[June 08, 2006]

The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C., Under the Dome column: Lake flirts with running for governor

(News & Observer, The (Raleigh, NC) (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Jun. 8--Retired N.C. Chief Justice I. Beverly Lake Jr., who has one of the best-known names in Tar Heel politics, is toying with the idea of running for governor in 2008.

Lake, who stepped down from the bench in January, said he has been approached by supporters about seeking the GOP nomination.

"I'm not ready to make an announcement," Lake said. "I've been getting a lot of urging in that direction. If I get more serious urging, I'll have to give it some serious consideration."

At the state Republican convention in New Bern over the weekend, Lake sounded like a gubernatorial hopeful, sharply criticizing the state's educational system, while also touching on such issues as illegal immigration, gay rights and property rights.

The potential GOP field has narrowed in recent days, with U.S. Rep. Sue Myrick announcing she would forgo the race. That left two main candidates, state Sen. Fred Smith of Clayton and Salisbury attorney Bill Graham.

Lake has had a long career in politics, beginning as a conservative Democratic state senator in the 1970s. He switched to the GOP to run for governor in 1980 and later served in the courts.

His father, the late I. Beverly Lake Sr., ran for governor in 1960 and 1964.

Age could be a problem for Lake, who is 72.

"I'm just getting into middle age," Lake quipped.

GOP spat echoes

Little was said at the state GOP convention about the bruising Republican primaries in May, when the party helped knock off former co-speaker Richard Morgan of Moore County.

But there was one small echo of the fight.

Moore County Republican chairman John Owens asked GOP Chairman Ferrell Blount why there were 32 Democratic House members running unopposed.

Owens, a Morgan ally, had criticized the party for spending money and energy to defeat Morgan rather than recruiting candidates to challenge Democrats.

Blount said only about 10 House districts were swing seats and the rest were either solidly Democratic or solidly Republican.

"There are certain seats, my friend, not to be sacrilegious, that Jesus Christ could not win some of those seats if he was a Republican," Blount said.

Owens responded: "Thank you Mr. Chairman. I do believe he would have tried."

UNC makes its case

It was University Day at the legislature Wednesday, and there was plenty of college spirit to go around.

UNC Board of Governors members roamed the halls with talking points on index cards, outlining the system's top budget priorities.

UNC President Erskine Bowles and UNC chancellors were introduced in the session. And UNC leaders couldn't help but grin when the House gave preliminary approval to a bill to allow North Carolinians an income-tax deduction up to $10,000 a year for contributions to the state's 529 college savings plan.

Later, the system entertained legislators at a reception at the N.C. Museum of History, where they dined on miniburgers, fried catfish bites and mushroom tarts. A jazz band from N.C. Central University provided music.

The cost of the event, about $7,000, was paid by a trust fund made up of interest from private donations, UNC officials said.

Swimming upstream

Rep. John Blust has been at the forefront in prodding the legislature to reform its operations. But last week, he cast a vote that could make him an easy target for a mudslinging campaign ad about sleazy politics. He was the sole House member to vote against phasing out the video poker industry.

Blust, a Greensboro Republican, said he voted against the bill because he suspects it might not achieve its stated goal.

The legislation would require video poker operators to remove their machines in a three-part phaseout by July 1, 2007. House Speaker Jim Black, a Democrat from Mecklenburg County, proposed the phaseout after years of preventing Senate-passed bans from becoming law.

Blust said he favored the Senate's take on ending video poker, a ban that would have taken effect Dec. 1.

"I would have preferred going the Senate route and getting rid of them now," Blust said.

He won't get a chance to vote for the Senate's bill. On Monday, the Senate approved the phaseout.

Fortunately for Blust, he's running unopposed for his House seat.

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