Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson made a campaign stop in Valdese on Wednesday and made his case for Burke County voters to elect him as North Carolina governor in November.
Supporters crowded into Twin Brothers Pizza on Main Street to wait on Robinson’s arrival just after 1 p.m. The crowd cheered when Robinson walked through the back door and made his way through the crowd, shaking hands and taking photos with the people there.
In his speech to supporters, Robinson criticized his opponent, Democrat Attorney General Josh Stein, for dishonesty and poor leadership. And he touted the Republican-led legislature’s financial successes, including a state surplus.
Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, the Republican candidate for governor in North Carolina, speaks to his supporters during a campaign stop at Twin Brothers Pizza in Valdese on Wednesday.
Robinson went on to talk about the need for education reform and the need to get back to teaching the basics of reading, writing and math to make students great Americans, and get agendas out of the classroom.
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“What’s wrong with teaching our children to love America?,” Robinson said. “I guarantee you, the Communist Chinese are teaching their children to be proud Chinese communists. I guarantee you they are.”
Robinson said he wants children to be career-minded and consider trades such as plumbers, electricians and mechanics.
Supporter Donna Zborill attended the rally. She said she moved to Valdese from Arizona to be near her son and registered to vote soon after because she heard Robinson was running for governor.
She said she was excited to hear him speak at the campaign stop and shares his views on being anti-abortion and pro-gun.
A man with a Mark Robinson hat listens as Robinson excites supporters during the campaign event in Valdese.
Bill Hanna, an independent voter from Cleveland County, also attended. He said he’s voting for Robinson because of his stands on the Second Amendment, taxes and immigration.
Ocelle Sotelo and Anne Sanders, both from Morganton, have been Republicans all their lives, the pair said. At the event Wednesday, Sotelo said Robinson is needed as the governor of the state. She said she thinks people who don’t like Robinson don’t like him because he’s a Christian.
“And God knows we need him,” Sotelo said.
A handful of Attorney General Josh Stein supporters were on the sidewalk between the pizza eatery and Jack-B-Quick convenience store holding Stein signs. A supporter of Robinson walked up to and confronted one of Stein’s supporters before Robinson spoke.
Robinson answered questions in an interview after this speech. Below are his answers.
On the opioid crisis in North Carolina
Speaking at a campaign event in Valdese, Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson shares how he would tackle the opioid crisis if he were elected governor of North Carolina.
“I would love to form like a State Security Council, kind of along the lines of the National Security Council, and the very first thing that they would be tasked with doing is going after the fentanyl dealers on the streets, because that’s where the real damage is being done, let’s face it.
“You know, it’s one thing to sue opioid companies, but the real damage is being done by illicit drugs on the streets. Going after those folks and being proactive in going out there, putting in those investigative people that can go in and find these guys before they can ply their wares, and stopping it before it gets to our children. So I think that’s the number one thing that we can do.
“The second thing we need is to show a united front with our law enforcement officers, because we know that law enforcement is going to be the ones that are going to stand in front of those guys and keep that stuff from getting into our people’s hands.
Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson says how he’ll support state employees and what he thinks should happen to the money North Carolina has in surplus at a Valdese campaign stop.
“Now, the third one is a big one, and it could almost be number one. We’ve got to work on the mental health crisis. Nobody wants to do it because everybody asks, ‘How much is it going to cost?’ That’s not the question. The question is, how much is it going to cost us if we don’t do it. We’ve got to fix that, particularly in counties like this. We’ve got to figure out inventive ways to partner with the hospitals, partner with our health care systems, to bring to bear the facilities that we need for folks who are in crisis who may be addicted to stop those overdoses before they even happen.”
On helping state employees
“The number one thing we can do to help state employees is to continue to be fiscally responsible so we can pay them and keep their pay going, and give them those great raises to be commensurate with all the things that we’re seeing, like inflation and, of course, all the associated things, and to make sure that we’re healthy in the state financially so we can keep their retirements going.
“You know, there should be something for state employees to look forward to after they’ve served the state, served the people, for so long, and we shouldn’t have shortfalls. We won’t have shortfalls if we remain fiscally responsible.”
Mark Robinson talks to the crowd at Twin Brothers Pizza in Valdese on Wednesday.
Why should Burke County voters support him?
“Burke County voters should vote for me because we’re closely aligned with the legislature that has worked hard to bring North Carolina along economically for the last 14 years and has great plans to lead us into the future, to remain financially stable, to give them their independence in their business and to build great state agencies to help their businesses be successful.”
News Herald Reporter Chrissy Murphy contributed to this story.
