THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, October 7, 1996 TAG: 9610070037
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY DENNIS PATTERSON, ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: BOONE LENGTH: 69 lines
In the darkened auditorium at Watauga High School, students in the drama class are getting their first taste of what it's like to be on stage.
They are standing in a loose circle on the dimly lit stage when Gov. James B. Hunt Jr. strides out of the shadows.
``Let me give you some advice,'' says Hunt, who had stopped at the school as part of an 11-county mountain tour.
``Learn to look people in the eye and say your name,'' he said. ``Be proud of your name. Say it clearly so people can understand it.''
That is a skill Hunt started developing more than 40 years ago when he began running for office in the Future Farmers of America and later as student body president at North Carolina State University.
It helped him win a term as lieutenant governor and three terms as governor. And this year, he is using it again as he seeks a fourth term.
But he's not acting when he tells people he loves his job, Hunt said.
``I love it because it's real stuff,'' he said. ``What we're doing is going to make life better for children and for the people of the state.
``I'm one who wants to get into the arena,'' he said. ``I want to get in there and see how I can make things better. I'm not just going to sit on the sidelines and throw stones.''
Hunt has put out a brochure outlining how he kept campaign promises he made in 1992. Supporters are given a sheet of Hunt administration accomplishments to use in talking to others.
But on the stump, Hunt says he doesn't want to focus on the past.
``We're proud of our past. We're proud of what we've done,'' Hunt told a luncheon fund-raiser in Burnsville. ``But we've got to look to the future. This campaign is about our future.''
Hunt says he will focus on two main themes - giving children a better start in life and making sure the state upholds the values that North Carolina families share.
Under the first item, Hunt includes Smart Start, the early childhood education initiative that was the centerpiece of his 1992 campaign. Thirty-five programs, including some that cover several counties, have been funded and 12 more will receive planning money in January.
That topic also covers education improvements, including raising the pay of teachers to the national average by the end of the decade. And Hunt also lists efforts to attract industry as a way to improve the future of children because those efforts produce good jobs.
Under the issues of values, Hunt lists hard work and personal responsibility as shared values.
More prisoners need to be put to work, Hunt says. And welfare recipients will be trading a welfare check for a paycheck under his Work First program.
A tougher program to collect child support payments from deadbeat parents is making sure that parents take responsibility for their children, Hunt said.
At political rallies, Hunt urges Democrats to reach out to Republicans and independents as they prepare for the November elections. He said the appeal is not based on the rapid growth of Republican and independent voters.
``It is not a partisan reason,'' Hunt said. ``It is a reason based on trying to get people to come together to build up this state.
``People are tired of all the divisions, and they've got no time for all that negative stuff,'' he said.
``Obviously, I'm trying to lay the groundwork for what I want us to do in the next four years,'' he said. ``And I'm trying to be very specific.
``I'm not being vague about what I want,'' he said. ``I want people to know what they're voting for when they vote for me.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
Gov. James B. Hunt Jr.
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