From Staff Reports

Rep. Patsy Keever, D-Buncombe County, fired several verbal jabs at state Republicans during her address to the Council of Independence Business Owners at a Feb. 3 breakfast and issues meeting in Asheville.

“You always have such good programs,” she told CIBO, noting that she always has every intention of attending, “but I don’t — I stay in bed” because they start so early in the morning. The crowd laughed.

“This morning, I’m here because I’m running for the 10th District” congressional seat. “One reason I’m running is my Republican friends have drawn me out of my (11th) district” via recent redistricting.

Keever said that running for office “is something I enjoy doing because I believe” in the job of representing her constituents in the state General Assembly.

The Charlotte native, who holds a bachelor’s degree from Duke University and a master’s in education from Western Carolina University, noted that she taught in public schools for more than 25 years and served three consecutive terms on the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners.

She was elected to the House in 2010 with the campaign slogan “putting the people first.” She defeated incumbent D. Bruce Goforth to win the job.

Keever then reviewed the “four things” she believes in, terming them the “four E’s.” These include education, economics, environment and equality.

First, she asserted that education is “the backbone of our economy ... Public education is for everyone ... It’s the birthright of every child in North Carolina.”

Patsy Keever

Rep. Patsy Keever

Keever also said that economics is
intertwined with education, as those who are better educated tend to do better financially — thereby fueling the economy.

Regarding the environment, she said succinctly, “We need to keep it clean.”

As for equality, she asserted, “I believe every single person deserves” to be treated equally under the laws of the land.

“I truly believe in the system,” Keever said. “I think that it’s great that we have two ways of thinking about things,” apparently alluding to the Democratic and Republican parties, or liberal and conservative idealogies.

She concluded by noting, “We need to keep in mind — put people first.”

During a question-and-answer session, an unidentified male CIBO member asked, “Everybody’s for education. Nobody’s not for education ... How do you recommend controlling the costs of education?”

Keever replied that the state cannot cut the costs of education with the same approach as private businesses. She added that there are “more children and more things (requirements) put on schools” each year, necessitating increased spending.

Citing recently released statistics, a female CIBO member asked, “Buncombe County had a net gain of 100 jobs” in 2011 — and “that’s not very good. What will you need to do” to improve the environment for job creation?

“A couple of things,” Keever answered. “We need to support the businesses that are already here.”

She added, “I don’t think we’re all about government creating jobs ... What we need are customers.”

However, Keever also said, “We can’t have the (state) layoffs like we did in education,” which she blamed on the first Republican-controlled General Assembly in Raleigh in more than a century.

“It’s all of us together. We’re all in this boat together. We need to lift the boat together,” Keever said.