Bob Levy calls it good riddance.

Jim Heim says the change is welcome.

Levy is the new chairman of the Moore County Republican Party. Heim is the new chairman of the Moore County Democratic Party.

That was their reaction this week to the announcement by U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter Tuesday that he is switching from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party.

Carole Angle, a Southern Pines resident, sees Specter from an entirely different perspective. To her, he is a former employer.

"It was the greatest learning experience I ever had," Angle said of working for the senator from Pennsylvania.

In some ways, Angle said, Specter's decision to switch parties comes as a surprise, and in other ways she isn't surprised at all.

"I did like Arlen," she said, adding that his decision is an exciting one.

Nor does the switch in parties surprise party leaders here in Moore County.

"I particularly welcome him," Heim said. "He is a good man."

Heim said Specter studies issues carefully and makes decisions based on his findings, not on party positions.

Levy called Specter's decision an example of a man who puts his own personal professional career ahead of Republican goals of less government and lower taxes.

Specter, who has served in the Senate since 1980, was one of three Republicans who voted with Democrats to approve President Obama's economic stimulus plan.

"He has decided that his career is more important than having a principled philosophy for guarding the future of the United States," Levy said. "Because of that, the Republican Party will not miss him all that much. We need people who will put principle ahead of political expediency."

For more on this story, see Friday's print edition of The Pilot.