North Carolina’s next governor, Pat McCrory, spoke Tuesday night at the Chamber of Commerce’s annual meeting in Uptown. It was one of McCrory’s first public appearances since the election.
In many ways it could have been mistaken for the same stump speech you heard during the campaign.
"We have some of the highest taxes in the Southeast," McCrory said. "We have regulations that many businesses are currently complaining about and threatening to move from our state."
McCrory spoke for all of five minutes. He didn’t offer any new specifics about policies, plans, or people for his administration. But, the new governor said he’s assembling his staff, and he’s looking at Charlotte.
"I’m looking for a team of talent right now to help solve these problems," McCrory told WFAE. "Hopefully some of those people are in there and already I have some of those people helping me out on the transition team."
The prospect of more involvement in Raleigh was the highlight for many of the attendees.
"Just really excited to see Charlotte represented and for us to be able to have an active role in what’s happening in state government," says Holly Rash, a vice president at the recruiting firm, Charlotte Works.
McCrory says he’s not planning to play favorites with his hometown. But, the Charlotte business community is looking forward to the renewed influence it hopes will come with the first governor from the area in nearly ninety years.