Spaulding says he would push to revive film incentives, block off-shore drilling as governor

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — A candidate for governor was in Wilmington today to take part in the MLK Parade. Afterward, he stopped by WWAY to talk about his campaign.

Durham attorney Ken Spaulding is running against Roy Cooper in March’s Democratic primary.

Spaulding, whose cousin Sandra Spaulding-Hughes use to represent Wilmington in the NC House, says he knows what he wants to do for the Cape Fear as governor, including helping revive the film industry.

“One of the things I want to do is see us return to tax credits, not just grants, but tax credits, because I think that’ll be a stream of flow that will economically keep and enhance opportunities for having the film industry here,” Spaulding said.

He says he also opposes drilling off North Carolina’s cost, and that you won’t hear much about that from Cooper or incumbent Republican Gov. Pat McCrory, because he says they are beholden to big money and special interests like the energy industry. Spaulding says that’s a big difference between them and him.

“Big-dollar donors are controlling the politics of this state and this country,” Spaulding said. “And so this would be a candidacy that would be able, again, to send a message across this state and across this country that people want to feel important again and to no longer feel that we don’t have the strength, we don’t have the power to get elected officials to listen to us.”

Spaulding, who served in the NC House in the late 1970s until the mid 1980s, says he is running to be a public servant and not a politician.

Click on the video above to watch our full interview.