Why didn’t Gov. Perdue attend the ceremony that celebrated 200 “green jobs” coming to Stanly County? Carolina Journal’s Don Carrington gets to the heart of the cringe-worthy situation in which the governor is using state power against a private company — Alcoa — the very company that — without incentives — enticed 200 jobs to the area.
Perdue’s presence might have been awkward. ERI came to Badin as a result of recruitment efforts by Alcoa, the Pittsburgh-based aluminum maker. Perdue is leading the state’s efforts to take over Alcoa’s Yadkin Project, comprising four hydroelectric dams and reservoirs located along a 38-mile section of the Yadkin River. Had Perdue or other top administration officials attended the event, they may have faced uncomfortable questions about the state’s continuing battle against the industrial giant.
Neither the governor’s office nor the commerce department has issued a news release announcing the new jobs. Crisco is also a key player in the Perdue’s efforts to take over Alcoa’s facilities.
Perdue’s website lists 278 job announcements the governor has made since January 2009, with details on 91 projects. Sixty-four of the 91 projects listed investments less than the $10 million ERI project. Seventy-six of the 91 cited employment projections lower than the 200 jobs at the ERI project. In addition, press releases by the governor’s office have touted job announcements as minor as the creation of three full-time jobs at a nail salon in Benson.
Perdue spokeswoman Chrissy Pearson told Carolina Journal that the governor had a prior commitment. CJ also asked Pearson if the job announcement would affect the state’s efforts to take over Alcoa’s facilities. “The governor’s concerns about the Alcoa situation have not changed,” she said.
