McCrory and Cooper hold first debate

Incumbent Republican Governor Pat McCrory and current Democratic Attorney General Roy Cooper faced off last Friday in the first debate of many before the approaching 2016 North Carolina gubernatorial election in November.

Education, tax policy and social issues such as the enforcement of North Carolina’s House Bill 2 quickly distinguished McCrory’s and Cooper’s visions for the state; disagreements began immediately.

Cooper focused on his own past working to prosecute both Republican and Democratic corruption, reduce pollution and resolve issues with the government subsidized healthcare system before moving into discussion of teacher pay.

McCrory touted his ‘Carolina comeback’ as he opened the debate by emphasizing his accomplishments as former mayor of Charlotte. These included the reduction of unemployment rates and major infrastructure projects such as the Lynx Light Rail system.

“I think Governor McCrory has failed us,” Cooper said during the debate. “He has put his extreme, social, partisan agenda ahead of jobs and schools and we’ve all paid the price.”

“The governor talks about supporting public education,” he said, “but you go ask most teachers about the salary increases the governor talks about, and they will tell you that his actions do not match his words.”

Cooper said morale in the state has never been lower.

“What we have to do is tell teachers we respect them.”

McCrory said the first thing he and his team did after he took office was to raise entry-level teacher pay by $5,000.

“Since then, we’ve given the largest teacher pay raises in the United States of America,” he said.

McCrory noted his teaching experience in the state and his plans to elevate teacher pay in North Carolina to an average of $50,000 per year with an additional $15,000 of insurance benefits.

North Carolina’s House Bill 2 was also distinguished as a polarizing issue within the first half of the debate.

“A boy who is a boy, but thinks he’s a girl, should not go into the girls’ shower,” McCrory said.

McCrory added that the private sector should have autonomy over their policies.

Cooper said the state needs to get rid of House Bill 2.

The candidates also spoke on tax policy. Cooper said the focus of tax policy should be the middle class, but the tax cuts under McCrory’s administration haven’t benefitted working people, instead offering relief to corporations and those at the top at the expense of public education and the middle class.

Other topics included transportation costs, chemical dependencies and unemployment — all issues which both candidates agree require strong leadership.

“...leadership means making the tough decisions to move this state forward,” McCrory said.

“We need a governor who has a vision for this state, not who is beholden to a partisan, social agenda,” Cooper said in his closing statements.” I am positive about where North Carolina can go if we make the right choices.”

state@dailytarheel.com