federal government to about 1.9, and we hope to pay off that debt three years earlier than planned. i ve made the decision to get off the credit card. but i m willing to work with the president to see what we can do in the future, and congress, and have ongoing talks about the flexibility that states have in this issue. and i believe in flexibility, because each state has its own unique needs. let me ask you about another issue that i know has been some petitions. mel watt, now former member, as now been confirmed into a new job dealing with the government agencies having to do with housing, the housing securities area. and you have decided not to call for a special election. essentially, leaving the 12th district without a congressman for for essentially a full calendar year. why are you doing that? well, it was a very complex decision. i had to look at voter rolls. i had to look at the military votes overseas. we had to look at the schedule of the existing elections.
and, chuck, you know and i know that not much goes on in washington between july and the election anyway, which is a sad commentary on washington politics. i know. i guess that s by the way, senator congressman watt s staff will be very active and still his staff will be working on constituent services on one of the oddest congressional districts in the united states of america that goes from charlotte all the way through salisbury, through greensboro. well, hey, you want to talk about redistricting reform, we could go on for we could go on yeah, this is one of the wildest ones. it is crazy. it s a crazy district. it is. what s that? it s been around for several decades. i know. you change lanes on 85 and you go into a new district, if i m not mistaken. you got it. all right, governor mccrory, thank you for your time. have me anytime. thank you very much. well, if it s wednesday, that means we have election results. we now have the match-up for the special
and part of the problem was, of course, the senate delayed the confirmation of congressman watt, and then congressman watt delayed his acceptance of the job, which threw our whole schedule in a mess. but, governor, it s january. very tough decision it s january. you have a scheduled state primary statewide vote for may. yeah. and many states look, i cover a lot of house special elections, and many governors, to save money, what you re talking about, basically put the special general election on that primary date, and then asked the two parties, for instance, to just do this with the central exitty. committee, and then, suddenly, it s not costing taxpayers any extra money. my state laws are different than other state laws. every state has different election laws as you well know. my decision was supported by the very liberal editorial page of the charlotte observer, and also supported by three of the african-american democratic candidates that are running for mel
mel watt is a good friend of mine. i worked with him when i was mayor of charlotte for 14 years and i made the most very tough decision, a very difficult calendar. and i think it was the best decision, and three of the candidates running for that seat agreed with me decision, as does a liberal editorial page. there was no easy solution. i have to say, i m dumb founded that, you know, i know people have a low opinion of congress, but to have basically disenfranchise nearly a million people, and not having representation in the u.s. house of representatives, that s that is not a healthy thing. for a year. a whole calendar year, governor. chuck, i m sworn to uphold the constitutional laws of north carolina, and i can t change those laws between now and that election. and, again, i have to uphold the election laws, and i made the good decision i think the only difference in any other option was about two months.
the person. that there was some assessment that they were unqualified. that there was some scandal that had been unearthed. this isn t obstruction on substance, on qualifications. it s just to gum up the works. it s not about the individual nominees. it s about opposing thes. . this year alone, republicans blocked all three of his nominees to the d.c. circuit court of appeals. they ve filibustered mel watt from a major housing job. the first lawmaker to be blocked in 150 years. and they filibustered the president s nominee for defense secretary. the first time that s happened in american history. republicans eventually backed down from that fight, and chuck hagel was confirmed.