The Democratic candidates for Governor will have three hour-long debates this week, each airing live on local television stations.

Lieutenant Governor Walter Dalton has launched his bid to replace Gov. Bev Perdue, who earlier today said she will not run for re-election.

He announced his intentions in this prepared statement to the media:

“I believe that our future economy and better jobs depend on our historic commitment to education. After all, education is in North Carolina’s DNA – it's what sets us apart and it's what will determine our future. However, you can’t make progress if you are pointed in the wrong direction. Pat McCrory and the Republican leadership are facing the wrong way by cutting teachers, reducing scholarships and abandoning economic development. They are doing lasting damage to our state. I’ve dedicated my career to improving education at all levels and making North Carolina a great place to do business.

“Today, I'm announcing that I am running for Governor. Lucille and I love this state and we understand tough political races. I am the only candidate who has run and won statewide and I look forward to waging an aggressive campaign. Elections are about choices. As a state we must decide the direction in which we will turn. With this campaign, I choose to look ahead to a brighter future.  I choose progress.  I choose a future where public education is the foundation of our economy.”

John Burney of Wilmington, who died recently, was one of North Carolina's most colorful political figures of the 20th century. Burney served as a local prosecutor and in the state Senate. But it was in the 1960s governor's race that Burney seized the political limelight with an innovative new strategy: Televised campaign rallies.

Burney attended Wake Forest law school back when it was in the town of Wake Forest in Wake County. Like many Wake Forest law students, Burney was loyal to professor I. Beverly Lake. When Lake ran for governor as a strong segregationist in the 1960 Democratic primary, Burney supported his old professor. Lake had little political experience. Lake was stiff, Burney told me. Burney was not. He took Lake behind a factory in Wilmington and gave him a lesson in retail politics. Burney coached Lake to say: "I'm Beverly Lake. I'm running for governor. What do you need for this area? More promises?" Lake became a competent campaigner. 

Burney came up with the idea of buying air time and televising campaign rallies. The Lake campaign believed they were the first live political rallies televised in the United States. Burney's job was to warm up the crowd -- and did he ever. He did so by peeling the skin off Lake's main opponent, Fayetteville lawyer Terry Sanford.  Burney was a large, hulking orator, an old-fashioned fire-breather. Sanford had promised too much, Burney said. "They say politics makes strange bedfellows," Burney once said. "I do hope Terry Sanford doesn't make any promises in his sleep." The crowd howled. 

Sanford won and became governor, president of Duke University and U.S. senator. Lake served on the state Supreme Court. His son became chief justice of the state Supreme Court. Burney lives on in grainy videos from 1960, an innovator and as good a political entertainer as North Carolina has ever seen.

--John Drescher

I interviewed Burney for my book on that 1960 race, "Triumph of Good Will: How Terry Sanford Beat a Champion of Segregation and Reshaped the South." I don't know if I've ever had more fun talking with an old pol. 

Series of events leading to Governor Easley's purchase in Cannonsgate development.

With more news about furloughs today (Under the Dome, Page 3B), I went back and pulled what Gov. Beverly Perdue had to say about them during her discussion with the editorial board last week. State Treasurer Janet Cowell has cautioned lawmakers that forced furloughs for state workers might affect the state's bond rating. House Speaker Joe Hackney wants furloughs on the budget-hole-filling table, but Perdue says other states have found that furloughs cause more trouble than they're worth.

Maybe it's because we're faced with the devastating loss of 27 more newsroom colleagues that I found Gov. Beverly Perdue's discussion of retraining efforts for white-collar workers one of the more interesting things she talked about in a meeting with the ed board last week. She said it's really the first time the country has been faced with trying to retrain high-finance and high-tech workers for other fields (not that we're high-tech or high-income here at ye ol' N&O, you understand).

Take a listen.

See photos from the funeral for former N.C. Governor Bob Scott. Photos by staff photojournalist
Chuck Liddy.

See a photo gallery of images from the career of Bob Scott, who served as governor from 1969-1973.

See photos from Gov. Beverly Perdue's first day in office. Photos by News and Observer staff photographer Shawn Rocco.

Video: Governor Beverly Perdue takes the oath of office Saturday, January 10, 2009, during an inauguration ceremony in Raleigh. (Staff video by Travis Long)