Candidate Biography (submitted by campaign):

Walter Dalton is a proven leader with a track record of getting results for North Carolina. Elected to the North Carolina Senate in 1996, Walter has become known for his ability to find common-sense solutions to the tough problems facing our state.

Walter knows North Carolina needs strong, steady leadership to guide us to a prosperous future. That’s why he worked to ensure that schools prepare our children to compete in a global economy. Walter has worked throughout his years in the Senate – including four years as Chair of the Education Committee – to reduce class sizes, bring accountability to classrooms and increase teacher pay.

Dalton has worked to bring new, high-quality jobs to our state, and led the effort to provide a tax credit to small businesses that offer their employees health insurance.  He was instrumental in crafting the NC Senior Care program, making it possible for more than 120,000 seniors to afford prescription drugs.

Walter has made our neighborhoods safer by leading the fight for tougher penalties against sex offenders and cracking down on methamphetamines.

From Rutherfordton, Walter graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill with a BS in Business Administration in 1971 and a J.D. in 1975. He is a partner at Dalton and Miller law firm and is active in his community. Walter served on the North Carolina Economic Development Board, the Rural Economic Development Center’s Board of Trustees, the North Carolina Tourism Board, the Isothermal Community College Board of Trustees, the Rutherford County Red Cross Board of Directors, and he co-founded the Child Abuse Prevention Society. Walter also serves as a lay speaker in the Methodist Church.

Walter’s wife, Lucille, is a former teacher and member of the Rutherford County School Board. Walter and Lucille have been married for thirty-five years and have two children, Brian and Elizabeth.

It has been my pleasure to serve in the North Carolina Senate for six terms.  I want to take that experience and service statewide and be your next Lieutenant Governor.

Since coming to the Senate, we have made progress but there is still work to be done.  I was co-chair of the Education Committee and later co-chair of Appropriations when historic investments in education were made.  I fought to raise teacher pay, lower class sizes, and improve our community colleges and universities.  I passed the Governor’s Learn and Earn bill, the now nationally-recognized program that helps students entering high school graduate with a high school diploma and an associate’s degree in only five years.  It’s important that we continue creating innovative programs such as Learn and Earn so that our state moves in the right direction and serves our children well.

I am also proud of my work to bring jobs to North Carolina and improve the economy.  Though unfair federal trade policies have sent our jobs overseas, we have worked to ensure that new, good-paying jobs locate to the state and that we protect the jobs that are here.  More importantly, we have required companies receiving incentives to locate in North Carolina give their workers benefits such as health care.

North Carolina is on the right track, but I want to continue our proactive leadership to ensure that prosperity reaches all of our state; that we truly work towards the goal of One North Carolina.  The Lieutenant Governor can be an effective advocate to move North Carolina in the right direction, but he or she must have the knowledge, experience, and the drive to be successful.  My experience in the Senate and my lifetime of commitment to my community makes me the right person for the job.  Thank you.