Carolina Journal Radio No. 921: Chief Justice Newby takes over as top N.C. court official

From Cherokee to current attack and the largest city to the smallest and from the statehouse into the schoolhouse Carolina Journal radio your weekly news magazine discussing North Carolina's most of public policy events and issues welcome to Carolina Journal radio why Mitch coca during the next hour, Donna Martinez and I will explore some major issues affecting our state with American history under attack. A recent textbook titled land of hope aims to tell a more balanced story will check with the author, noted historian Wilford McClay 19 will continue to cause challenges for the University of North Carolina system throughout the rest of the academic year to learn about some key issues, university campuses, space North Carolina voters have added some new faces to the roster of statewide elected executive branch officials. You'll hear directly from the new state superintendent of public instruction and you'll hear an expert assessment of the new state labor Commissioner. How will these two new figures affect North Carolina public policy. Those topics are just ahead. First, Donna Martinez joins us. She has the Carolina Journal headline will it took several weeks back in December to determine the official winner who would be the Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court, but it is a done deal. After a recount and a Republican.

Paul Newby is the Chief Justice of the state's Highest Ct., Rick Henderson as editor-in-chief of Carolina Journal. He's been watching not only the race closely. But what's ahead for the North Carolina Supreme Court and he joins me now Rick welcome back to the show thank you note. First of all, why was this race for Chief Justice of the court so intensely watched, not only in North Carolina but across the country. There was a lot of interest in the race across the country because of the Democratic party, especially a group led by former US Atty. Gen. Eric Holder poured a lot of money into these races. Holder, while runs a group that's trying to affect redistricting and make sure that state cigarettes reviewed the redistricting process after the next census draw districts as favorable as possible to Democrats and targeted group targeted Republican-led state exactly and they wanted to make sure that there was a Democratic Supreme Court in North Carolina because that's almost certainly where judicial challenges to redistricting will wind up because US sprinklers basically said this is a state matter were going to do with these anymore largely when the so they so what the what this was, was an effort to make sure that there were as many friendly votes for Democrats as possible on courts and just as Beasley was the highest profile race because is that she she does have more authority to open policymaking in other areas than the associate Justice.

She was the head of the Supreme Court's Democrat in the race, but she's now been defeated by the Republican policy that is correct and she was there were a lot of machinations in getting her into this position because the initially she was an associate Justice on the Supreme Court. Her trouble supposed to run out in 2022, but would Mark Martin Republican retired from the bench early 2019, Gov. Roy Cooper elevated Sherry Beasley to this Chiefs position and what that did was that opened up her seat as an associate justice, but it also meant that she would have to defend that seat in the next general election. So it opened up two seats and because of that it in a year that if they thought they were going to do that impress all the really really well and have an opportunity to have all seven seats on the Supreme Court because I had six of the seven at the point is running 20 election, but not Paul Newby is the Chief Justice and we've had several other Republicans win seats on the Supreme Court. What's the makeup is now 43 Democratic but the thing is that Newby had Artie announced the second Martin retired he announced he was going to run for chief 2020 is passed over for one thing, by correcting a whole other story holds a separate story but nonetheless his seat was going to be open, regardless Democrats always an opportunity to take total control the court. Instead, it completely backfired on the mention the story about the US in terms of known goal by Cooper that Gov. Cooper could have at a minimum To Democrats on the court but steadies now has only survived a present or city has four and the most important one is in Republican hands and support seat.

By the way, you mentioned an article you wrote that's available Carolina Journal.com so going forward, 20, 21, it's here. And so we have for Democrats three Republican sitting on the state's highest court with Republican Paul movie as the chief what is the chief do. Why is that so important. He is the chief is ahead of the illustrative office of the courts. That's the that's the body that sets policies and procedures for all the courts of the state.

There is an administrator who who he hires also use his choice to handle those details.

The chief also assigns opinions with the Supreme Court. Here's a case who's gonna write the majority minority opinions he he also lies in the role of picking the chief judge of the Court of Appeals.

He picks the senior judge on the superior courts around the state and he also selects judges for things like business Corp., which is very important court in which district were Superior Court judges will hear cases involving questions of regulation or business's future things like that. He actually selects the judges who will hear those cases and so it's it's a very important role to say then that the chief justices philosophy and we know that Republican Palmer lease philosophy is very much about constitutional interpretation and prostitution all government on making sure that you read a lot essentially as it is right and making a loss that your member of the judiciary, not the legislature fair to say that that whole philosophy is going to be reflected in all those appointments that he makes. I would certainly say so. I also think that just as Newby is about who has been in the judiciary for quite a while and he knows the other judges. I think he will be in a position to pick people he thinks are knowledgeable and appropriate for the different positions because the there different roles that they play so is not just necessarily want to be picked the people who thinks of most conservative every issue for things you want to pick up experience judges who were going to be effective in in administering that the roles that they play but also it's gonna be interesting to because the Supreme Court has decided very tightly with Gov. Roy Cooper on several separation of powers lawsuits that have been filed in recent years and just as Newby was on the opposite side of those majority opinions by the Democrat led majority.

And so now with two other allies, who both Tamra Berggren, Phil Berger, Junior, who both ran again as constitutionalists and textual listed not as judicial activists plus a couple of moderate Democrats on the court as well's interest in Sam Ervin the fourth and in my God more than you've got possibility for some coalition building and sumo consensusbuilding on this new court that almost certainly would not have existed had justice to justice Beasley reelected Rick. We know that the cover 19 pandemic has affected every aspect of life. What the court system is there going to be a difference in the way.

Chief Justice Newby approaches access to courts in opposition to the way that the former Chief Justice Sherry Beasley Pratchett. I think this point probably happened will probably see that fairly quickly because one things a Chief Justice Beasley did immediately after she conceded was that she continue to extend a closure of the courts first for another period of time in which all actions will be taking place virtually electronically with very little human interaction taking place in the course and so that's really really difficult. It is almost impossible to conduct jury trials, virtually for one thing, and secondly, it does tend to slow the operation of justice.

What Paul Newby has said is that he would like to cease this situation in which places where there are major covert outbreaks are where the courts themselves are set up so that you can handle issues of social distancing, and the like. Better he would like to have those courts more open faster the public as long as the part.

Proper precautions are taking and are taken and he's somebody who certainly doesn't believe in a one-size-fits-all role for the administration of justice during this pandemic. And so that's can be one of the real noticeable things people see them be very interesting to see how that plays out. Also we also know that he is very much a proponent of civic education should we anticipate that he'll be out and about talking about those issues trying to help educate the public about what the Core System does. He sees very much someone who likes to make sure that people understand what the courts do why they're there why they do some things and not others and what the role of the judiciary in a in a constitutional republic is so II think will absolutely see that and also you might go until the story about how he saved our copy of the Bill of Rights from thieves 2020 led that sting operation that's another story. The Carolina generated talk about that one for sure.

So we have a new Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court. It is Republican Estes Paul Newby Rick Anderson is editor-in-chief of Carolina. Journal of course Carolina Journal.com.

Following all the opinions that come out at the state highest court.

Thank you Rick with this much more Carolina Journal radio to come tired of fake names tired of reporters with political axes to grind. What you need to be reading Carolina Journal honest, uncompromising, old-school journalism, you expect and you need even better, the monthly Carolina Journal is free to subscribers sign up at Carolina. Journal.com. You'll receive Carolina Journal newspaper in your mailbox each month. Investigations into government spending revelations about boondoggles who the powerful leaders are and what they're doing in your name and with your money. We shine a light on it all with the stories and angles. Other outlets barely cover but there's a bonus I print newspapers published monthly by our daily news site gives you the latest news each and every day lot onto Carolina Journal.com once, twice, even three times a day. You won't be disappointed. It's fresh news if you'd like a heads up on the daily news sign up for our daily email do that Carolina Journal.com Carolina Journal, rigorous, unrelenting, old-school journalism, we hold government accountable for you.

Welcome back to Carolina Journal radio hi Michiko guy, American history is under attack critics dispute the notion that this country is special and great on the opposite side of that argument, upholding a traditional understanding of America's positive role in the world land of hope. It's a text from University of Oklahoma historian Wilford McClay recently visited Raleigh to discuss the book for the James G. Martin Center for academic renewal. Why write another textbook about American history when the college board change their AP US history standards in a direction that works.

It was just kind of mind numbing deemphasizing the Constitution.

The Constitution convention.

The founders they backed off from there was a group of us.

I was very much a part of this that wrote a letter asking them to reconsider their stance and never acknowledge the letter but they did back off but it we could see the handwriting on the wall. The European exam similarly has become politicized, so we saw there was a need for a balance accurate, fair-minded, nonpolitical textbook when people start asking me if I would be interested. I said no.

No way I would rather be writing my scholarly monographs and I kinda think it's a great idea.

I hope you find someone to do it but eventually it sort of dawned on me that I'd been complaining about history, instruction in textbooks of this sort of thing, both orally and in print for years and when was I going to do something about, instead of just complaining. So it's a very accessible a book that written to be read, and I think that's one of the distinctives of my insisted on doing it that way. I didn't have a lot of sidebars a lot of gizmos and gimmicks I wanted to have a readable book that title land of hope there's the land. Actually I don't subscribe to the notion that America is primarily an idea I think we are an idea but were more were also a country where also a land that has a specific history and the learning that history as part of being a citizen is about. I have in the back of my mind and always materials the preparation of young people citizenship so that's really what's one of things I had in mind with land of hope and hope that's obviously the key now.

I think America is best understood as an aspirational nation. We are an aspirational people to understand America's it's not enough to tote out the date the statistics in nice neat columns you have to look at the kind of spiritual quality for lack of a better term, maybe it's not always that sometimes it's in the drive to be the best in the wealthiest or whatever, but that's part of. Hope to what is American. It seems to me about this is that we are we are a people. That is, that are committed to the idea that no one should be confined to the conditions of his or her birth that everyone should have opportunity to rise in the world and the running room within a free society, in a free economy to do that so that's that's one way of thinking about hope. Hope is not acquiescing in the hand you've been dealt but entertaining the hope that something better can be found. That's the voice of historian Wilford McClay, author of the American history text land of hope recent featured speaker for the James G.

Martin Center for academic renewal you believe the American story is a great story. I want to emphasize is that I think it we do our young people. Maybe our whole society. A great disservice by failing to see and point out and acknowledge the elements of greatness of incomparable greatness in our history along with honest reckoning with our many faults and the book is full of faults and it is it's not a sermon in one way or the other but it it is not a prettify of the American pastor, particularly slavery, Indian removal general shameful history of treatment of the native the indigenous peoples of that's all in their maybe not at the length that some people would like would like to make that the focus of the great American story is story needs to be told, I think I fear that young people are only getting what I call the inglorious story. The story of America as a land of of perfidy in malice and oppression and injustice and well, you can find all of those things.

The question is that is that the overall theme is that what we want to. The image of ourselves that we want to have that we want to convey to the young as a way of giving ourselves the material to move forward. I think not what your response to the controversy: largely anti-American 1619 project.

I think 1619 thing is so unfortunate is such a missed opportunity because I'm all for the idea of emphasizing the history of African people in in America in the Americas to clean the what became the United States is not an*it's it has a central import that a lot of criticism of the 6019 projects historical inaccuracies and basically the times in the chief editor and that the person put the project together have have simply failed to deal with those challenges, which is that's part of what scholarly discourse is about. If you make a bold claim you back it up. How is the book change your thinking about important historical events or figures. I have a much more favorable view of the presidents of the 1920s the Republican presidents even Harding, but certainly Coolidge less so.

Hoover I see Hoover much more. As already a simulated progressivism and right yeah I you look at the successes of those years and I think we tend to much to cast the shadow of the depression over them.

Every time I sort of work through what I think about Lincoln sequence of things that I think are important for people to know about them, the more impressed I am. I actually this the sit this is not a sound like nothing much but I spent a lot of time with George Washington and my goodness, I think I underestimated him.

He's even greater than I thought I'm not inventing a radically different account of American history and trying to restore some sense of of this is a story and so I kind of feel the way Jefferson said about the declaration that he he wasn't trying to come up with anything originally was trying to give a sense of the American mind, it's what I'm trying to do with five simple I'm trying to to restore input into a more palatable form informed by some of the critical scholarship of the last three 4050 years a view of American history that can make sense to particular young people, I mean, that's who. This is really written for you. Prof. Wilford McClay, historian and author of land of hope and invitation to the great American story. Thank you for joining us will return with more Carolina journal radio in a moment. If you have freedom we got great news to share with you now. You can find the latest news, views, and research from conservative groups across North Carolina all in one place North Carolina conservative.com it's one stop shopping.

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We have learned a lot. Humbly we can admit that we have learned a lot this fall. From the very different approaches taken across the system and will be applying all of those lessons to the upcoming semester. As with the fall semester. You'll see a mix of online and in-person and hybrid learning depending on local circumstances and the needs and capacities of each campus. No two institutions will look exactly like the and how they continue to deliver world-class education and that's by design because our role here at the system level to provide resources, guidance, coordination, and that's what continue to do as chancellors develop and implement their spring plans.

The plans of course are still being refined and are subject to change depending on circumstances involving public health guidance, but we know start of semester spring semester classes will be delayed by around two weeks. That's more time to whether a difficult stretch with improved treatments and safe vaccines, some of which are being researched at our own institutions that will be wellness days spread strategically throughout the semester in lieu of spring break to avoid the traveling back and forth be reduced.

Residence hall occupancy critically at those large campuses that may have single occupancy only in on-campus residence halls will be increased. On-campus bed space for isolation and quarantine with backup, surge capacity, expanded and ongoing surveillance testing and improved symptomatic testing in student health centers and will be reentry testing either prior to or upon arrival at move-in. There are no perfect solutions for the dilemmas we face people's lives on indefinite hold. Which means we have to keep offering the education and research.

Our students need we have to do in a way that balances public health with a very real long-term consequences of cutting off avenues of opportunity for whole generation of students. Everyone of us is facing versions of that dilemma in our work in our lives and hope and pray were making all the best choices.

We can under circumstances that none of us wanted. That's Peter Hans, president of the University of North Carolina system during a recent meeting of the system's board of governors. He discussed the University's ongoing reaction to the covert, 19 pandemic overture more Carolina journal radio. What about where doubling down on freedom at Carolina journal radio were proud to bring you stories that impact your life and your wallet. And now get twice as much freedom when you also listen to our podcast headlock available on iTunes and@johnlocke.org/podcast headlock is a little bit different. It's a no holds barred discussion that challenges softheaded ideas from the left and the right, like Carolina journal radio headlock is smart and timely but with headlock you'll hear more about the culture wars get some more humor as well.

We guarantee great information and a good time – that's listen to Carolina journal radio each week and listen to headlock to remember, you can listen to headlock@johnlocke.org/podcast or subscriber download each week iTunes Carolina journal radio and headlock just what you need to stay informed and stay entertained both brought to you in the name of freedom by the John Locke foundation look back Carolina journal radio I Michiko got North Carolina voters elected Republican Catherine Truitt to serve as the new state superintendent of public instruction and education advisor to former Republican Gov. Pat McCrory Truitt most recently served as Chancellor for the online Western Governors University in North Carolina Ct. discussed her new role during a recent online presentation for the John Locke foundation. I working diligently already with the state board of education to examine issues that are facing us right now. For example, our accountability and end testing issues that that we've got going on where parents are are incredibly concerned about some of the things that are happening testing right now just just as one example. I'm building a team.

I would say as the expression goes, have hit the ground running. Truitt wants to get students back into classrooms, but she can't make that decision on her own, had some great conversations with the governor's office and with DHHS about what's happening in our schools have made my position clear which is that I want to see us continue to go in this direction more local control. As I said throughout the campaign decision to reopen schools should be should rest with local health officials, local superintendents on school boards.

Right now we've got about 80% of kids in our state are in some form in person or hybrid learning what we gotta do now is give that same level of control over to high schools. So what I would like to see is for the governor's office to lift the restriction on returning to plan a or grade 9 to 12 and then I'm in a difficult situation because although personally I feel that it is actually safer for kids to be back in school. We do have the issue of what our local districts decide to do my own children are in wake County Public and I I would love for them to be in school more than they are. But as the superintendent. I will need to accept the decisions that are made at the local level and I think that's hard for folks to get their head around that you know as the state superintendent. I don't have regulatory authority over our our local Truitt emphasizes the impact of school closings during the time of covert IT in the United States over a million low to middle income women have lost their jobs because of heavy-handed government shut down mainly because of school closures and parents having to choose between their children in a job is untenable situation and I am going to continue to advocate that our schools reopen.

We have a lot of schools that have reopen. We are our cases of COBIT that we've seen are primarily in our private schools not in our public schools and they are instances where adults are bringing coded to school not not children spreading it to adults and so I have every every confidence that our schools can be when they follow the guidelines set forth by DHHS are not only safe but safe for man. Most other places. That's Catherine Truitt, newly elected North Carolina superintendent of public instruction. She speaking during an online presentation for the John Locke foundation Truitt wants to focus attention on early literacy right now in North Carolina. Two thirds of eighth graders headed in high school are not reading and doing math professionally. So that's an incredibly high number 67% and when we disaggregate that we find that it disproportionately impacts low income students and specifically Hispanic students are only third last another 28% are reading, doing math professionally headed in the ninth grade and only 14% of African-American students are.

We know what the root cause analysis of this is already. It's that were not using research back methods of early literacy instruction when children are in school. This is something that can be fixed but it's going to take the legislature and as well as the UNC system and educate our colleges of education as well as the state board adjusting policies and it's going to take some changes in in the way we assess as well. Are our students so they are there already is work being done at the state board and the Department of Public instruction as well as in the legislature and the UNC system to bring everyone together to coalesce around what solving an issue which really is tantamount to educational malpractice that we have not been able to matter how much money we've spent the last 35 years have not been able to move the needle on student achievement for all students in our state and its it's time to recognize that this is not just about money. This is about looking at at outlets as well as input and this is something that everyone can agree needs to be and that is the first thing that I'm going to start working to cope with 19 pandemic is highlighted. Parents critical role in education.

I always you know as a teacher parents into buckets you have this group over here that is just not for whatever reason, able to engage in what is going on at school. It could be that they are not educated themselves there in survival mode.

Whatever whatever the issue is, and on the other side you've got a group of highly engaged parents who are are are on a weekly basis engaged at their children schools with their teachers, etc. and you got cut got the squishy group in the middle now were going to see an even greater divide into those two groups you've gotten more more parents ever or bringing into this group over here because they know more. They seem more than working continue as the digital divide becomes even more prevalent as because digital learning is not going away. Remote instruction is not going away when kids are back in school for various reasons, so we are going to have to start at the state level prioritizing parent voice in a way that hasn't before and I certainly intend to be a hallmark of my administration.

Truitt knows schools are going to have to address learning loss link to cope with IT the learning loss is going to be most acute.

With our low income students, which is why we gotta get kids back in school.

We are seeing divergent groups being affected differently which is why I don't understand groups that are continuing to push for kids not to return to school, making false claims that this is about about safety of children not using data and science to support their their claims that schools need to remain shuttered.

That's Catherine Truitt, North Carolina's new elected state superintendent of public instruction.

She delivered these remarks during a recent online presentation for the job lot foundation for Carolina drone radio real influence. You either have it or you don't and at the John Locke foundation we have it, you'll find our guiding principles in many of the freedom forward reforms of the past decade here in North Carolina. So while others talk or complain or name call.

We provide research solutions and hope our team analyzes the pressing issues of the day jobs, healthcare, education, and more. We look for effective ways to give you more freedom, more options, more control over your life. Our goal is to transform North Carolina into a growing, thriving economic powerhouse envy of every other state research is how policymakers make decisions that ensure you keep more of what you are.

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We are the John Locke foundation. Welcome back to Carolina Journal radio Dina Martina's. He is one of the North Carolina Republican Party's new generation of statewide leaders Josh Dobson, a veteran state legislator is now North Carolina's Commissioner of labor, having defeated Democrat Jessica Holmes in November. Becky Gray of the John Locke foundation knows Josh Dobson. She joins us now with a look at the new Commissioner and what's ahead in the labor arena. Becky welcome back to the tell us about the new Commissioner. The way that I know him, is he served in the North Carolina Gen. assembly for eight years and four times. He was elected from the account County in the western part of the state. Formally he was a McDowell County Commissioner on so I always love those legislators who come with some some experience like that particular county commissioners putting budgets together and those kind of things and just Dobson was quickly identified as a leader three days years he served as the chairman of the Appropriations Committee so and also took a real interest in healthcare leadership position. They are to know when is when he was in the general assembly as a very thoughtful methodical member who we have a great relationship with him because he relied on the information we provide at the John lot foundation but not solely on the information that we provide. He was always very interested in bringing different grapes with expertise in different ideas to the table that was one of things that I admired about him as a member of the general assemblies. He was very much a coalition builder and really wanted to not just listen to a stakeholder and go that way for the sake of you know a campaign contribution or other things he always wanted to get all of the information at the table and encourage people to listen to each other. We need more of that now so I am delighted that he will now be is now Arab labor Commissioner will be for the next four years takes the place of course, of long serving Sherry Barry's picture was an elevator elevator arson) I see Josh Dobson's picture in the elevators very shortly campaign was rather interesting and sometimes the activities of the labor Commissioner having to do with them. Worker freedom and right to work laws etc. doesn't get a whole lot of news media coverage because it's not real sexy. Frankly that's really important. It is very important and I think one reason lot doesn't get a lot of press and information is of what the labor Commissioner does is they enforce national federal workplace and employee laws. OSHA and those kind of things inside the front for a large part. It's not a big policymaking organization.

It's more of an enforcement kind of watchdog urging things along mean something to Deming, what they did was very important one, as when their disputes with employees about whether or not they get wages whether their wages are paid and that's one thing that goes to the Department of Labor and Josh Dobson has already said he believed strongly that if if somebody is done the work and been promised are getting paid for it. They all get paid for it and so I expect him to be a strong advocate along as wise as we see in so many things that set balance between the role of government and the private sector because a lot of these rules and regulations have a tremendous impact and cost for the employee. So there's a protection for bugs in their tenets that balance that he's gonna be working with it. In fact I'm like many of the elected statewide officials in North Carolina covered 19 to with it already. Some issues have come up having to do with worker rights and labor relations and the environment that people are working and particularly in some of the North Carolina's agricultural entities right and we saw the note that the latter part of the year there was a petition for info for making and enforcing much stricter rules that have to do with the coveted pandemic protections for people in meat processing plants and and migrant workers is what it was kind directed at. But when you got into the meat of the rules that they were requesting it really would've affected every single business across North Carolina on Sherry Dees. I'm sorry Sherry Barry declined that requests for rulemaking block – and submitted a letter saying that there ought to be some other considerations, we have to go slow on this and that we ought to look at the impact it would have on the enforcer hurts as well as the and foresees and that perhaps it just needed some more thought that that that is still very much at the forefront and what Josh Dobson has said in his response because of course he's been asked what what would we see what the former Commissioner Deb what would you do under the circumstances and what Josh Dobson has said on that is that PP addresses and understands the problem that it is for workers as well as for employers and that his intent would be the same way as he worked through many important issues through the general assembly and that is to bring lots of different people to the table and to hear the complaints and the concerns of those representing the workers but at the same time to hear from the businesses and the employee errors as to what the impact on them would be again that balance that you're finding and also I think that was something that Josh Dobson really brings to the table that were going to say to is the economic impact with his familiarity, being the appropriations tray are in the leader in putting North Carolina's budget together and guessing that the general assembly will lean somewhat on Josh Dobson as the labor Commissioner now for help in distributing some of the coveted money that we anticipate to come in during this next year. An additional appropriations that may go for things that impact workers and employers. I think his voice and the role that the labor Commissioner is going to play in these things, given his experience, his relationship with the general assembly. I think it will get to see more coalition building and bringing things to the table and looking at the whole picture as these decisions are made. He's also going to have to deal with them. The targeting of North Carolina by a number of labor unions across the country. They see North Carolina as a potential for expanding the union influence were right to work state. We do have a ban on collective bargaining by public sector unions, but there are some Democratic state legislators who very recently within the last couple of years have filed bills is seeking to repeal that man do we have a sense of what the new Commissioner thinks about those types of issues.

Not only do we have a sense that he's been absolutely adamant on this particular topic from during the election since he's been elected is that he is 100% in support of North Carolina's very strong right to work laws they space rights and freedoms for workers that they don't have to belong to a union, and also he supposed to collective bargaining.

When I asked him about it recently was interesting. He worked his way through college as a public safety public safety officer and so he brings a very personal perspective to this notion of collective bargaining and for state employees to be able to strike to walk out and he said he sees this as a public safety issue of you know what if, in the middle of the asked what if during those riot police officers had decided to go on strike to just walk away yummy wet enough that kind of thing happened so he is very adamant he's made his position clear and I don't anticipate him hearing from that at all what he can do specifically in his role as the commissioner it may just be the the megaphone that he now asked to talk to and again his relationship with legislators and talking to people across North Carolina that as the Commissioner of labor. He believes strongly in the right to work and how North Carolina's laws are set now. Becky, I know that you will be following his work is the new state labor Commissioner Carolina Journal.

I'm sure will be reporting on issues that trend into his area and on which he uses that bully pulpit to comment were talking about Josh Dobson.

He is North Carolina's new Commissioner of labor. He is a former state legislator from McDowell County. Becky great.

Thanks so much for joining I see always pleasure and that's all the time we have for Carolina Journal radio this week. Thank you for listening on behalf of my cohost Michiko guy Donna Martinez hope you'll join us again next week for another edition of Carolina Journal radio Carolina Journal radio is a program of the job. To learn more about the John Locke foundation donation support programs like Carolina Journal radio send email development John Locke done call 66 jail left 166-553-4636 Carolina Journal radio is the John Lott foundation airline is free-market tank and Carolina broadcasting system, Inc. all opinions expressed on this program are so clearly reflect the station. For more information about the show or other programs and services of the foundation, toll-free at 866 JL would like to thank our wonderful radio affiliates across airline and our sponsors.

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