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RALEIGH - North Carolina's state government needs to be more transparent in dealing with contracting, campaign fundraising and lobbying, the two leading candidates for governor said Tuesday.

Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory, a Republican, and Lt. Gov. Bev Perdue, a Democrat, both laid out their ideas for reform before the N.C. Coalition for Lobbying and Government Reform.

The group, which has members from across the political spectrum, asked the two candidates to explain what they would do to further clean up state government, which has seen legislators go to jail and bureaucrats disgraced and embarrassed in recent years.

Perdue and McCrory both embraced the idea of putting more information about state contracts and who bids on them on the Internet. And both said the legislature needs to make the process of assembling the state budget more easily understood and followed by the public.

The two said too much information was kept secret until late in the process.

Not present at the forum was Mike Munger, a Duke University political science professor and Libertarian candidate for governor. Munger will be on the ballot, but polls show him drawing only single-digit support.

McCrory and Perdue did not appear together. Perdue spoke before lunch and McCrory after.

Perdue said voters across the state had been "shaken" by scandals, such as the one that sent former House Speaker Jim Black to prison.

"I want to be known as the champion of ethics reform and of transparency around the country. I want North Carolina to become the poster child for how we do things right in state government and elective office," Perdue said.

One of her most ambitious proposals is a public financing system for gubernatorial races akin to that used now for judicial races and some other statewide offices. Under the system, the state would create an endowment to fund future gubernatorial campaigns for candidates who demonstrate support and pledge to run "positive" campaigns.

McCrory, too, said gubernatorial campaigns should be reformed. He said campaign fundraising did not keep pace with reality and that many donors would not be known until days before the election or well after.

"Financial reports for gubernatorial candidates and all state elected officials, either the incumbent or those running for office, should have all of their financial reports online and updated weekly," McCrory said. "It is rather ridiculous right now that you have no idea how much money I've raised until a week before the election."

The two candidates used the event to ding their opponent's campaign and the large sums of money that have been involved.

Perdue took aim at outside groups that have spent money on McCrory's behalf, while the Republican complained Perdue had lent her campaign $900,000.

But largely, they seemed to agree on most details of how to clean up politics.

One point of difference had to do with fundraising for nonprofits.

Perdue said that candidates and officeholders should not be prohibited from raising funds for causes like fighting breast cancer, but they should be required to disclose their activities. McCrory said that legislators, in particular, should be restricted from fundraising, saying that their work in office should be the focus of their public service.

McCrory's most attention-getting assertion was that mayors and other local officials feared to challenge state government for fear of losing support for roads and other public projects. Asked for examples, McCrory said he could not break confidence of those who had talked to him.

"You guys know it, come on," McCrory said, talking to reporters afterward. "I'm just telling you what's happened."

Contact Mark Binker at (919) 832-5549 or mark.binker@news-record.com