By Cash Michaels –
Recently, the two main Democratic candidates for NC governor, Josh Stein and Michael Morgan, met to speak with the newspapers of the North Carolina Black Publishers Association.
They were asked the same questions so that our readers could compare their answers on issues of interest to the African American community. Answers have been edited for space. The campaign of Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson (R) did not respond to our repeated efforts for an interview.
Josh Stein, Attorney General of NC, grew up in Chapel Hill and Charlotte and is a graduate of Harvard Law School, Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and Dartmouth College. Stein served as a state senator before being elected to two terms as NC’s attorney general.
Michael Morgan, retired Associate Justice of the NC Supreme Court, was born in Cherry Point and grew up in New Bern, NC. He received a bachelor’s in history and sociology from Duke University and a JD from North Carolina Central University School of Law. He has worked in NC state government for 44 years, including as a judge for 34 years before retiring from the NC Supreme Court.
Cash Michaels: Is there one particular issue that you believe must be addressed beyond all others once you’re elected to the Governor’s Office?
[Ed. note: both candidates named education; we have consolidated their answers from this and a follow-up question on that subject.]
Josh Stein: We must strengthen public education in North Carolina, from pre-kindergarten through our community colleges and universities, including our HBCUs. The General Assembly has defunded public education in the state. North Carolina ranks 49th in the country in the share of our state’s economy that we spend on K-12 education. Starting teacher pay is 48th in the country. We have to raise teacher pay dramatically to attract our best and brightest into our public schools to help our young people learn what…
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