Will Raleigh finally deliver for western N.C.?
Right now, both General Assembly leaders and Gov. Josh Stein are playing nice and pledging to focus on western N.C. But let's see if the congeniality lasts
Everybody is saying the right things, for now.
New House Speaker Destin Hall, Gov. Josh Stein and Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger all used introductory addresses over the last few days to pledge to work together to rebuild western North Carolina. None of them want a repeat of the abysmal response to hurricanes in eastern North Carolina.
“I hope we can partner with Gov. Stein and his administration to ensure that response doesn’t become the norm,” Berger said in his opening remarks. “I implore everyone in this room to come together to find ways to improve our response and recovery efforts.”
And for his part, Stein said he’d reciprocate.
“Let's work together. We have real problems to solve,” he said Saturday in his inaugural address. “When we work together, we are stronger and there's no limit to what we can accomplish for the good of the people of this state.”
Is this all just empty talk?
Maybe. Beyond the rhetoric, both Stein and Hall have taken some concrete steps that makes it seem like state government is finally taking western North Carolina recovery seriously.
Hall set up a legislative committee to oversee the General Assembly’s efforts, including representatives of the area.
It’s great to see an oversight body this quickly, and hopefully it can help us avoid the disaster that is eastern N.C. hurricane recovery. It wasn’t until six years after Hurricane Matthew and four years after Hurricane Florence for the legislature to start holding hearings about why recovery was moving so slow.
Back in October, I called for the General Assembly to start hearings right away, and I’m optimistic that Hall will convene them soon.
On the executive branch side, Stein has appointed former Wake County commissioner chairman Matt Calabria to oversee the western recovery efforts. This may not sound like a big deal, but it actually is.
Calabria left his commissioner post for the job. He’s an ambitious political figure — so his political future is on the line if he messes it up. Contrast that with the bureaucrat that former Gov. Roy Cooper had in charge of eastern N.C. recovery.
Putting a person in the role with actual skin in the game is probably the best accountability we can get.
Will things stay cordial?
Of course, new terms always begin with high hopes of consensus. Even Cooper pledged in his first inaugural address to eschew “political brinkmanship” — right before spending the next eight years pushing our political culture to the edge.
It’s easy to envision North Carolina going right back to partisan bickering in short order.
But things just seem different this year. I was extremely impressed with Hall’s introductory speech after he was sworn in as House speaker. He’s got a compelling personal story and showed he’s planning to take a new approach to big issues.
And I also really like the TV hits Stein has done lately related to western N.C. recovery. You only ever saw Cooper on TV bashing Republicans.
Time will tell. The winter cold has exposed the unacceptable conditions that remain in our mountains, and help can’t wait any longer.
Quick hits
We published a few mid-week updates last week. Take a look if you haven’t done so already:
The Supreme Court challenge drags on. A lot of this week’s political discourse was around Judge Jefferson Griffin’s election challenge in November’s Supreme Court contest, which is now making national headlines. I wrote an article recommending that the Supreme Court throw out the challenge with a quick one-line ruling. That, uh, did not happen. But I am heartened by the dissent from Justice Richard Dietz (🔒).
N.C. Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls has launched her re-election campaign. She’ll be on the ballot in 2026.
A quick note on the Longleaf Politics paywall. I’m ecstatic that so many of you have opted to go Premium and buy a paid subscription. I hope you’ll find lots of value in the extra content (please send me an email and recommend anything you’d like to see). But I also understand that some people are overwhelmed with subscriptions and don’t want to add another one. Inflation is a killer, and I have to price relatively high to try to make Longleaf Politics a viable business that can support my family.
But I hope you’ll keep a free subscription if you can’t go paid. My goal here is to keep super important public interest writing free for everyone. People who pay will get the nitty-gritty details that are important to people who live North Carolina politics.
Important reads
North Carolina should re-route I-40 into Tennessee (Business North Carolina)
How Justice Allison Riggs took the lead in the vote count (Former N.C. Rep. Paul Stam)
‘Uncomfortable things’ necessary to fix NC Health Plan, new treasurer says (Carolina Public Press)
Much accomplished, much left to do 14 years after GOP take over NC’s General Assembly (Carolina Journal)
Breakdown of the Cooper/ Stein Challenge to the Board of Elections Appointment Move to the Auditor’s Office (John Locke Foundation)
Wiley Nickel laying groundwork for 2026 US Senate run (Anderson Alerts)
Top spenders on social media this week
Question of the week
Last week, I asked if y’all agreed with me that Cooper would NOT run for president in 2028. The vast majority — 91% of you — agreed with me. Here’s this week’s question: