I was disappointed, but not surprised, that the Charlotte Observer continues its personal attack on my brother’s previous experience in the private sector (“McCrory vs. the truth – once again,” Jan. 16 editorial). It should also be noted that the Observer, nor its partner in crime, Progress North Carolina Action, ever attempted to reach out to me for clarification before writing their respective editorial or complaint. If they had, they might have learned the following:
Was my brother a business partner of McCrory & Company in a legal sense? No, he was not, as I started the firm in 1990. After he joined me in 2009, he never received a K1 partnership tax form, and never shared in the profits.
So, why did we call him a partner? Well, because my brother and I have been partners for more than 58 years. When I was 11, I begged Pat to be my partner on my 4 a.m. paper route delivering the Columbus Dispatch on below-zero Sunday mornings. When I was 18, Pat agreed to be my partner when I was awarded a contract to resurface the neighborhood tennis courts. When I was 25 and leaving Charlotte for business school, Pat volunteered to partner with me for an adolescent boy that I helped through the Big Brothers program. When Pat decided to run for an at-large City Council position, I was happy to be his partner, including staking up yard sign after yard sign until my staple guns wore out.
Besides my wife, he’s the best partner I’ve ever had. So in 2008, in the aftermath of the lost election (that my brother gave up his job and security to pursue), I invited my brother to be my partner again because of his extensive business skills and because of the trust that I have in him. And since he’s become governor of this state we love, I’ve partnered with him any way I can, often just by listening. All of this is what brothers do.
When my brother came to work for me, I called him a “Partner” in part because that is what felt natural to me. The other part of my decision was purely so that we made sense as we marketed and conducted our business. I couldn’t really say “Brother” when we were prospecting. “Partner” is the natural word one uses in that situation.
That word, “partner,” has a lot of meanings, legally and emotionally. I’m proud to call my brother my partner and have been my whole life.
