A report stated that Mark Robinson, Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina and the Republican candidate for governor of the state, skipped a vote on declaring a state of emergency before Hurricane Helen reached the southern state.
Robinson, who was recently attacked for allegedly racist and explicit posts on a porn website message board, was the only member of the state Assembly who did not vote on Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s emergency declaration, WRAL News reported.
Cooper sought this declaration from North Carolina’s top elected officials in the state executive branch on September 24 so he could muster a strong response to Helen. The vote enabled Cooper to mobilize rescue vehicles and issue evacuation orders more easily.
Eight of the nine state Assembly members voted in favor of the declaration, according to WRAL — all except Robinson. Since then, Cooper has sent more than 700 members of the North Carolina National Guard to areas reeling from Helen’s wrath, which has left at least 166 dead and hundreds missing in six states. Joe Biden also gave the green light to the governor’s request for emergency federal aid.
Guard members have rescued more than 400 people and numerous animals in western North Carolina following historic floods and landslides that washed away roads, greatly complicating search efforts. More than 347,000 people are still without power in North Carolina.
Some of the hardest-hit areas, including Asheville, are struggling to find clean water. Some residents are boiling water and bathing in streams, according to The Washington Post.
Robinson attacked Cooper’s response to Helen even though he did not vote on the emergency measure, saying on social media Tuesday: “The time for politics is over. We’re talking about saving people’s lives here.”
“North Carolina should follow the example of successful governors like [Florida Republican governor Ron DeSantis]. Cut the red ribbon. Stop waiting for federal resources and allow the private sector to assist with rescue, recovery, and infrastructure repair efforts immediately.
“This is a life or death situation,” he added.
WRAL said it remains unclear why Robinson did not respond to the vote. Robinson’s office did not comment directly to WRAL about the reason for his withdrawal. His chief of staff, Krishana Polit, said he was visiting areas affected by Hurricane Helen.
“All hands on deck mean just that, including the hands of every elected official in this state,” she said in a statement obtained by WRAL. “We need to be boots on the ground, working to save the citizens of this state — just as Lieutenant Governor Robinson and his team have been doing 24/7 for days.”
Robinson is running against Democrat Josh Stein, the state’s attorney general. Many Republicans have distanced themselves from Robinson in the wake of controversy over the alleged message board posts, which he denied writing.
