Republicans are making a weak NC governor’s office even weaker | Opinion

Some elected officials are said to grow in office, but North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper instead has seen his office shrink around him.

The Democratic governor, now entering the final year of his second and final term, has had his powers repeatedly claimed by the Republican-controlled General Assembly. Those legislative raids have undermined the office of governor, undercut the will of voters and inhibited the ability of Cooper and future governors to effectively do what their title expects – govern the state.

Cooper spokesman Jordan Monaghan said, “For short-term political gain that will cause long-term damage to our state, the Republican legislature has unconstitutionally ripped power from the governor’s office, upsetting the balance that requires each branch of government to keep check on the other.”

For Republican legislative leaders this is all about political muscle flexing. They have a veto-proof majority and they’ll do what they want and what they want is to claim the governor’s powers as their own.

The usurping began even when a Republican held the office. In 2014, Gov. Pat McCrory sued the legislature to prevent it from creating commissions that would take over functions that he said belonged to state agencies overseen by the governor.

The state Supreme Court sided with McCrory, but the decision didn’t chasten the legislature. After Cooper defeated McCrory in 2016, the legislature cut his powers before he even took office.

Legislation passed in December 2016 made the governor’s cabinet appointments subject to approval by the state Senate and reduced the number of employees he could appoint from 1,500 to 300. The governor’s ability to appoint members to the boards of trustees for UNC System campuses was eliminated.

Since then, the legislature has reduced the governor’s appointments to other boards, has weakened the State Board of Education, whose members are mostly appointed by the governor, and has moved to end his oversight of state elections.

All this is being done to an office that is already one of the weakest in the nation. North Carolina’s governor has no line-item veto – he must sign or veto the whole bill. He has no role approving redistricting bills or local bills, some of which change local election processes.

Meanwhile, the governor’s proposed budget is ignored as Republican lawmakers mix major policy changes into a spending plan they fashion largely in secret.

If Republicans had more respect for democracy, they would show respect for the office of governor and the crucial role of the executive branch in a system of checks and balances.

And if they had more respect for voters, they would give more sway to Cooper’s judgment. He has won six statewide elections – four as attorney general and twice as governor. A majority of North Carolina voters trust his leadership. Republican lawmakers don’t. They overrode his vetoes 19 times in 2023.

In a hostile environment, Cooper has used one power the legislature can’t take away – the bully pulpit. He campaigned hard for Medicaid expansion and traveled the state pushing for more money for public schools. He’s focused on climate change, supporting the expansion of renewable energy and a reduction in carbon emissions. He served as chair of the Democratic Governors Association and has developed strong ties to President Joe Biden.

But no amount of speaking and politicking by one governor can offset the damage to the office itself. The balance between the three branches of government is broken. A handful of state senators and representatives chosen by a small fraction of the electorate are controlling the state, neglecting public schools, skewing elections through gerrymandering and reducing state services by tolerating vacancy rates of 20 percent and more in state agencies.

The executive and legislative branches each have distinct and vital roles in a democracy. Diminishing one to enlarge another may empower the legislature, but it is weakening North Carolina.

Associate opinion editor Ned Barnett can be reached at 919-404-7583, or nbarnett@ newsobserver.com