Today’s Roanoke Times Editorial echoed a position taken by journalists, editorial boards and businesses across North Carolina. It is a resounding demand to end Governor McCrory’s state-sponsored discrimination in the form of HB2.
After this week’s news that the CoStar Group’s decision to invest in Richmond will cost North Carolina an estimated $250 million dollars and 730 good-paying jobs, Governor McAuliffe reminded us that Virginia Republicans sent HB2-like legislation to his desk and that if a Republican Governor was in office, that bill would have been signed and Virginia would have faced a similar economic disaster. The Governor then challenged Republican Gubernatorial candidates to publicly say whether they would support Virginia’s HB2.
HB2 has already cost North Carolina $400 million. If Ed Gillespie, Rob Wittman, Frank Wagner, and Corey Stewart believe in keeping Virginia a top destination for business, they will disavow anti-LGBT bills that would cause economic catastrophe. You can’t be pro-business and support Virginia’s HB2 legislation; it’s time we heard where Ed, Rob, Frank, and Corey stand.
Our view: Ballot selfies and other election thoughts
Roanoke TimesOctober 28, 2016
October 28, 2016 By Editorial Board
By Editorial Board
Key Quote: Which candidate would do the most to help our local economy? That’s easy. It’s Pat McCrory, the Republican governor of North Carolina, who’s seeking his second four-year term in the November election. We can point to specific and multiple ways he has helped the economy — our economy. North Carolina panicked and made a spectacle of itself by passing HB2, its so-called “bathroom bill.” In response, various companies and even sports leagues pulled events from the state. Three of those have wound up in Salem — the NCAA Division III men’s and women’s soccer championships, as well as the Division II Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association football championship. That’s money in the bank for us.
McCrory has given Virginia a competitive advantage in economic development, as well. When the University Economic Development Association recently held its national conference in Roanoke, the keynote speaker highlighted a North Carolina program to encourage partnerships between colleges and companies, as a way help recruit technology companies interested in research and development. The speaker hailed it as a model for other states to follow as they try to build a “knowledge economy.” Then the speaker noted that McCrory had cancelled it. The pro-business audience groaned.
On Monday, a data company picked Richmond as the site for a new office, with 730 jobs. Industry officials said it beat out Charlotte specifically because of HB2.
Feel free to argue all you want which presidential candidate would be best, but it’s clear that Virginia would be best served if North Carolina re-elected McCrory.