Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson and his wife Yolanda greet supporters at a campaign event in Elon, North Carolina on Nov. 3, 2024. (Photo: Galen Bacharier/NC Newsline)
North Carolina experienced more than its share of political and policy controversies in 2024, but here are three memorable ones to which NC Newsline devoted significant coverage.
The Robinson family nonprofit
As Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson campaigned as the Republican Party nominee for governor, one of many controversies to hit his campaign involved Balanced Nutrition, a nonprofit founded and run by his wife Yolanda Hill. The nonprofit, which helps childcare providers secure federal funding for children’s meals and comply with program regulations, came under intense public scrutiny after a state review uncovered multiple violations.
Both Robinson and Hill claimed the scrutiny was politically motivated, citing an alleged incident in which a DHHS employee shared photos of her with her husband to colleagues.
In April, however, Hill informed the clients of Balanced Nutrition that she was shutting down her nonprofit because of her husband’s campaign and as the state was preparing to conduct a compliance review. But the decision did not stop the state review.
Subsequent audits found even more violations. Balanced Nutrition improperly billed the federal food program, including excessive administrative costs and inadequate documentation for some food purchases. Centers sponsored by the nonprofit also bought items not allowed for the childcare program.
The findings lead DHHS to order Balanced Nutrition Inc. to repay more than $132,000 in federal funding following a finding of “serious deficiencies” against the nonprofit organization.
DHHS also sought reimbursement for labor expenses claimed for Kimberly Cephas, Hill’s daughter. The agency said Balanced Nutrition violated program regulations by employing Cephas without disclosing the relationship. The program requires DHHS approval for such hires.
In July, amidst the audits, Robinson told a radio host that the compliance review conducted by DHHS of his wife’s nonprofit was “politically motivated” and claimed the agency is being “weaponized” to target him and his family for political purposes.
In the radio interview, Robinson compared the state reviews of his wife’s nonprofit to the criminal prosecutions of then-candidate Donald Trump.
“It’s just like what we’re seeing at the federal level with the former president and with conservatives all over this country,” Robinson said. “This is a state agency being weaponized against somebody for political purposes.”
He lobbed similar accusations at the agency a few weeks later at a Trump rally in Asheville.
Robinson also promised to provide evidence of political interference, but that “evidence” was merely the allegation that Democratic opponent’s wife — an employee in a different section of the agency charged with that oversight — was somehow responsible for the citations of Balanced Nutrition.
Josh Stein’s wife Anna has worked for the state’s Division of Public Health since 2011 in a separate division than the one that oversees the Robinson nonprofit.
Stein, in a statement provided to NC Newsline in August, called the attack “ridiculous and completely false.”
State lawmakers approve bill enshrining controversial antisemitism definition in state law
In June, North Carolina lawmakers overwhelmingly approved a controversial law also known as the “Shalom Act” that established a definition of antisemitism in state law.
Under the law, North Carolina, by reference, adopted the “Working Definition of Antisemitism Adopted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) on May 26, 2016” the state’s official definition of antisemitism.
Under the definition, several types of criticism directed against Israel, such as “claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor,” would meet the definition.
House Speaker Tim Moore, one of the bill’s chief sponsors, said at a committee meeting that the measure is a response to a rise in hate speech and attacks on Jewish people.
“We have seen firsthand the violence, the intimidation, the threats that are happening against the Jewish individuals in this state and this country. Some of those have become very violent. Some of those have been more — not physical violence — but more of an intimidation.”
Critics say the bill is an attack on free speech and conflates criticism of Israel and the actions of its government with antisemitism.
North Carolina’s restrictions on public mask-wearing are now law after some key revisions
North Carolina’s contentious restrictions on public mask-wearing became law this year after GOP lawmakers successfully overrode a veto by Gov. Cooper.
The law contained different language from the bill that lawmakers first introduced. The original proposal had removed a 2020 bipartisan regulation put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic that allowed masking for health reasons, prompting pushback from the public and some Democratic legislators. The lawmakers restored a medical exemption.
Republicans also use the bill as a vehicle to enact some additional controversial and unrelated law changes.
Key provisions:
- The law allows people to wear medical or surgical-grade masks in public to prevent the spread of illness. Law enforcement and property owners can ask people to temporarily remove those masks to verify their identity.
- The measure also increases the severity of punishment for crimes committed while wearing a mask and raises penalties for protesters who purposefully block traffic. The latter provision went into effect Dec. 1.
- An unrelated provision on campaign finance was tacked on to the bill during negotiations. The law allowed federally registered committees to donate money to state political parties by tapping pots of money that include unlimited contributions from individuals.