Area legislators preview Perdue’s State of the State address

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Gov. Bev Perdue will give her biennial State of the State address Monday night in Raleigh. We spoke with two legislators from New Hanover County about what they predict the governor will focus on.

“I think she’s going to focus largely on education, which is something that all of us believe in,” Rep. Susi Hamilton, a freshman in House of Representatives, said. “I also think she’ll touch on job creation. Those will be her two main focuses tomorrow night, I predict.”

Hamilton said that even with the troubling economic times, there is some good news. The projected budget deficit is $1 billion less than expected. It’s down from $3.7 billion to $2.7 billion.

“We’re still going to have to make cuts, but they’re not going to be nearly as devastating as we once thought they were, because of the 30 percent reduction in the deficit,” Hamilton said.

Though the state’s budget deficit is less than first predicted, Hamilton said she’s concerned that local governments will eventually bear the burden of dealing with the state’s budget deficit.

Another freshman to the state legislature, Republican Sen. Thom Goolsby, said he predicts the state of the economy to be the heart of Perdue’s address.

“The fact that we have very high, double-digit unemployment, when all the numbers come in, we are several billion dollars in debt, and we need to get our act straight in North Carolina,” Goolsby said.

Goolsby said that regardless of Perdue’s projected deficit, better or worse, there is still a lot of work that needs to be done in our state.

“We are a couple million ahead of what’s expected, but we still have a $3+ billion shortfall, no matter how you cut it,” Goolsby said. “That’s due to one thing, and that is over spending.”

Gov. Perdue will give her State of the State address Monday at 7 p.m.