FRED SMITH GOVERNOR 2008 - "A Little Extra Effort" Statewide BBQ Tour
Tuesday, December 11, 2007...Edgecombe County...Again the driver earned his pay driving into the early morning hours. After a few short hours sleep we were off to Edgecombe County. The BBQ lunch had been arranged at a local well-loved restaurant. My expectations were not particularly high for luncheon although the restaurant owner called me mid-morning to tell me our local point person told her we'd have 60 or 70. "No way," I said. That would be an extraordinary response rate. So we set the room leaving the 75 seats and to my amazement we seated 85 people - yes it was overflow into the next room and we had to bring their chairs back into the main room to watch the video presentation and hear Fred. The great response meant we started a tad late so I thought for sure people would leave but again, they did not. The people of North Carolina are looking for a candidate with substance and Fred is that. We learned our guests included Republicans, some of whom the GOP leaders never met before, a good number of unaffiliated voters and even a few conservative Democrats. Fred mentioned that anyone can change to unaffiliated if they'd like to vote in the Republican primary. We found many enthusiastic supporters in the room and signed up a few volunteers for the campaign. Thanks, Edgecombe; you sure surprised me. I'm a believer!
Click HERE to view additional pictures from the Edgecombe County BBQ.
IN THE NEWS
GOP's Smith Visits Tarboro
by W. Terry Smith, Editor, The Daily Southerner
State Sen. Fred Smith likes North Carolina barbecue.
The Republican candidate for governor is hosting a barbecue in each of the state's 100 counties because he believes "a campaign is a conversation with the people."
On Tuesday he was giving his views at Abrams Bar-B-Q where more than 100 people turned out to eat, listen and get an autographed copy of his autobiography, "A Little Extra Effort: Hard Work and Straight Talk in a Sound Bite World."
Smith, 65, has hosted barbecues during successful campaigns for the Johnston County Board of Commissioners and for the state Senate.
"Some of my friends like Western-style barbecue," he said. "Some of my friends like Eastern-style barbecue. I like my friends."
Smith practiced law for 18 years before going into business full time. His Fred Smith Co. builds houses, develops golf courses and employs 600 people, including his five children. He's also the chief executive officer of C.C. Mangum Co., a paving contractor; and a farmer in Clayton.
He thinks the state needs "new management."
"In business you break things down in a manageable section," he said. "I think every county is important, so I go to listen and get to know the people."
In Edgecombe County, for example, Smith knows only 626 of 5,721 registered Republicans voted in the last GOP primary. He would like to see that increase to 900 in May when he's on the ballot with former N.C. Supreme Court Justice Bob Orr and Bill Graham, a Salisbury lawyer.
In a recent straw poll at last month's N.C. Republican Hall of Fame dinner, Smith won easily, 127 votes to Orr's 46 and Graham's 30.
Said Smith: "The governor is not a lawyer. The governor is not a judge. The governor is the leader and CEO of this state. That's what I do. That's what I've done all my life."
Immigration is the No. 1 topic on the campaign trail, Smith said and the applause during his comments Tuesday seemed to bear him out.
"We have to have a big heart for legal immigrants," he said, "and a firm hand to illegal immigrants, the rule of law.
"I'm not against immigration," he emphasized, "but I don't think taxpayers' dollars should be spent on illegals."
Smith supports training for local law enforcement officers that enables them to enforce federal immigration laws.
Smith wants to require everyone who gets a driver's license to be in the state legally and require local institutes providing benefits to enforce federal immigration law.
He said we cannot just pick and choose which laws we will obey and ignore. Last week, he wrote N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper seeking clarification regarding the legal standing of admitting illegal aliens to state community colleges.
"In my view the colleges have no authority to issue such a directive and are placing themselves above the law and therefore are violating federal and state law," Smith said.
He said roads were a big issue, "really, really important to people."
Smith said North Carolina used to be known for its good roads but now "we have some of the worst in the nation."
A recent study found the DOT "inefficient, ineffective and unfocused." If elected, Smith said he would work to change the culture at the Department of Transportation.
"The Department of Transportation is the poster child of what's wrong in Raleigh," Smith said.
Smith is against the annual transfer of $172 million from the Highway Trust Fund into the general fund. He said he would tighten the state government budget by three-quarters of 1 percent and use it for transportation.
The two changes should produce enough money to issue up to $4 billion in highway construction bonds to go toward some immediate needs, Smith said.
Smith would put controls on state spending by adopting a Taxpayer Protection Act, which would limit increases to growth in population plus inflation.
"I want to slow down the growth of government spending," he said.
During his remarks, Smith pointed out the need to improve schools ("the student is the customer and we need an education system that meets the student's needs"), support small business (which creates 83 percent of the jobs in the state) and entrepreneurship, provide public safety, provide affordable health care, defend traditional marriage and protect private property rights.
As a county commissioner, he said he cut a million dollars of waste from the Johnston County budget and built new schools, increased the local teacher's supplement.
"There was no property tax increase," said Smith, who was raised at a Methodist orphanage in Raleigh where his father was a teacher and coach and his mother a cottage housemother.
In the Senate, he worked to increase the punishment for breaking and entering a place of worship and got a work force zone designation between Smithfield and Clayton.
He admitted it was tough being in the opposition party in Raleigh but is convinced he can win the election.
"The Democrats have run over us for 20 years because they have had the resources," Smith said "I want the people in this state to have a good choice."
He pointed out that Democratic candidates Lt. Gov. Bev Perdue and State Treasurer Richard Moore are being paid while they campaign. Each has won statewide office twice and raised millions of dollars for their respective campaigns.
Smith has said it will take $12 million.
"I'll do what it takes," he said.
Since Aug. 2, Smith has visited 65 counties at least once.
The candidate was introduced by Garland Shepheard, who made fun of the Democrats from former Speaker Jim Black to Rep. Thomas Wright, who was indicted Monday.
"This is the man," said Arena Webb, pointing to Smith's photo on a brochure.
Smith said the election should come down to voting for the Democrats who want more government and more taxes or himself, a conservative who believes the power rests with the people.
The article above by W. Terry Smith, Editor, The Daily Southerner can be found online HERE.
Republican hopeful makes stop in area
by Mike Hixenbaugh, Rocky Mount Telegram, December 12, 2007
Whether it's in the east or in the west, Fred Smith says he loves North Carolina barbecue.
That's why the state senator and leading 2008 Republican gubernatorial candidate has dedicated his campaign to sharing the Southern tradition at gatherings in every county in the state.
Tuesday, Smith and his team fired up the grill during stops in Edgecombe and Nash counties.
"I believe a political campaign needs to be a conversation with the people," Smith said to a crowd of about 100 people at Nash Central High School. "You cannot have a conversation with the people unless you go to the people."
Earlier in the day, Smith shared the same message with local supporters at Abram's Restaurant in Tarboro. The first-term state senator discussed his views on hot-button issues such as education reform and the growth of government during his speeches; but no topic stirred the crowds, it seemed, more than illegal immigration did.
The crowd applauded and a few even stood to cheer after Smith explained his plans for tightening policy to keep illegal immigrants out of North Carolina.
"I always like to distinguish between legal and illegal immigration," Smith said earlier in the day during a Telegram interview. "With legal immigration, I think we need to have a big heart because we are all a part of that. But we need a firm hand in enforcing the laws of the land, especially dealing with illegal immigration."
One of those laws, Smith said, deals with illegal immigrants in higher education. Earlier this month, Smith wrote a letter to N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper's office to request a legal opinion about admitting illegal aliens to community colleges - a policy that Smith said violates federal policy.
The topic hit a nerve with the crowds Tuesday.
"If they want to allow illegal immigrants to attend community college, there is a right way of doing it," Smith said. "It needs to go through the General Assembly. We need to have legal ways to meet economic needs."
Some in the Nash County crowd stood again when Smith said he would "fight to defend the family," which he said is under attack. Marriage, Smith added, only should be between a man and a woman. Falling in line with most other Southern states, he intends to push a constitutional amendment to enforce that.
Smith also attempted to draw a distinction between himself and Gov. Mike Easley.
"Like Mr. Easley, my liberal Democratic friends who are running for governor want to be governor of the government," Smith said. "I'm running to be the governor of the people. I believe people are our number one strength."
Edgecombe and Nash counties marked the 65th and 66th stops on Smith's barbecue tour.
Based on an October survey, Smith leads the two other top Republican candidates - Bill Graham and Robert Orr - in name recognition and likability. He said he credits that to his drive to connect with people.
With that goal in mind, Smith hired country music legend Lee Greenwood earlier this year to write and record a campaign theme song titled, "From Good to Great," which plays at each of his campaign stops.
"When we play that song, it really gets people fired up," Smith said. "It's a way to get people emotionally excited about the campaign."
So is the pulled-pork barbecue, Smith added.
The article above by Mike Hixenbaugh was published in the Rocky Mount Telegram on December 12, 2007 and can be found online HERE.
