Foes target technology, taxes

North Carolina’s secretary of state has little direct power to lure companies to North Carolina, but both candidates for the post say they want to do all they can to fill voids left by fading traditional employers in industries such as textiles and tobacco.

The office bears a range of responsibilities, most related to business. Among other tasks, it registers corporations, regulates stock sales, issues trademarks, licenses charities and registers legislative lobbyists.

Republican challenger Jay Rao, a Charlotte business consultant, thinks the office would make a fine bully pulpit from which to fight for lower corporate taxes. She says North Carolina’s corporate income tax rate, at 6.9 percent among the highest in the Southeast, is a big bar to attracting new employers.

Two-term incumbent Elaine Marshall, a Lillington Democrat, said her record shows that by streamlining paperwork and putting more of the office’s functions online, she has made it easier for new companies.

Elaine F. Marshall

Home: Lillington, Born: Nov. 18, 1945

Family: Husband, Bill Holdford; five stepchildren; seven grandchildren

Education: Bachelor’s degree in textiles and clothing, University of Maryland, 1968; law degree, Campbell University, 1981

Occupation: Secretary of state, attorney

Political experience: Secretary of state, 1997-present; N.C. Senate, 1993-94

Civic activities: Board of directors, N.C. 4-H Development Fund Inc.; N.C. Masonic Homes advisory board; Business and Professional Women; past member, Meredith College board of trustees; past president, state 4-H; a founder, Harnett County Rape Crisis Center; a founder, Harnett County Help Net for Children

Religious affiliation: Divine Street Methodist Church, Dunn

Top priority if elected: “My top priority is still job creation and consumer protection. We have expanded the technology reach of citizens’ ability to interact with government, and it’s held out as a national model. We’re all about tearing down barriers to public records and government processes.”

Contact: Phone, (919) 821-2452; mail, P.O. Box 25128, Raleigh, N.C. 27611; Web site, www.elainemarshall.com

Jay Rao

Home: Charlotte

Born: July 12, 1967

Family: Single

Education: UNC-Chapel Hill, 1989; bachelor’s degree in political science, bachelor’s degree in international relations.

Occupation: Corporate development consultant.

Political experience: Worked on numerous campaigns, including those of U.S. Rep. Richard Burr, Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory and Patrick Ballantine’s campaign for governor. Nationally, I worked with Citizens for a Sound Economy. I have worked with public policy think tanks.

Civic activities: Toastmasters, Jaycees, Republican women’s groups, and Clean and Pure Kids.

Religious affiliation: Strong and abiding faith in God.

Top priority if elected: “Jobs, jobs, jobs. Improve the business climate for North Carolina. Advocate for lower taxes on small business. Reduce needless, burdensome regulation on business. More assistance from the Office of Secretary of State. New, innovative programs to help small business succeed.”

Contact: Phone, (704) 367-4232; e-mail, JayRao@JayRao.com; Web site, www.JayRao.com

Marshall said it’s worth considering a lower corporate income tax rate, but the full mix of taxes — including state and local taxes — that businesses pay here is near the bottom in the nation.

Marshall said the office is running smoothly, which gives her time for efforts such as investor education. Scams are increasing, she said, and the influx into the state soon of millions of dollars from the tobacco buyout likely will draw more.

Counterfeit goods are a big problem for industries that do business here, she said. In a third term, she said she would increase the office’s concentration on trademark enforcement, adding more enforcement officers and attorneys to prosecute cases, and work more with affected industries to educate them.

This year, she tangled with the legislature on two big issues. She formed a commission that recommended tougher restrictions on lobbyists. She also fought against changes to the state’s approach to buying computer technology, which she believed could lead to the public’s having to pay for access to online documents.

Rao has a history of working with political campaigns, mostly as a fund-raiser. She worked on the first congressional campaign of Richard Burr — who is now running for U.S. Senate — and for gubernatorial candidate Patrick Ballantine, among others.

A native of India, she moved to the United States with her parents when she was 4 years old. Her experience as an immigrant, she said, led to an interest in politics.

“I’m passionate about the freedoms we have as American citizens,” she said. “Politics, for me, symbolizes participation in, and passion for, this country.”

As secretary of state, she said, she would serve as a bridge between business and government, lobbying for lower taxes and fewer regulations. Some of the state’s environmental laws, for example, are barriers to business because they’re stricter than federal laws, she said.

Rao, too, said she thinks technology is a key to the office. She wants to create what she calls an online incubator that would walk a prospective small business owner through all the steps of starting a new business.

She also said she would eliminate vacant positions in the office to help the state’s budget.

Staff writer Jay Price can be reached at 829-4526 or jprice@newsobserver.com.