Seeing Robinson in a different light

In a My Turn post August 3, the writer argued that Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina, Mark Robinson, is the best candidate to be the Governor of our state. She notes his rise from poverty to high office and his well-known disposition for speaking out against any cause, group, or person he sees as indefensible. While these characteristics may seem to some as qualifications for leading our state, I offer a different opinion.

My vision for persons to represent us is to look for those with, above all, good character. I want our elected officials to be accepting of multiple opinions and voices; accepting of persons of other races, religions, sexual preferences, and genders. I want them to be kind and understanding about the difficulties that others experience. I want them to be a unitor, not a divider. I want them to be oriented to solving problems, looking to multiple sources of wisdom and experience and listening to diverse points of view when making decisions that affect us all. I don’t expect to agree with my ideal candidate on all things, but I want to know that my opinions will be heard and respected.

In following the statements that Mr. Robinson has made in many venues and over several years, I do not think that he has the characteristics that I look for in a Governor or other elected official. When I examine the groups and causes with whom he has affiliated, I feel that he has chosen companions that represent some of the most devisive groups in our country today that proudly support and advocate hate toward others that differ from them.

Does it matter who we elect? I think it does. Governors support and enforce the laws of the state and can veto bills that come from the legislature if they seem not to be in the best interest of the people of the state. They make appointments that affect all aspects of our daily lives, from regulations that protect our health and safety, our economic progress, and our physical health and well-being. They represent us in forums that affect how North Carolina is judged by others who may view it as a good or poor place to locate as a business or a family. We have seen how some Governors have shaped opinions of their state as they impose rules and restrictions that have negative consequences. If we want to be a state where our children get the best education, where they want to stay and establish families and business, where others want to settle, we need to look very carefully at the what the candidates for this important position are saying.

— Nan Lund,
Salisbury