Script:
McCrory: "Why am I running for governor? We take too much money from the pockets of men and women working in North Carolina. Our state income tax is too high. North Carolinians are being punished for working. That's wrong. The problem is our state government is wasting too much of what we send them. I've used the veto pen to stop tax increases in the past, and I won't hesitate to do the same thing as your governor. The difference is leadership."
Announcer: "Pat McCrory for governor."
Visuals:
Like his first ad, this one shows the Charlotte mayor in a blue shirt and tie in front of a white background. As he speaks, we see images of an older couple sitting at a table, of someone writing a check and of McCrory leading a meeting. Phrases pop up: "Lower the state income tax" and "Vetoed property tax increase."
The message:
You are paying too much in taxes. McCrory will use his executive experience to stop future increases.
The reality:
Whether taxes are "too high" is subjective. Personal income-tax rates are higher than in many states, though some states rely on higher property or sales taxes. McCrory has not said how much he wants to lower income taxes, but he says cutting them would be a priority.
Government waste is a trickier topic. Examples abound: $152 million in construction over three years that State Auditor Les Merritt says was unnecessary and $400 million for mental health over two years that The News & Observer of Raleigh says was waste. As big as those numbers are, they are fractions of a budget that, including all sources, totals $43 billion. McCrory has not specified where he would cut state spending.
Observer research turned up only one instance in which McCrory successfully stopped a tax increase with his veto -- in 2005. He did veto a proposed tax hike in 2006, but Democrats overrode that. Also in 2005, the council overrode his veto of a proposed car-rental tax. Overall, McCrory has vetoed City Council ideas 21 times.
Candidate: Pat McCrory
Office sought: Governor.
Party: Republican.
Time: 30 seconds.
Where playing: Charlotte, Triad (Greensboro/High Point/ Winston-Salem) and Triangle (Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill) markets, and Fox News statewide.
Title: "Veto."
Topics: Taxes, spending. An occasional series examining candidates' political ads
