While making calls for consensus, and saying “now is not the time to point fingers,” Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper renewed his challenge to the GOP-dominated legislature to repeal House Bill 2 and expand Medicaid during a Saturday morning inaugural address.
“House Bill 2 is exactly the kind of social issue we don’t need on our books,” Cooper said, referring to the law enacted by the General Assembly in March 2016 that negated Charlotte’s “bathroom ordinance” allowing transgender people to use the bathroom of their gender identity and preventing local governments from enacting antidiscrimination laws stronger than the state’s law.
“This law has isolated and hurt a lot of people, damaged our state’s reputation, and cost our economy hundreds of millions of dollars that could have paid our teachers and firefighters or built new highways.”
Cooper took the oath of office as the state’s 75th governor on Sunday, Jan. 1, just moments after the new year began. The winter storm that hit North Carolina this weekend prompted the inaugural committee to first move the planned ceremony inside to Raleigh’s Memorial Auditorium and then postpone the event.
Instead, Cooper gave his televised inaugural address from his new residence, the Executive Mansion.
Cooper reached out to businesses and event organizers who said they pulled out of the state because of the controversial H.B. 2.
“North Carolina is open for business,” Cooper said. “We want to welcome you and all kinds of people back to one of the most innovative business climates in America.”
The Charlotte City Council repealed its ordinance in mid-December, prompting a special session of the General Assembly to reconsider House Bill 2. After a day of haggling, efforts to repeal the bill and place a moratorium on similar ordinances failed in the Senate. Republican legislative leaders blamed Cooper, then the state’s governor-elect, for encouraging Senate Democrats to vote against the measure.
Cooper also restated his intent to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, saying such a move would provide more health insurance coverage for North Carolinians, create jobs, and help struggling rural hospitals. That move has also drawn fire from legislative Republicans, who in 2013 enacted a law requiring approval of the General Assembly before any Medicaid expansion could take place.
Cooper also pushed for increasing teacher pay, more funding for early childhood education, pursuing renewable energy, and repairing the state’s roads and bridges.
North Carolina’s new governor began his inaugural address harking back to 1776 when delegates from across the state came to the small town of Halifax to adopt the Halifax Resolves.
“There, without a single vote of dissent, they resolved to be the first state to petition the Continental Congress to declare American independence,” Cooper said.
Cooper said the state has been a leader in higher education, innovation, expanding civil rights and fighting economic recessions.
He acknowledged the state’s contentious political past, but said he is moving forward.
“Now is not the time to point fingers or dwell on recent battles,” Cooper said. The people of this state are tired of yesterday’s politics. You expect — and deserve — public servants who reject cynicism, who don’t succumb to political paralysis, who negotiate differences in good faith.”
Cooper pledged to lead by example and to try to reach consensus with the Republican-led General Assembly.
“So don’t let the last few months discourage you,” Cooper said. “There’s a lot we can accomplish, and I can’t wait to get started.”
Cooper also thanked his wife and North Carolina’s new first lady, Kristin, along with his daughters, Hilary, Natalie, and Claire.
“Whenever I think of the future, I see their faces,” Cooper said. “They inspire me. They remind me that today, we have a new chance to find our way forward together.”