McCrory failed to be leader for all

Published December 9, 2016

Editorial by Wilmington Star-News, December 9, 2016.

So there’s a changing of the guard in the governor’s mansion. The question now is, will it mean anything?

After a nearly monthlong battle, Republican Gov. Pat McCrory conceded the election to Roy Cooper. But Cooper faces a General Assembly where Republicans hold veto-proof majorities.

McCrory came to Raleigh as a moderate who had been a seven-term mayor of Charlotte, known as a pro-business champion of practical government.

Although McCrory denies having been changed by his stint in Raleigh, many critics point to one issue: HB2, the so-called “bathroom bill” that says transgender people must use the bathroom of their birth-gender, among other things.

We praised McCrory for the improved economy, his leadership on Hurricane Matthew and the improved fiscal condition of state government, notably paying off $2.75 billion in debt related to unemployment benefits.

But after multiple veto overrides and the observation in 2015 by powerful Sen. Tom Apodaca that the “governor doesn’t play much of a role in anything,” McCrory seemed to give up on being a leader for the entire state. Instead, he became largely a spokesman for the ideologically driven leadership at the General Assembly. We had hoped he would have tempered those voices.

When the HB2 controversy needed a statesman to rise above the fray, the governor instead doubled down on what was a hastily made overreaction to a Charlotte law that itself was poorly thought out.

(If the governor thought overturning the Charlotte law was a critical safety issue, why did he refuse to call a special legislative session? Lt. Gov. Dan Forest and House Speaker Tim Moore had to invoke a rarely used provision to do do).

McCrory’s defenders point to income-tax cuts, teacher pay raises, budget surpluses and a $2 billion bond issue. (The governor’s original request for badly needed transportation funding was shot down by his fellow Republicans).

McCrory may have felt the backlash of voters disappointed with the effects of HB2 and other efforts of the conservative General Assembly, but Republican legislators were mostly re-elected in safe districts. Meanwhile, a federal court has ordered lawmakers to redraw their districts and hold a special election by the end of 2017.

Regardless of how the court case plays out, Cooper will face a GOP-dominated General Assembly. His promises to end HB2 and roll back tax cuts on the wealthy will likely come to naught. But some observers say Cooper’s long experience in Raleigh may lead to some compromises on issues such as education and tax cuts for the middle class.

We wanted McCrory to succeed as a moderate, common-sense leader, a governor everyone could rally around. We’re afraid that, in the end, he has become little more than the figurehead Rep. Apodaca described.

We expected more.

http://www.starnewsonline.com/opinion/20161209/editorial-dec-9-mccrory-failed-to-be-leader-for-all