh, 14 years in (the) General Assembly and soon to be eight years as lieutenant governor. We're extremely proud of what she's done. She is a born leader."

After being greeted with audience applause, Perdue thanked Richardson for the introduction and Woodie for coordinating the event.

"This is a challenging time for North Carolina, not just for Alleghany County because you've had so much transition here," Perdue said. "I am excited to see all the Christmas trees, Ken, quite a wonderful industry for our state."

Education

"(An issue for North Carolina is) how we educate all our people and how we jumpstart the economy in rural counties like Alleghany...I believe we're going to continue to build a world class work force, and that's my goal, to have the best educated work force in the world, right here in North Carolina. We can do that because we can do anything we want to do in North Carolina. You have to pay teachers more and you have to hold them accountable, and you've got to change the schools, the way we're doing them, so that kids really want to go to school. What does that mean? That means having some Internet access, some virtual education, doing some 21st century kinds of things so that maybe in our lifetime, you and I won't walk into a classroom and have the same book that we had when we were there." Perdue then touched on the high school graduation rate of 70 percent.

"You lose about 30 percent of every ninth grade class," she stated.

"In fourth or fifth grade, a kid realizes that his mom or grandmom or dad or granddad can't afford to send him off for post-high school training. They understand what their limits are. I believe that in fourth or fifth grade, the folks in North Carolina sign a contract with that kid and that family that if that kid or you stay in school and play by the rules and graduates high school without getting into much trouble and to get yourself accepted into a trade school...college or university, and you're willing to work part time, North Carolina will be sure that everybody in their state (gets) training and that's what builds a 21st century work force."

Military Matters

"As I get ready to run for governor, you will hear a whole lot more about the military," commented Perdue. "North Carolina has the third largest military presence in the country."

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