Stewardship isn’t what it used to be in N.C.
A WRAL story about a historic office reveals something deeper about the kind of politics we reward today
WRAL published a story yesterday about the lieutenant governor’s office, and what’s become of it since Mark Robinson left.
It’s a little hard to follow, but the takeaway is clear. When Dan Forest took office in 2012, he inherited a “dump” of a building: the historic Hawkins-Hartness House in downtown Raleigh. Over eight years, he and his wife, Alice, led a meticulous restoration — raising private money, fixing decades of neglect, and turning the space into something truly special.
“We want to pass it on for generation after generation,” Forest said in a short documentary as he left office. “A showplace for lieutenant governors well into the future.”
But four years later, Rachel Hunt walked into something far different. The once-proud office was mostly bare. Furniture the Forests had carefully collected was stashed in the basement, deteriorating. Nothing appears stolen, just ignored.
What was carefully built wasn’t carefully kept — and neither the building nor the office was handed off with respect.
I didn’t expect to get upset over a story about office furniture. But of course, this isn’t really about furniture. It’s about how politics has changed.
The best public servants view themselves as stewards, caretakers of a position entrusted to them for a brief period of time. You could call that self-important. I see it as humble. It means understanding the office is bigger than you, and your job is to leave it better than you found it.
That ethic is fading. Too often, North Carolina politics rewards showmanship over substance, and loud voices over thoughtful ones. Offices become stepping stones, not trusts to be honored.
When I had the privilege of working for Forest, I got the chance to visit HHH, as we called it, quite often. It wasn’t just a beautiful building. It was a reflection of how seriously he took the job.
That quiet seriousness was easy to overlook at the time, especially for outlets like WRAL that spent much of his tenure portraying him as an extremist. But now, in hindsight, even they have to acknowledge he treated the office with respect.
The way someone leaves office tells you everything. And it’s worth asking: Are we still electing people who think that way?
Quick hits
It exhausts me to write about this sort of thing, but I had to. Rep. Julie von Haefen’s guillotine post was the talk of the week in Raleigh. It deserved criticism, but the outrage that followed quickly turned into a performance, one we’ve seen far too many times. In my first newspaper column last week, I tried to take a step back and think through what a better response would look like. Read it here: NC Democrat’s protest post was awful, but the response is exhausting
If you’ve kept up with my columns, you know I’m usually pretty skeptical of flashy job announcements and the incentive deals that come with them. But the JetZero project feels different. It’s not just a bet on jobs — it’s a bet on innovation, identity, and the idea that North Carolina can lead in something big again. In my second column of the week, I broke down why this gamble might actually be worth it. Read it here: North Carolina’s gamble on JetZero is worth it, even if it’s another bust
At a premium
I went even deeper on the Julie von Haefen post and how it’s emblematic of another, more philosophical divide. We’re not just arguing anymore. We’re living in completely different realities. Come for the analysis, stay for the Dante’s Inferno references.
Important reads
John Bell’s High Hopes (The Assembly)
Make riots a political dead end (Carolina Journal)
Top spenders on social media last week
Question of the week
Last week, I asked if you thought former Gov. Roy Cooper would ultimately run for U.S. Senate next year. I’m growing skeptical, but you guys are not. 62% of you said he would run.
This week, let’s talk about the Julie von Haefen episode a little more. What’s your take?
Beat folks like this at the ballot box. The downside of gerrymandering means there are just as deeply blue seats as there are red ones. This one is different, with a good quality candidate, and enough fundraising she can be beat.
There are so many other issues that are more meaningful than this one, and, ones that Unaffiliated voters can identify with. Like immigration, the economy, and more.
Do I like JvH? No? Are her politics awful? Yes! Was what she did ok? No! Did she react, eventually, ok? Yes. Is she likely under extreme scrutiny for the near future? Likely! Will she be less annoying on the daily in the GA? Hopefully! Would it be different if SHE was the one holding the guillotine? Yes! Was he judgment in posting that image poor? Yes! Has she continually shown poor judgment in her far left extreme viewpoints and public utterances? Yes!
Should she lose her next election? Yes! Will she? Unknown.
The right needs to move on from the Resign narrative to pointing out the substantive terrible policy ideas she espouses, and then recruit and fund an alternate candidate.
Stop posting links that go to paywalled sites.