Gov. Josh Stein is primed for success – if legislative leaders will only do their job

The Bottom Line from NC Newsline

Josh Stein is formally sworn in as North Carolina's next governor. (Photo: Screengrab from PBSNC video stream)

Few governors in North Carolina history have been better prepared for the job than our state’s new chief executive, Josh Stein.

Not only has Stein spent much of his professional career in elected office, but he was also raised in a family that preached and lived the value of public service and social justice.

Now add his demonstrated commitment to hard work and finding common ground and his record of accomplishment, honesty and effective communication, and his prospects for sustained success should be very high.

Unfortunately, despite his sterling credentials, Stein faces an enormous potential roadblock in the Republican leadership of our state’s gerrymandered legislature – a group that remains hellbent on treating him like a hostile enemy to be fought and dominated.

Fortunately, as with his predecessor Roy Cooper, it’s a task that Stein appears more than up to handling with his even-keeled commitment to truth-telling and popular policies.

The bottom line: His challenges are formidable, but Josh Stein has everything it takes to be a successful – even great — governor. All caring and thinking North Carolinians should wish him well.

For NC Newsline, I’m Rob Schofield.