Every once in a while, a story comes along that hits on so many things you care about that you can’t help but weigh in.
My old friend Colin Campbell’s recent story for WUNC about state-owned historic homes in downtown Raleigh falling into disuse and disrepair was exactly that.
Within a block or two of the Executive Mansion, the state owns a slate of beautiful century-old houses that have been allowed to deteriorate. Several are long-vacant, while others serve only nominal roles. One is actually being used to store fire extinguishers, though state officials say the house is unsafe to even enter.
I’m chairman of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission, so you might guess how I feel about all this. If a historic home in Charlotte were being treated this way, we’d have a serious problem with it. Our own state government doing it is inexcusable.
A lot of problems in state government have no clear owner, but this isn’t one of them. Responsibility for these homes falls squarely on the governor. Former Gov. Roy Cooper can take some of the blame, but the onus now is on Gov. Josh Stein to answer for what’s happening in his own neighborhood.
I held former Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson to the same standard last year when I wrote about what had happened to the historic Hawkins-Hartness House, the lieutenant governor’s office.
Previous Lt. Gov. Dan Forest and his wife, Alice, had spent years restoring the house, raising private money and putting enormous care into making it something North Carolina could be proud of. By the time current Lt. Gov. Rachel Hunt took over, rooms were largely bare and some of the furniture was deteriorating in the basement.
What I said then bears repeating again now. Public service means stewardship. You’re entrusted with something for a little while, and you have a responsibility to leave it better than you found it. Rarely is it more tangible than with the pieces of North Carolina history put in your care.
I highly encourage you to read Colin’s story and look at the pictures. It’s hard to understand how the state can own places like these and be content to use them this way.
Look, I get it. A governor has a lot to deal with. But taking care of your own neighborhood ought to be a priority.
And it can be done. As I write in my book, Pat McCrory made state property a priority through Project Phoenix, including selling historic houses around Blount Street. One was the Heck-Andrews House, which NC Realtors has since restored.
I’d like to see Stein give the remaining houses that kind of attention. I love North Carolina, and I want us to keep the places that make it feel like North Carolina. I’d hate to see us lose them simply because we never got around to taking care of them.
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President Donald Trump came to Gaston County last week to stump for U.S. Senate candidate Michael Whatley, and it didn’t go so well. So much so that I think the visit did more harm than good to Republicans up and down the ballot. Read my column on that here, free with gift link: Trump came to NC to help Michael Whatley. I think he made things worse
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