Mike Easley
Michael Francis Easley (born 23 March 1950) is the current governor of the U.S. state of North Carolina.
Easley was born in Nash County, North Carolina and earned a degree in political science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1972. He then attended the North Carolina Central University School of Law, earning his J.D. degree in 1976.
From 1982 to 1990, Easley served as the district attorney for the 13th Judicial District in North Carolina, covering Brunswick, Bladen, and Columbus counties. A Democrat, Easley was elected North Carolina Attorney General in 1992, serving in the administration of Governor Jim Hunt.
In 2000, Easley challenged Charlotte mayor Richard Vinroot in a race for Governor of North Carolina; Easley won and has served as governor since 2001.
Gubernatorial Term
The early portions of Easley's term as Governor wer marked by an emphasis on educational reform. One of Easley's major programs was More at Four, a pre-kindergarten for at-risk children. To pay for these programs, Easley supported raising taxes four times in his first four years as Governor. North Carolina now has the highest tax burden of any State in the Southeast.
Easley is currently running for a second term as Governor of North Carolina; he easily defeated, Rickey Kipfer, his only opposition in the Democratic primary, and faces Republican Patrick Ballantine and Libertarian Barbara Howe in November 2004.
