Of all the races on North Carolina’s 2016 ballot, we believe that no race will have a greater impact on students’ lives than the race for governor. Overseeing the UNC System while playing a critical role in our state’s education budget, NC State students must seize the opportunity to place the right person in control of our state. In a comparison of the two candidates, the editorial board of the Technician fully endorses Roy Cooper for governor and urges NC State students to vote for him on Election Day.
While Gov. Pat McCrory did a fine job serving as a city councilor and mayor in Charlotte, coming to the state level, he has swiftly been pulled to the right into a radical political stance. His handling of House Bill 2 best demonstrates this. Despite refusing to call a special session to void the Charlotte bathroom ordinance, McCrory swiftly signed HB2 into law, on the same day the law passed through the General Assembly, despite a lack of public input or enough time to understand the full ramifications of the law. Since then, North Carolina’s reputation has been plummeting as businesses, concerts and sporting events have pulled out of our state. Despite this backlash and numerous polls that find North Carolinians overwhelmingly oppose HB2 and believe that it has hurt our state, McCrory has consistently defended the discriminatory aspects of the law. While McCrory has walked back small parts of the law, his failure to outright repeal HB2, especially the discriminatory portion, and prevent the pain it is causing to our state and our LGBT community speaks to why he should not be given a second term.
Outside of HB2, McCrory’s past four years as governor have been riddled with legislative and political failures. McCrory has gone easy on his former employer, Duke Energy, in the wake of one of the worst environmental disasters in our state’s history, the coal ash spill. He oversaw a disastrous Department of Health and Human Services, signed some of the most restrictive voting laws in the nation into effect and failed to stand up and reign in the State Legislature when he should have. Further, his promises of raising education spending have failed to transpire while he effectively eliminated unemployment benefits for people unemployed 20 weeks or more, hurting thousands.
While McCrory’s past actions are troubling, his support of Donald Trump is equally disturbing. In the second gubernatorial debate, McCrory even went so far as to call Donald Trump a role model for many of the policies he proposes. When a man running for governor of a moderate state such as ours claims that anyone who has bragged about kissing, groping and being able to do whatever he wants to women should never be considered a role model no matter what policies they propose.
In contrast to McCrory stands Roy Cooper, who has spent nearly his whole life in public service. Born and raised in North Carolina, Cooper became a leader in the North Carolina State Legislature where he fought for teacher pay raises and education reform. Following 14 years in the General Assembly, Cooper served as our attorney general where he has, for the past 16 years, overseen a 30 percent decrease in crime while putting families and children first.
His work on the Duke Lacrosse scandal speaks to his ability to serve as governor as he stood tall despite fabricated charges, negative, nationwide media attention and a complicated and error-filled trial. Cooper’s defining decision to declare the players innocent despite a widespread rush to accuse showed the true leadership our state needs. Further, his adamant opposition to HB2 along with many of the other troublesome McCrory proposals, outlined above, show he is not afraid to stand up for what’s right. Cooper understands how the state government works and has a clear vision of how to move North Carolina forward — supporting education, growing the middle class and investing in workers.
McCrory has had four years to prove why he is capable of holding the most powerful position in our state, but, time and time again, has failed to step up to the plate. North Carolina is in need of a change from McCrory’s incapable ways and Cooper, backed up by his pragmatic record and long service, is the man to do it. Come Election Day, the Technician asks the student body to vote for such a change.
This unsigned editorial is the opinion of the members of Technician’s editorial board and is the responsibility of the editor-in-chief.
