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When someone applies for a new job, you have to consider how well they performed their last one. Did they meet the job description? Did they exceed expectations? Did they show up for work? In comparing the two candidates for governor of North Carolina, you get vastly different answers. As current lieutenant governor — a job that includes presiding over the N.C. Senate and serving on the State Board of Community Colleges — Mark Robinson was absent during interviews for two state community college presidents, attended very few meetings with that board, and didn’t even show up for 90 percent of Senate meetings in 2023. With this record, what employer would keep Robinson on the payroll, much less promote him? Compare that with Dale Folwell, our current state treasurer, who’s excelled in his position since his first day on the job. He’s managed the $115 billion state pension (more than eight times the state budget), slashed Wall Street fees by $650 million, kept the state health plan family premiums frozen for seven years, created a program for N.C. citizens to recover unclaimed property, maintained N.C.’s AAA credit rating, and reduced state debt by more than 60 percent. Clearly, Folwell has proven himself as a faithful public servant in local and state government, and I would urge each registered Republican or unaffiliated voter to vote in the upcoming Republican primary for Dale Folwell. We need a governor who will not only fulfill their duties, but find creative ways to go above and beyond.

— Marilyn Parker
Winston-Salem