Candidate for NC governor, Republican Mark Robinson, answers our questions

To help inform voters, this candidate questionnaire is available without a subscription and may be republished by local publications across North Carolina without any cost. Please consider subscribing to The News & Observer to help make this coverage possible.

Name: Mark K. Robinson

Political party: Republican

Age as of March 5, 2024: 55

Campaign website: markrobinsonfornc.com

Current occupation: Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina

Professional experience: As lieutenant governor, I partnered with lawmakers to end our state tax on military pensions; secured more than $11 million for apprenticeship and career training programs; and created the Fairness and Accountability in the Classroom for Teachers and Students (FACTS) Task Force. I’ve worked in factories, managed a restaurant and served in the U.S. Army Reserve. I’m not a career politician. As governor I’ll focus on solutions to the problems North Carolinians face every day.

Education: UNC-Greensboro, Bachelor of Arts, History.

What offices have you run for or held before? Have you had any other notable government or civic involvement? I am not a career politician. My first campaign for office was my election as North Carolina’s first black lieutenant governor in 2020.

What do you think is the biggest issue in North Carolina that you would be able to shape if elected?

Education; an unaccountable bureaucracy at the state level has our education system struggling and COVID-19 only made it worse. Students are struggling to catch up. We need to bring accountability to bureaucracy at the state level, get politics out of the classroom, refocus our curriculum on academics, and prioritize getting students career ready — whether that means preparing them for a college degree or a career in trades through bolstered apprenticeship and vocational programs and more.

What do you think is or is not working well under the current governor? If not, how would you change it?

If elected I hope to move beyond the current governor’s adversarial relationship with the legislature. I will partner with lawmakers to enact more policies that make North Carolina a better place to live, work or raise (a) family. Rather than vetoing family-friendly policies like tax relief and education reform, I will work with lawmakers to pass and enact these kinds of policies — raising our quality of life for families and making us even more competitive for jobs and investment.

What should be done to address staff vacancies in state government?

My goal will be to create a culture of excellence in state government (that) will better recruit and retain employees while better supporting those who have already dedicated years of service to North Carolina. Our state agencies exist to serve the citizens of our state, and state employees and taxpayers alike deserve a culture of high professional standards that will serve the people of North Carolina well and allow our agencies to better recruit and retain qualified professionals for years to come.

In what areas, if any, do you believe state government is wasting taxpayer money?

We need to tackle the bureaucracy that’s holding our education system back. Education funding should focus on students, not bureaucracies and politics. I will work with lawmakers to give students and families more options that meet their educational needs — so more of our dollars are going directly into the classroom and giving raises for our teachers so they can focus on teaching, not being a parent, social worker or police officer.

What would you do to strengthen public schools?

Students have been falling behind for years and the COVID-19 school closures only made this worse. Kids are behind in reading, math and more. We need to get politics out of schools, refocus on fundamental academics and better ensure career readiness; be it college or a career in trades through apprenticeship and vocational programs. We also need to ensure teachers are treated as the professionals they are by paying them more and holding them to high standards of excellence.

The governor of North Carolina will be charged with bringing new business and jobs to the state. How would you pitch NC to them?

For more than a decade, North Carolina has been led by fiscal conservatives who have our state on a firm financial footing. Fiscal responsibility has put us on a firm financial footing with a $5 billion surplus and people are ready to do business in North Carolina. As governor, I want to work with lawmakers to build on this foundation so that our state continues to be a world-class place to do business.

Would you sign a bill allowing additional casinos and legalizing video gambling machines, and why or why not?

With any future gaming legislation, it needs to be evaluated based on its potential economic and social impacts, and the people will need to have their voices heard by their elected representatives — be it by municipal, county or other local leaders or by legislators and other state officials.

This story was originally published February 6, 2024 at 1:40 PM.

Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan

The News & Observer

919-829-4877

Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan is the Capitol Bureau Chief for The News & Observer, leading coverage of the legislative and executive branches in North Carolina with a focus on the governor, General Assembly leadership and state budget. She has received the McClatchy President’s Award, N.C. Open Government Coalition Sunshine Award and several North Carolina Press Association awards, including for politics and investigative reporting.