NCLCV Endorses Candidates for Council of State for the First Time
This year, the NC League of Conservation Voters Conservation (NCLCV) PAC has made its first ever endorsements for certain Council of State offices. We have always endorsed for Governor, but we have now endorsed candidates for Commissioner of Agriculture, Commissioner of Insurance, and State Treasurer.
These offices hold important powers in protecting our environment. For example, the Commissioner of Insurance dictates policies to protect people from natural disasters. As climate change intensifies, this will become more and more important. Additionally, in 2022, North Carolina ranked 8th in the U.S. in the value of agricultural products sold, with $18.7 billion. The Commissioner of Agriculture not only oversees economic policies, but “agriculture environmental issues; soil and water conservation; and forest promotion and protection.”
But there is another reason we are endorsing candidates for these offices: appointment powers.
How did we get here?
As a result of extreme partisan gerrymandering, pro-polluter legislators seized veto-proof majorities of both North Carolina General Assembly chambers in the 2022 elections. They used that power to strip pro-environment Gov. Roy Cooper of the ability to appoint majorities of key executive branch environmental boards.
The NC Supreme Court failed to block this transfer of executive power—despite the separation of powers requirement in the NC state constitution—because of how the shift was achieved. The legislature moved some of the Governor’s appointment power to other independently elected state executive officials, including the Commissioner of Agriculture, Commissioner of Insurance, and State Treasurer.
That’s part of why NCLCV PAC has chosen to make endorsements in more of those contests this year. In order to regain pro-environment control of critical state environmental decisions, we need to replace political allies of the pro-polluter legislators with environment-friendly candidates.
Importance of Appointments
One major example of how the shift in appointment authority has diminished protection of public health and the environment lies in regulation of toxic “forever chemicals” in drinking water. The new pro-polluter majority on the NC Environmental Management Commission has refused to send health protective limits on toxic PFAS in drinking water supplies to the public hearing process for review and adoption.
The NCLCV Conservation PAC has made the following endorsements in 2024 in key executive Council of State races:
- Governor: Josh Stein
- Lt. Governor: Rachel Hunt
- Attorney General: Jeff Jackson
- Commissioner of Insurance: Natasha Marcus
- Commissioner of Agriculture: Sarah Taber
- State Treasurer: Wesley Harris
See the full 2024 endorsement slate here.
