RALEIGH (AP) — Democrats Bev Perdue and Mike Easley may be cut out of the same cloth in their commitments to improving public education and the economy in North Carolina.

But Perdue won't follow the same pattern when it comes to the governing style she'll wear as Easley's successor.

Expect the winner of last Tuesday's election to make more public appearances, have a better relationship with legislative leaders and get her hands dirty in budget negotiations and all kinds of initiatives.

After being pushed by Republican nominee Pat McCrory, Perdue separated herself from Easley during the fall campaign, saying she would be a hands-on executive and essentially calling the two-term governor from her own party too removed from state government's problems.

"I intend to start on day one. I'm going to bring a fresh start to North Carolina," Perdue, North Carolina's first female governor, said in her victory speech. "There's a new sheriff in town and she knows how to do business."

But she's been in town — Raleigh — longer than Easley has been as a politician there.

Her plans to reform the Department of Transportation and bring more transparency to state government will run up against her longtime alliances with legislators and interest groups less inclined to move in that direction.

With McCrory nearly defeating her on a platform that tried to associate her with a string of Democrats going to prison this decade for ethical and campaign finance misconduct, Perdue will be pressed to follow through.

"She almost lost because of the issue of corruption in Raleigh," said Bob Hall with Democracy North Carolina, a campaign finance reform group. "There is a mandate to continue the reforms."

Whoever got elected North Carolina's next governor was sure to be different from Easley.

Perdue and Republican nominee McCrory enjoyed interacting with voters and said they would meet with them and the media regularly if elected.

Easley preferred to keep to himself during his eight years in office and rarely held news conferences. He persuaded lawmakers through aides or by making rare phone calls — rather than through the backslapping and horse-trading of his predecessors.

The outgoing governor often frustrated Democratic legislative leaders with his scolding in budget negotiations and his vetoes.

"I think there'll be a whole lot more communication. Easley was kind of unusual in that respect, and we sort of got used to it, but it was unusual," said House Speaker Joe Hackney, D-Orange. "I would predict it would be more of a Jim Hunt-style of communication."

Perdue was a protege of Hunt, the former four-term governor. She carried the water for his broad student-testing and teacher-pay initiatives when she was a Senate budget-writer in the 1990s.

Hunt kept up a vigorous dialogue with the Legislature and came over to the Legislative Building for some arm-twisting with holdouts on his legislation. When lawmakers still said no, he would often travel to their home counties and speak to local voters to change minds.

Perdue's 22 years of work at the Legislative Building — 14 as a lawmaker and eight presiding over the Senate as lieutenant governor — will come in handy as lawmakers and Perdue try to handle a budget shortfall of up to $1.6 billion this year. "She will know better than most what's doable and what's not doable and what trade-offs need to be made," Hackney said.

Perdue said in an interview she's not afraid to be like Hunt.

"I don't feel at all intimidated," Perdue said. "I expect that there will be real difficult battles with the General Assembly. I don't expect it to be easy. I don't expect it to be harmonious."

While Easley has had a strong focus on education, Perdue's background as a health care consultant and aging expert will spread her interests to other fields. Senate leader Marc Basnight, D-Dare, who has worked with Perdue for nearly 20 years, said he expects a good relationship with Perdue because her goals mesh with those of legislative leaders.

"Certainly she cared about health care issues and senior citizens, but she realized that the major purpose of the government is to foster economic good fortunes," Basnight said.

House Minority Leader Paul Stam, R-Wake, said he's pessimistic Perdue will do things much differently. For example, Stam said Perdue will be less likely to try innovative ideas in education because she was endorsed by the N.C. Association of Educators and labor unions.

"She's boxed herself in with so many interest groups that it will be difficult for her to handle the budget," Stam said. But Perdue said she's not beholden to anyone.

Besides the budget, Perdue's first challenges will be to get the Legislature to strengthen some of the government reforms she intends to carry out in executive orders right after she gets sworn in. Without passing laws to back them up, her executive orders will be weak.

Andy Dedmon, a former state House member and legislative lobbyist, said the governor-elect will be held accountable for her efforts to see these reforms through.

"People want something to be done differently," Dedmon said. "If you run on something, at this point, people are going to keep you honest."

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