CHINA GROVE — Dozens of voters from throughout the area huddled inside and around a side dining room in Gary’s BBQ on Tuesday to listen to Republican gubernatorial candidate and sitting Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson.

The meet and greet in Rowan County was one of many stops that Robinson was making in counties throughout the state as part of his campaign against Democratic candidate and sitting Attorney General Josh Stein. Just a few hours before, Robinson had stopped by a diner in Randolph County for a similar stop.

“The things that get the reaction out of people is when you talk about these substantive issues. People are concerned about a lot of social issues, but what people are really concerned about, they’re concerned about our economy, our education system, they’re concerned about law and order, they’re concerned about housing, infrastructure, those things that will build North Carolina,” said Robinson.

Robinson addressed many of those points in an address given from a side room at the restaurant, one that was unable to fully hold the audience as late arrivals crowded outside or simply sat in another room and waited for a turn to speak with the candidate.

“The education piece is pretty simple. One of the statistics in this state is that we spend 61 percent of our $33 billion budget on public education and statistically speaking, our K-12 students can’t read on a grade level. That’s got to change, and I believe it changes by making changes in leadership, particularly on our state school board, so we can get back to classical education and put a strong emphasis on reading, writing and mathematics. The core subjects, to give our children the success that they need inside the classroom that will lead to success outside of the classroom. Making those changes there is going to be crucial,” said Robinson.

For public safety, Robinson said that the main cornerstone was standing behind the state’s law enforcement departments and providing them with the support they need.

“Bottom line is, and I’ve said this for years, the reason why crime is spiraling out of control right now is because we have so many elected officials who will not back our police departments. They won’t give them the tools they need. They won’t give them the support they need. Criminals are watching, they know when elected officials don’t have the sheriff’s back that half their power is gone. When we give them that support back, criminals will know that if they mess up in this state, they’re headed for heartache. That’s exactly where we want them,” said Robinson.

Robinson also addressed recent advertisements from the Josh Stein campaign which targeted citations for multiple violations at a childcare center that Robinson and his wife ran from 2000 to 2007. The advertisement states that the daycare was cited for uncovered electrical outlets around one-year olds; operating without lights, heat or running water; and for falsified staff credentials and missing criminal background checks. 

“That daycare advertisement is pure lies, and here’s who it really insults. It insults Mark Robinson, but guess who else it insults? It insults the loyal parents that we had for years coming into our daycare to receive services from us. What parent in their right mind would bring a child to a daycare center that was that substandard? I would submit to you no one would. There’s no way we could have stayed in business that long if we had that bad of a record, and we did not. You can count on seeing some parents coming out to push back against that and we’re going to continue our lawsuit against Josh Stein, because everything he says is false,” said Robinson.

Included in the crowd were local and state officials, including County Commissioner Mike Caskey, Sheriff Travis Allen, Rowan-Salisbury School System Board of Education Chairman Dean Hunter, county commission write-in candidate Bobby Kemp, Rowan County Republican Party Chairman Tony Yon and State Senator Carl Ford.

“We feel very good about what we’ve heard on the ground because it lines up the record with our message,” said Robinson.