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Occupation
Attorney - Partner in the law firm Dalton and Miller

Birthdate
May 21, 1949

Address
Campaign Address - PO Box 1696, Raleigh NC 27602

Web site/e-mail address
www.walterdalton.org

Party affiliation
Democrat

Elective experience
Member of the NC Senate - 12 years

Other relevant experience (boards and commissions)
Served on:
Chair - Southern Regional Education Board Advisory Council (membership consists of legislators from 16 southern states)
NC Rural Center Economic Development Board
NC Economic Development Board
Rutherford County Red Cross
NC Tourism Board
Local Community College Board

Family
Married, 37 years to Lucille Dalton - two adult children, Brian & Elizabeth

Why have you chosen to run for this office?
I want to continue working to move North Carolina forward and I believe my twelve years in the NC Senate have prepared me to lead in that regard. I've worked on issues that are fundamentally important to our citizens - improving public education by reducing class size and raising teacher pay, creating and retaining good jobs with good benefits, and providing citizens access to affordable, quality healthcare. I am running for Lieutenant Governor to help guarantee that these important issues continue to be addressed and remain at the forefront of our state's agenda for the future.

What distinguishes you most from your opponent?
My opponent and I differ on our vision for North Carolina's future and in our ability to work with others to improve the lives of our citizens. My public service has been focused on proactively working on the issues that are vital to North Carolina's success. I have fought on behalf of working families in my district and across the state to raise teacher pay and reduce class sizes; provide funding to create and retain thousands of highly skilled, good-paying jobs; support our Child Health Insurance Program; and to create programs like NC Senior Care which helped 120,000 seniors afford prescription drugs. My efforts were recognized when an independent survey ranked me one of the most effective members of the Senate. If I am elected Lieutenant Governor I will continue to work with others and I will work hard to conquer the new challenges that we face to make North Carolina a better place to live and work.

Key qualifications you would bring to the job:
I bring experience and an ability and willingness to work hard to solve the problems facing our state. My 12 year record of serving the people in the North Carolina Senate and my work across the state on important issues like education and economic development have prepared me to be an effective Lieutenant Governor. I believe my vision and commitment to improve our state through innovative programs like Learn and Earn, the high risk insurance pool and incentives for small businesses that offer health insurance to their employees are just a few examples of how I've worked to help move our state forward. I understand the issues that are important to our families - a good public education system, good jobs with good benefits, and affordable and accessible healthcare. I have the experience to begin working on these issues on behalf of the people of North Carolina from the very first day I become Lieutenant Governor.

List your top three campaign issues and your stances on those issues (briefly, please)
Education - North Carolina has made great progress but we must continue improving public education. Raising teacher pay and reducing class size, increasing access to technology in the classroom, reducing the dropout rate, and focusing on vocational education will be a few of my top priorities. We must also continue to look at the future and invest in new ways to educate, which is, what we have done with the innovative Learn & Earn program that provides the opportunity to receive a community college technical degree within five years of entering high school or provides two years of credits toward a four year degree. This is just one example of what we must do to prepare our students for new 21st century jobs.

Economic Development - North Carolina is currently ranked #1 in Site Selection magazine and #3 in Forbes for its excellent business climate, but we must continue our leadership role in economic development and job creation. Our focus must be on training and retraining citizens for the highly skilled, good paying jobs of the future so that we are competitive not only nationally, but globally. Economic development cannot be separated from education, so we must ensure that our public schools, community colleges and universities are working toward our goal of keeping North Carolina an attractive place to live and work, and a top choice for companies looking to locate.

Healthcare - I want to continue efforts to ensure that our citizens have access to quality, affordable healthcare. Part of any plan should include helping seniors with prescription drugs, continuing programs that insure children, and helping guarantee that employees have access to healthcare coverage. We must also explore pools for health insurance outside the workplace. As Chair of the Health and Wellness Trust Fund, the Lieutenant Governor will play a leading role in our state's healthcare policy.

Should the governor and lieutenant governor run as one ticket?
This is a decision that the people must make. It requires a constitutional amendment, which can only be accomplished by a vote of the people.

How can the profile of this office be enhanced?
The profile of the office of Lieutenant Governor is defined by the person who holds it-and I plan to use my legislative background to champion initiatives and press members of the legislature to focus on education and economic development initiatives. As a member of both the State Board of Education and the North Carolina Economic Development Board, and as Chair of the Health and Wellness Trust Fund, the profile of the Lieutenant Governor can be significant and vital to the future of North Carolina. As Lieutenant Governor, I will use these positions to make sure these boards work together to attract good jobs and expand the availability of health care to all North Carolinians.

Three recent Lieutenant Governors raised the profile of the job in different ways: Bob Jordan created the Rural Center, which has been vitally important to rural North Carolina; Dennis Wicker focused on cracking down on impaired drivers; Beverly Perdue made significant strides in combating childhood obesity, and she led the charge to save military jobs when our bases were threatened with closure. When North Carolina looks back on my leadership, I hope they will see we have transitioned our economy so that all of North Carolina, rural and urban, is prospering and that the quality of life is better for all our citizens.