North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein emphasized improving the state’s public education system and urged people to vote — particularly in what Stein said will be a tough election.
Stein, the Democratic candidate for governor, spoke Aug. 7 at CityGate Dream Center in Burlington. The Dream Center is a community center specifically for diverse students and families in Alamance County.
North Carolina ranks 46th in the country at starting teacher pay, according to data from the National Education Association, and 49th for funding effort for public K-12 education, according to research from the North Carolina Public School Forum. Stein said during his speech that this is a disgrace. In order to recruit and retain great teachers, Stein said North Carolina needs to pay them more. This particularly affects more rural counties such as Alamance, Stein said, as there is less funding from taxpayers for school districts.
“It's the kids and their districts who are suffering the most with the lack of investment,” Stein said during the event. “We need the teachers arm-and-arm, with the small business owners arm-and-arm, with the big business leaders arm-and-arm, with all of us to make the case about the urgency of adequately funding public education and I'm going to do that every day as your governor.”
Stein told Elon News Network that college students specifically should elect him this November, as he is focusing on issues that will also matter in their future. Stein said his platforms include tackling the climate crisis, decreasing violent crime and protecting women’s reproductive rights.
“We are about building a better future here in North Carolina for everybody so that folks can succeed and build their lives,” Stein told Elon News Network. “We’ve got to get the cost of living down, we need more good paying jobs, but we also have to be focused on long-term investments that will make a difference in people’s chances for success.”
North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein speaks at his "Real Time with Stein" event on Aug. 7 at the CityGate Dream Center in Burlington.
Stein said he is running for governor because he loves his home state and wants to create change for every North Carolinian — including in Alamance County.
“Alamance County is a growing, vibrant county,” Stein told Elon News Network. “What I want is to earn every vote. I want as many votes in Alamance as I can, just as I do all across the state.”
Quinn Ray, Elon Town Council member, was at the event to see who he hopes will be the next governor of North Carolina.
“He understands what North Carolina needs and what the working family needs,” Ray told Elon News Network. “He's done an excellent job, in my opinion, as an attorney general, and I think his policies of being pro education, pro reproductive rights, they're two big issues for me, and that's something that I think a lot of our residents in Elon resonate with.”
Elon alum Amy Harrison ’00 also came to support Stein as an educator and member of the North Carolina Association of Educators. She said she feels he gives teachers a voice in government.
“He has always let us have a seat at the table and listen to our concerns,” Harrison told Elon News Network. “Somebody in his office, they've always reached out when they do have questions, and that's something. If we can't be at the table, at least he's asking those questions.”
Elon alum Amy Harrison '00 asks Josh Stein how he would support North Carolina educators if re-elected as governor this November. Stein visited the CityGate Dream Center in Burlington on Aug. 7 where he held his "Real Time with Stein" event.
Stein said in this election, his vision is in competition with Republican governor candidate Mark Robinson’s campaign.
“The vision of my opponent in this race, Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, is one of division, violence and hate,” Stein said during the event. “It is about fighting job killing culture wars. He says the most awful things about people, called public school teachers, wicked people and demons.”
Elections in North Carolina are always close, Stein said, referencing his own 2020 election where he won by 12,300 votes out of 5 million votes cast. Stein said while this creates responsibility for North Carolina residents, it also creates an opportunity.
“It means that we have the power to determine who wins and who loses,” Stein said during the event. “We have the power to shape the future of North Carolina in the country and the world. Voters and other states hunger for the kind of power that we have here in North Carolina — to possess that political power is a privilege.”