Our friends across the Virginia border would just love for us to back off our economic development efforts.
Last month, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell participated in a town hall event on jobs and the economy put on by The Atlantic magazine.
Gov. McDonnell got a question from some UNC-Chapel Hill students.
In his answer, Gov. McDonnell said he was glad to be getting a question from the Tar Heel state.
“Gov. Perdue has done a very good job, she’s a very staunch competitor with Virginia,” he said. “Gov. Perdue has actually done very well in attracting jobs to her state.”
It’s not the first time Gov. McDonnell has mentioned North Carolina’s job recruitment and investment successes. In his State of the State address in January, Gov. McDonnell mentioned a $54 million proposal to help his state “better compete with Maryland and North Carolina; India and China.”
Gov. Perdue has made jobs her number one focus. And her efforts have paid off with 58,000 new jobs pledged and $12.5 billion in new investments. Our competition is going after us, which is why now is not the time to cut back on our economic development incentives and efforts.
As Gov. McDonnell reminds us, the fight to attract jobs and spur economic investment is only getting fiercer.