(The Center Square) – Mental health and education in North Carolina are on deck for assistance, Gov. Roy Cooper says.
The Democrat’s biennial State of the State speech on Monday evening included a lengthy list of accomplishments, notably and most recently, including his long-sought request to expand Medicaid. He told a statewide television audience and both chambers of the General Assembly that the coming days would include announcements for a comprehensive mental health plan and a state budget delivering “double-digit raises” for teachers and principals.
“Our moment to build enduring prosperity is now,” he said. “And, I know that North Carolina is ready.”
Cooper captured the 2016 election over former Republican Gov. Pat McCrory by about 10,000 votes and has steadily fought, even through litigation, with the Republican leadership of both General Assembly chambers. Last week, Senate leader Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore announced Medicaid expansion, a plan the governor has sought since the 2016 campaign.
In addition to education, themes in Cooper’s fourth such address were infrastructure, the economy and the state’s workforce. The Old North State has invested over $2 billion each in high-speed internet and water infrastructure.
Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson delivered the response to Cooper’s speech. Over roughly 14 minutes, he punctuated the difference of approach by the GOP to education, the economy and public safety. He emphasized the difference in Democrats leading the state into billions of dollars in debt through their 140 years of control since Reconstruction and how Republicans – since gaining majorities in 2010 – have lifted North Carolina into historic economic growth, turning it into an “economic powerhouse.”
“If the Democrats have their way,” he said, “they’ll pull us back into an era of government overreach, high taxes, and a tax on our personal freedoms. During the pandemic, we saw just how far they would go to control your lives. They shut down your businesses, they kept your children out of school, and they told you you couldn’t go to church.”
