Mike Easley | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Easley in 2011 | |
| 72ndGovernor of North Carolina | |
| In office January 6, 2001 – January 10, 2009 | |
| Lieutenant | Bev Perdue |
| Preceded by | Jim Hunt |
| Succeeded by | Bev Perdue |
| 49thAttorney General of North Carolina | |
| In office January 9, 1993 – January 6, 2001 | |
| Governor | Jim Hunt |
| Preceded by | Lacy Thornburg |
| Succeeded by | Roy Cooper |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Michael Francis Easley (1950-03-23)March 23, 1950 (age 75) |
| Party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Children | Michael F. Easley Jr. |
| Education | Belmont Abbey College (attended) University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (BA) North Carolina Central University (JD) |
| Signature |  |
Michael Francis Easley (born March 23, 1950) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the72nd governor ofNorth Carolina from 2001 to 2009. He is the first[1][2] governor of North Carolina to have been convicted of a felony.[3] The conviction was later expunged by the Chief Judge of the Superior Court of Wake County.[4]A member of theDemocratic Party, Easley was North Carolina's secondCatholic governor.[5]
Mike Easley was born on March 23, 1950, inRocky Mount, North Carolina, to Henry Alexander Easley and Huldah Marie Easley. He grew up on his family's 60-acre farm inNash County and was one of seven children in a largeIrish Catholic family.[6] Easley attended a local Catholic school before transferring and later graduating fromRocky Mount Senior High School in 1968.[7][6] Easley attendedBelmont Abbey College for two years before transferring to theUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he earned a degree with honors in political science in 1972.[6] While at UNC he was a member ofPhi Gamma Delta fraternity. He then attended theNorth Carolina Central University School of Law, earning his J.D. degree, with honors, in 1976.[8] While a law student, Easley served as managing editor of the school's Law Review.[6]
Easley is married toMary Easley (née Pipines), who worked in theProvost's Office atNorth Carolina State University until June 8, 2009. She is a former law professor atNorth Carolina Central University and also worked for ten years as aprosecutor. The two have one son,Michael F. Easley Jr.
Easley became an assistant district attorney for the 13th Judicial District in 1976.[7] He was electedDistrict Attorney, one of the youngest ever in the state, in 1982.[9]
ADemocrat, Easley ran unsuccessfully in that party's 1990 primary for theU.S. Senate; he lost to formerCharlotte mayorHarvey Gantt, who himself lost to incumbentJesse Helms. Easley was electedNorth Carolina Attorney General in 1992[citation needed] and sworn in on January 9, 1993.[10] He won reelection in 1996. In the 1996 election for attorney general, Easley garnered 59.07% of the vote, compared with opponent Robert H. Edmonds Jr.'s 40.93% of votes. This represented a margin of victory of 446,169 votes.[11]
In 2000, Easley ran to succeed the term-limited Hunt asGovernor of North Carolina. He defeated incumbentLieutenant GovernorDennis A. Wicker in the Democratic primary, and then successfully challengedRepublicanRichard Vinroot, former mayor ofCharlotte, in the general election. Easley was reelected in2004, running againstNew Hanover County state senatorPatrick J. Ballantine.
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In the closing weeks of the 2000 gubernatorial race, actorAndy Griffith filmed an ad endorsing Easley, which some observers believe led to Easley's victory, called the "Mayberry Miracle".[12]
Education reform was a centerpiece of Easley's tenure as governor, to such an extent that in 2008, Easley received the inaugural "America's Greatest Education Governor" award from theNational Education Association. The award was created to showcase "public officials who have demonstrated exemplary achievements and accomplishments in advancing public education".[13] Easley was commended by the NEA for his focus on improving teacher working conditions[14] and for affording teachers a "seat at the table" in discussions surrounding the implementation of education reforms in the state.[13]
One of Easley's major programs wasMore at Four, an academicpre-kindergarten for at-risk children.More at Four has received praise from groups such as theNational Education Association.[13]
Another signature program[citation needed] of Easley's was the "Learn and Earn" initiative, which enabled North Carolina high school students to earn college credit by taking online courses at no cost to them or to their families.[13] The "Learn and Earn" program received theInnovations in American Government Award fromHarvard Kennedy School. Presenting the award, Harvard noted that in "2006-2007, rates of grade promotion and graduation for Learn and Earn participants were higher than the statewide average, with nearly half the Learn and Earn high schools seeing 100 percent promotion rates". Harvard also observed that these numbers have not "been skewed by "creaming" that is counting of only high scoring children. The program purposely targets kids at risk, those for whom English is a second language[,] and those who would be first-generation college students."[15] Easley also initiated a program to enable North Carolina students to attain a debt-free undergraduate education by receiving EARN Grants of up to $8,000 over two years.[16] In 2007 Easley wrote and published a children's book,Look Out, College, Here I Come! the proceeds of which fund a North Carolina education charity.[17]
His tenure faced budget shortfalls, tough economic times, and natural disasters such ashurricanes andfloods. Easley received mixed reviews on his handling offiscal problems in the state. His supporters claimed many of the budget shortfall situations were created before he even took office, during the Hunt administration, while his detractors criticized his support of raising sales taxes multiple times to cover the cost of new state programs.[citation needed]During his administration, Easley confronted thestate legislature on numerous occasions. Easley is the first North Carolina governor to use the power ofveto, which voters gave the governor's office in 1996. First, in November 2002, Easley vetoed legislation related to unqualified appointments to various boards and commissions. In June 2003, he vetoed a bill that stripped the State Board of Education of its authority to set teacher standards. In August 2003, he vetoed HB 917 which raised fees charged by finance companies. In July 2004, he vetoed HB 429 which would have required local governments to make cash payments tobillboard owners of up to five times the annual revenue generated by the billboard upon its removal. In March 2005, he vetoed SB 130 which would have conveyed state property. In September 2005, he vetoed HB 706 which would have affected teacher standards. In August 2007 he vetoed HB 1761, a controversial financial incentives bill which would have awarded up to 40 million dollars to companies within the state. Easley has used his veto power a total of nine times as of 2008.[18] His ninth veto was the first to beoverridden by the legislature in North Carolina history.[19]
Easley ran for a second term as governor in 2004. He defeatedRickey Kipfer, his only opponent in the Democratic primary, and faced Republican former state senatorPatrick Ballantine and LibertarianBarbara Howe in November 2004. Though the state voted for RepublicansGeorge W. Bush forpresident andRichard Burr asUnited States Senator, Easley won his second term as governor and Democrats reestablished control over both chambers of the state legislature (the House had been split equally between the two major parties since 2003).
He also supported a controversial statewidelottery, which was ultimately approved on August 31, 2005, after Lieutenant GovernorBev Perdue cast a tie-breaking vote in the Senate.[20] He has stated that proceeds from the lottery will be used for much-needed educational programs.[citation needed]Easley presided over 27 executions, including the 1,000th after thedeath penalty was reintroduced in theUnited States in 1976. He, however, grantedcommutation to twodeath row inmates.[21] The North Carolina governor has the sole right to commute death sentences imposed by a state court.
Governor Easley declined to run againstElizabeth Dole for her Senate seat in 2008.[22] He was considered to be a possible candidate for U.S. Senate to run against SenatorRichard Burr in 2010, but he had strongly denied interest in the race. TheRaleigh News & Observer speculated in October 2006 that Easley was going to act like a presidential contender in order to position himself for the vice presidential nomination or acabinet post.[23]
In 2008in a case that drew international attention, a North Carolinastate trooper was filmed hanging and kicking apolice dog he was training. After the trooper's superiors recommended minor punishment, Easley's office recommended that the trooper be fired.[24] The trooper sued the state after the Highway Patrol refused his reinstatement. In 2010, a superior court judge ruled in the troopers favor and he was reinstated with back pay.[25]
As governor, Easley was a member of theNational Governors Association, theSouthern Governors' Association, and theDemocratic Governors Association. However, he was known for being "reclusive" while in office.[26]
He was succeeded as governor by hisLieutenant Governor,Beverly Perdue, who defeatedCharlotte MayorPat McCrory in aclose race. After leaving office, Easley went to work part-time promotingearly college high schools and similar programs for theBill and Melinda Gates Foundation.[27]
During the2004 Democratic primaries, he supported North Carolina SenatorJohn Edwards.
In the 2008 campaigns, Easley initially endorsed the presidential candidacy of SenatorHillary Clinton on April 28, 2008. After SenatorBarack Obama won the Democratic nomination, Easley endorsed him against Republican nomineeJohn McCain.[28]
Easley was faced with controversies in 2006 stemming from campaign and overseas travel.[22][29][30] Easley's wife, Mary Easley, took two trips out of the country, one toFrance and one toRussia andEstonia, for cultural exchanges. Republican critics called the trips overly lavish in a time of economic downturn for the state.[30] However, the director of theNorth Carolina Museum of Art defended Mary Easley's trips as having helped the museum receive loaned art items fromThe Hermitage inSt. Petersburg. Mrs. Easley's efforts also resulted in theNorth Carolina Museum of Art's obtaining a collection ofAuguste Rodin's work valued at $35 million,[31] and in the construction of a newGreek art wing for the museum.[32]
More controversy surfaced months after Easley left office in January 2009. According to Raleigh'sNews & Observer, theFederal Bureau of Investigation ordered theNorth Carolina Highway Patrol to produce all records involving private air travel for Easley and his family. The newspaper reported that Easley may have violated campaign laws.[33]
The North Carolina State Board of Elections opened hearings into Easley's conduct on October 26, 2009.[34]
Following a two-year federal and state investigation into campaign finance irregularities, Easley entered anAlford plea to a singlefelony violation of statecampaign finance law, accepting responsibility for his campaign's failure to report that he took a $1,600 helicopter ride with a supporter in October 2006. While Easley did not admit guilt, he "acknowledged there was sufficient evidence to convict him of a crime."[35] He pled guilty by entering anAlford plea to a single state campaign finance violation. He paid a $1,000 "community penalty."[36] He became the first[1][2] governor of North Carolina to have been convicted of a felony.[37]Federal officials ended their investigation because of the plea.[35] Following the conviction, Easley's law license was suspended but formally restored on appeal in January 2013.[1] On January 4, 2013, the Senior Resident Superior Court Judge for Wake County granted Easley aCertificate of relief from disabilities.[38] The conviction was later expunged by the Chief Judge of the Superior Court of Wake County.[39]
Easley is a practicing attorney in North Carolina. He represents businesses and corporations and has been involved in several significant civil trials. Politically, in 2018, he joined former North Carolina Governors in successfully opposing state constitutional amendments that would have weakened the powers of the governor.[40] He also joined in the filing of amicus briefs to oppose gerrymandered congressional and legislative districts in North Carolina.[41]
Easley is a fan ofNASCAR. He was involved in a crash atLowe's Motor Speedway nearConcord, North Carolina, in 2003. He was behind the wheel ofJimmie Johnson's #48Lowe'sChevrolet Monte Carlo, when it hit a retaining wall going 120 mph. He was not seriously injured, since he was wearing ahead-and-neck restraint at the time.[42][43] He is also a fan of the cartoonKing of the Hill, and while governor, instructed his pollster to separate the state's voters into those who watch the show and those who don't.[44] Easley reasoned that his constituents' ideologies were similar to characters on the show, and would base the explanation of his issues on whether or not theKing of the Hill characters would understand them or not.[45]
Easley is also an avid amateurwoodworker, and appeared on an episode ofThe Woodwright's Shop where he made awalnut table.[46]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Mike Easley | 1,530,858 | 62.96 | ||
| Republican | Joe Dean | 900,573 | 37.04 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Mike Easley | 1,453,196 | 59.07 | ||
| Republican | Robert Edmunds Jr. | 1,007,027 | 40.93 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Mike Easley | 1,492,170 | 52.4 | ||
| Republican | Richard Vinroot | 1,335,862 | 44.2 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Mike Easley (Incumbent) | 1,939,154 | 56.4 | +4.0 | |
| Republican | Patrick Ballantine | 1,495,021 | 43.2 | ||
The two-term Democrat, who left office earlier this year, had made the simple walnut table on a special episode of "The Woodwright's Shop" in 2007.[permanent dead link]
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forAttorney General of North Carolina 1992, 1996 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forGovernor of North Carolina 2000,2004 | Succeeded by |
| Legal offices | ||
| Preceded by | Attorney General of North Carolina 1993–2001 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Governor of North Carolina 2001–2009 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Former Governor | Order of precedence of the United States | Succeeded byas Former Governor |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
