Hal Tarleton
Opinion Editor

3/30/07

The first of the 2008 gubernatorial candidates dropped by the Daily Times Thursday afternoon, and political reporter Alex Keown and I had a relaxing, pleasant conversation with Bob Orr.

I had first met Orr when he ran to keep his appointive seat on the N.C. Court of Appeals in 1988. His sharp, soft-spoken style impressed me at the time. Since then, Orr has spent eight years on the Court of Appeals and 10 years on the state Supreme Court. He resigned in 2004 to head the N.C. Institute for Constitutional Law. That organization challenged the incentives the state and counties have handed out to various businesses and the passage of the state lottery. He said the institute raised awareness of these issues but did not win any legal victories.

As a judge, Orr won the respect of both Democrats and Republicans. He wrote a famous dissent in the Maready case challenging state economic incentives.

Orr does not come across as a typical politician with a ready litany of specific proposals, grandiose ideas and trademark programs. Friendly and garrulous, he comes across as a welcome neighbor, but one with a steel-trap mind and a clear understanding of himself and the world around him.

Can this kind of candidate win the governor's race? He has two likely opponents in the Republican primary -- state Sen. Fred Smith of Johnston County and attorney Bill Graham of Salisbury. Either can easily outspend Orr, but if Orr can meet enough GOP voters, he can win. Voters cannot help but be impressed by this man whose experience on the courts brings another dimension to the Governor's Mansion.

I asked Orr when was the last time an appellate judge or former appellate judge had run for governor. He couldn't name one, but that didn't seem to bother him.