NC’s lieutenant governor should be a partner, not a foe

State Rep. Mary (Pricey) Harrison, a Greensboro Democrat, helped state Rep. Yvonne Holley’s campaign for lieutenant governor. She thought Holley would win easily over an inexperienced Republican opponent who had a history of posting inflammatory comments on Facebook.

“I just assumed it would be a slam dunk,” Harrison said. “I was pretty shocked by the results.”

A lot of people still are.

North Carolina’s next lieutenant governor won’t be a veteran of the state legislature who wants to increase support for public schools and affordable housing. It will be Republican Mark Robinson, a 52-year-old Greensboro native who has never held elected office and has posted derogatory comments about Jewish filmmakers, Muslims and LGBT people.

Before his election victory, Robinson, a former furniture factory worker who lives in High Point, was known for his 2018 speech before the Greensboro City Council in which he stood up for law-abiding gun owners. A video of the speech went viral and won him a leadership position at the National Rifle Association.

That bit of YouTube fame has been matched by his Facebook notoriety, but he’s not apologizing for his posts. Robinson told The Associated Press after the election, “They want you to go back and say, ‘Oh, I summarily reject that.’ No, I’m not summarily rejecting anything.”

Maybe it’s time for North Carolina to summarily reject the idea of an independently elected lieutenant governor. In 26 states the governor and lieutenant governor run as a single ticket. Only 17 elect their lieutenant governor independently. In two states, the No. 2 job is held by a member of the legislature. Five states don’t even have the post.

Having the governor and lieutenant governor run separately is not working out well for North Carolina. Over the past four years, Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Forest vied against Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper and unsuccessfully ran against him this year. Along the way, there was the spectacle of the lieutenant governor suing the governor to end restrictions on business and gatherings during the pandemic.

In the late 1980s, Democrats who controlled the legislature responded to the election of Republican Jim Gardner as lieutenant governor by transferring most of the office’s powers to the president pro tempore of the Senate. That was unfair then, but it looks fortunate now.

Still, even in a diminished role, Robinson will be a member of the Council of State and president of the North Carolina Senate, where he can preside, when invited, and vote in the event of a tie. He will be a member of several boards and commissions, including the State Board of Education and the N.C. Board of Community Colleges, and receive a salary of $136,699.

Robinson’s most important role is a potential one – successor to the governor in the event of his absence, death or incapacitation. The state’s website adds this note: “This succession has happened five times in our state’s history. As such, we should view a potential Lt. Governor through the prism of his or her leadership abilities to fulfill the duties of the Governor.”

It’s too late for viewing Robinson through that prism, but steps should be taken to prevent the election of lieutenants who are more a threat to the governor than a help. The two should run together and lead as a team.

State Sen. Wiley Nickel, a Wake County Democrat, said he is prepared to propose amending the state constitution to have the governor and lieutenant governor run as a single ticket, but with Republicans in charge he said such a bill is unlikely to go anywhere.

Nonetheless, he thinks that Robinson winning the No. 2 post will argue for the change. He said, “I think, sadly, his election will help people to understand why you should have a governor and lieutenant governor of the same party who can work together.”

This story was originally published November 23, 2020 at 5:00 AM.