Bowles Campaigns Locally, Emphasizes Fiscal Issues

There were more cameras than coffee pots at Mama Dip's Kitchen on Friday morning.

Erskine Bowles circulated between packed tables at the casual meet, greet and eat. He posed for pictures as loyal Democrats flooded the family diner, sporting "Bowles for U.S. Senate" tags.

Despite the casual setting, Bowles was there for business, long-time supporter Martha Carmichael said.

"Because he's a wealthy white male, if he's not exposed to people, they're not going to vote for him," she said.

UNC-Chapel Hill political science professor Thad Beyle also said Bowles' appearance at the down-home locale was strategic. "We've got a lot of action (in Chapel Hill)," he said. "This is just one of those places that Democrats come."

Beyle said Bowles has been concentrating much of his campaign efforts in the Triangle, the Triad, and the Charlotte area in hopes of influencing their largely Democratic voting population. "He's being very intensive about going where the Democratic voters are," he said.

Bowles said Friday that he is confident he will rake in the necessary votes to win the Democratic nomination in the Sept. 10 primary.

"Today, I can guarantee you this team is going to win on Tuesday," Bowles said. "I think we're going to win because we've run a positive, issues-focused campaign."

Issues he took a stand on Friday ranged from Social Security to education.

Bowles said he would push for more money to be dedicated to improving K-12 education and increasing the accessibility of higher education institutions. "We need more Pell Grant funding so everybody who wants to go to college can," he said.

Bowles also pledged to work to raise the minimum wage, to protect Social Security, to secure prescription drug benefits and to preserve the environment, but he spoke most extensively on fiscal responsibility.

"We've got to get back to fiscal responsibility," Bowles said, adding that balancing the budget does not mandate severing social programs.

"Don't let anybody tell you that you can't be fiscally responsible and protect Medicare," he said. "Don't let anybody tell you that you can't be fiscally responsible and increase funding for education."

Bowles cited his time helping balance the budget under President Clinton's administration as an experience that would give him a leg up in addressing issues of fiscal responsibility.

Bowles served as director of the Small Business Administration in 1993 and as White House Chief of Staff from 1996-98.

Though he cited his experience in Washington, D.C., Bowles insisted that he is a true North Carolinian and will use his Capitol Hill know-how to serve the state.

"I don't think we need a senator from Washington to move to North Carolina. We need a senator from North Carolina to move to Washington," he said. "We also want somebody who can go to Washington and get something done."

Chapel Hill Mayor Kevin Foy said Bowles represented the state well during his previous stays in the capital city.

"In his stints in Washington, Erskine has represented what's best about North Carolina."

 

The State & National Editor can be reached at stntdesk@unc.edu.