Goals worthy - - details will matter

This page has often found reason to be critical of Gov. Pat McCrory, who often has seemed to have trouble exerting the leadership that characterized his tenure as Charlotte’s mayor.

And we’ll no doubt have reasons as this legislative session unfolds to differ with some of his stands and strategies.

But there was much to like in his State of the State address Wednesday night, and we want to dwell on those areas where we can applaud his goals and encourage legislators in his own party to help him accomplish them.

After years of stagnant wages for teachers, McCrory and the legislature boosted pay for many last year. We wish they valued more highly the contributions of veteran teachers, but we nonetheless are pleased the governor reiterated his goal to see base pay for teachers raised to $35,000.  We have been too long at a disadvantage in recruiting and retaining teachers, especially in communities near our borders where a short drive can yield higher-paying jobs in adjoining states.

McCrory’s plan to pump money into our faltering highway system recognizes the continuing, growing shortfall between available funds and needs for new roads and repairs.  And it’s worth noting his administration has indeed moved transportation planning to a more methodical, less politically driven model.

He captured the old model with only a bit of exaggeration Wednesday.

“During the past decade or so, as I have driven down the highways of North Carolina, I’ve noticed it goes from 2 lanes, to 4 lanes, back to 2 lanes, to 8 lanes to 4 lanes and then back to 2 lanes,” he said. “And everywhere it gets wider it’s named for a politician or a DOT board member. And where the congestion choke points still exist…the road is nameless. That’s not the way we do things anymore.”

In recent months, McCrory has begun to soften his opposition to expanding the state’s Medicaid program by accepting more federal dollars. We don’t necessarily like his rhetoric – “I will only recommend a North Carolina plan, not a Washington plan…” – but that’s probably a necessary tactic to have any traction at all against the opposition of legislative leaders.

The governor vowed to focus on creating jobs and on spreading the economic success of the Triangle and other metro areas to struggling communities that dot most of the state.  The devil, as always, will be in the details, but it’s hard to argue with a goal to “connect North Carolina’s small towns with our state’s commerce centers through physical and digital highways.”

We welcome many ideas McCrory laid out. We look forward with interest to how they take shape.