WADESBORO — Stopping by the Ladybug Restaurant on his Tour Across the State, North Carolina Attorney General and Gubernatorial candidate Josh Stein took time to answer questions, define where he stands on issues impacting Anson County citizens and his competitor, Lt. Mark Robinson’s recent campaign stumbling blocks.
Stein said his campaign focuses on unity and progress while the Republican Party seek division, violence, and unjust voting laws.
“From a church pulpit of all places, he [Robinson] detailed, ‘Some folks need killing.’ That is not just what he said but he would do. CNN reported a couple weeks ago that he called himself a Nazis. The man is a conspiracy theorist… he denies the holocaust and friends we need to deny him the North Carolina governorship,” Stein said.
Stein accused the Republican Party of hollowing out the state’s education system. Recent scoring indicates multiple schools across Richmond and Anson Counties under-performed in a variety of subjects. Stein said he will strive to get teacher pay in North Carolina in line with the national average, the state has a lot of work to do to accomplish this goal.
“Starting teacher pay funding is [$42,000], the lowest of every state that touches North Carolina,” Stein said.
“Sharing sad information uncovered by his wife over the summer, Stein described four graduating college students headed into teaching this fall. Each of the North Carolina natives told Stein’s wife they were accepting positions in other states as they could not financially justify accepting positions here.
“That is disgraceful and we can do better…If we have more money to pay teachers…We need to invest more, expect the best, and we will get the best,” Stein said.
Transitioning next into law enforcement issues plaguing the state, Stein mentioned a proposal he has introduced already to state legislature that would recruit and retain well-trained law enforcement officers. This issue may resonate with Anson County as county deputies recently began patrolling Wadesboro streets due to a hiring shortfall.
“Some of the proposals have been adopted by legislatures. Others they have not, such as a hiring focus for new officers to come to North Carolina from other states, for instance from the military or that are new to the profession. We want to strengthen local law enforcement agencies by funding them better so that they can better protect us,” Stein said.
Other speakers at the event included Anson County Democrat Party Chair Dannie Montgomery and State Representative District 55 candidate Judy Little. Montgomery is running for Registrar of Deeds. Commissioner Harold Smith made a rare public appearance at the event.