Gov. Pat McCrory’s inaugural speech in
McCrory talked to elected officials in
“I made no political promises to anyone,” McCrory said in a Sun Journal interview, “and I’m reluctant to say what I’ll do now until I put out the fires I’m finding.”
“I don’t have a magic wand,” he said, “but I’ve spent the last four weeks reviewing policies that need to be changed and I’ve have help from citizens from throughout the state.”
“I pleased with the cabinet I’ve put together,” he said, including Republicans, independents and Democrats “from the East, the
Asked if he planned to make the use of alternative energy a priority in new state construction, McCrory said he isn’t even thinking about new buildings. “My immediate issue is fixing the roofs and the floors and doing a basic paint job.”
Walking down the streets in Raleigh near the Governor’s Mansion, McCrory said he looked at structures in serious disrepair and asked “Who owns that,” only to find it was a state building “I’m afraid the mayor of Raleigh is going to ask us to tear down (state buildings) they are in such bad repair.”
“Government operations is one of the areas most wanting,” he said. “The maintenance of existing buildings throughout the state has been neglected. We built a lot of buildings without budgeting operating money. Before we build any new buildings, we’re going to have to find operating money.”
McCrory said, “I didn’t come just to give a speech. I came to have a very serious meeting with state and local officials from the East regarding the issues we’ll have to deal with.”
“I came to
He brought Secretary of Cultural Resources Susan Kluttz and Deputy Secretary Kevin Cherry with him to
“I hear there is a short term military issue with wind towers that have the potential to not allow military airplanes to take off and land. The Utilities Commission made a decision regarding them in December and no one knew about it. To me that’s another breakdown.”
“I toured Cherry Point with former Gov. (Bev) Perdue and I’m going to be developing a strategy, that includes going to
“We’re known as the friendliest state for the military,” he said. “We honor their service, and when our soldiers come home, their leadership and skills will help grow our economy.”
Asked about his position on continued state support for the Global TransPark, McCrory said, “I plan to have the secretary of commerce review where we are and where we need to go in the future. We have to come up with a 10 to 20 year plan for who actually manages the park.”
He said he has tremendous confidence in Secretary of Commerce Sharon Decker and will be open to her recommendations on that and how to reenergize manufacturing in the state to produce jobs.
“My bias would be how we can move toward privatizing,” he said. “But I need the numbers on how much we’re spending. At a certain point it time it needs to become self-sustaining. There is great potential but there has to be a point in time where the money from the state has to be weaned.”
“I’ve got to do more with less,” McCrory said. “That’s what families and businesses have had to do since 2008.”
Asked his position of increased and new ferry fees passed by the General Assembly in it 2011 budget and delayed by a Perdue executive order, McCrory said he is not taking a position until his Secretary of Transportation Tony Tata reviews the matter and recommends action.
As in his inaugural remarks Saturday, McCrory said that “polishing up our state’s brand” in travel and tourism, agriculture, manufacturing, transportation and finance is essential and something he will be working hard to do as governor.