| Part two begins with Sanford ’s association with John F. Kennedy. According to Sanford, supporting Kennedy publicly was one of the most risky things that he did politically, primarily because North Carolina was not ready for some of Kennedy’s ideas. Even though Sanford supported Kennedy privately, he was reluctant to support him publicly until Bobby Kennedy asked him to second Kennedy’s nomination. Many of Sanford’s colleagues supported Humphrey, and they expressed feelings of betrayal when they discovered Sanford’s choice. However, with the same ability he had to win voters’ approval of a new tax plan, Sanford sold the Kennedy plan to North Carolina voters, and with a combined Presidential and governor campaign, Kennedy and Sanford won two major races for the Democratic party.
Two of Sanford’s priorities were to raise teacher salaries and develop a school bond referendum. While the bond had separate financing, the salaries were part of the state budget, so Sanford recommended removing the exceptions on the sales tax. Because the exceptions included food items, the tax became known by many as the “food tax” and Sanford raised welfare payments to offset the effect the tax would have on the poor. The tax financed improvements in education, and as Sanford said, “I thought they got their money’s worth, all those who paid the sales tax.”
Sanford also started the Governor’s School for gifted students. Unlike the School of the Arts, which also began under Sanford’s leadership, the Governor’s school was an alternative for any student who showed excellence in academics, not just artistic creativity. The Carlisle Commission that he developed jointly with William Friday studied the state of education in North Carolina and recommended the beginning of a new higher education concept—the community college. With 57 community colleges and hundreds of academic offerings, the idea spring boarded into something far beyond what Sanford had envisioned.
Racial equity and freedom of speech on college campuses were two other issues that followed Sanford during his governorship. When he began office, Only Raleigh, Greensboro, Charlotte and Winston-Salem were integrating students. Not only did he publicly support the Brown vs. Board decision, but he also sent his own children to an integrated school, indicating his personal support as well. Racial tensions sparked many campus demonstrations, and as they became more violent, Sanford suggested filming the leaders of the groups, indicating why they were protesting. To coordinate the effort, Sanford asked the student body leader at UNC-Chapel Hill to be the liaison—Jesse Jackson.
Other issues that Sanford faced during his tenure as governor were combating poverty, which he did through his North Carolina Fund; the status of women, for which he developed a special commission; and posturing the surgeon general’s statement on smoking to the state’s tobacco farmers and producers.
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