Mayor switches parties, hints at run for governor

New Bern Mayor Lee Bettis, who once worked as an aide for a Democrat in Washington, has switched political parties and is hinting at plans to run for governor as a Republican.

Bettis, who changed his affiliation this month, said Tuesday that he believes the Grand Old Party has “the most responsible message”— and that, for his own political aspirations, there are “more options open to me as a Republican.”

Bettis initially hedged questions Tuesday about his long-term political goals, saying that his priority is to “be the best mayor for New Bern … and get its budget back on track.” But ultimately, he said he believed he could have a future in state government, not in the N.C. legislature, but in the state’s top job.

Bettis, a lawyer who made a name for himself in 2007 as a defender of the public’s right to use the Trent River, has been New Bern’s mayor for about three months. He defeated four-term mayor Tom Bayliss in a runoff in November.

“My goal right now is to run an open and transparent (city) and to be fiscally responsible for the city,” Bettis said Tuesday. “If I can build that kind of track record, I would be proud if someone asked me to run for governor.”

Before he became a lawyer, Bettis worked as an aide to former U.S. Secretary of Defense Les Aspin when Aspin was still a Democratic representative in Congress. Bettis said Tuesday that, while he still disagrees with “some of the stuff on the fringes” of the Republican Party, he is more supportive of the GOP message than of any other.

“I’m for fiscal responsibility, for smaller government and for states’ rights,” Bettis said. “And I’m not for building $41 million bridges when you can’t afford them” he said, referring to the Alfred Cunningham Bridge downtown.

“I think that in the last few years, the state has done a lot of promising people the world when they know they can’t pay for it,” Bettis said. “That’s not what we are going to be about in New Bern, and I think North Carolina needs someone delivering that message at the state level.”

Bettis did not specifically criticize Gov. Bev Perdue, who is from New Bern. He did say that he thought former Gov. Mike Easley’s administration had cast a cloud over the operations of state government.

“I think that, by doing good work in New Bern, … maybe we can get some recognition at the state level, and maybe that will translate to something more for me in state government,” Bettis said. “Right now, I’m going to just do the best job I can for the next four years.”

Chuck Tyson, the chairman of Craven County’s GOP, has already welcomed Bettis as the newest Republican elected official here.

Nikie Mayo can be reached at 252-635-5665 or nmayo@freedomenc.com.