Gov.-elect Josh Stein will need to hit the ground running once he takes office in January 2025 because he will immediately be faced with a monumental task: rebuilding western North Carolina following Helene.
Upon taking office, Stein will “inherit the largest disaster recovery effort in the history of North Carolina,” according to NC Newsline.
Community rebuilding efforts in the mountains have been underway since the end of September, immediately after Helene finally left the state, leaving entire cities and towns underwater. Some towns, like Chimney Rock, were nearly erased from the map by floodwaters. These rebuilding efforts will continue as billions of federal and state dollars head to the mountains.
A spokesperson for Stein’s gubernatorial transition team said hurricane response was a “top priority” for the governor-elect.
“Our office has been in close contact with Gov. Cooper’s office,” spokesperson Laura Brewer told NC Newsline, adding that Stein will “continue to be in western NC throughout the transition period.”
Cooper’s office pledged a “smooth transition to the new administration” and “a strong foundation for long-term recovery from Hurricane Helene.”
“We are confident Gov. Stein will continue the critical work of helping Western North Carolina build back from this devastating storm,” spokesperson Ben Conroy said in a statement.
The governor-elect has already said how he plans to handle several of the most important aspects of the recovery effort, saying that infrastructure repairs – such as water and sewer lines, as well as schools – are a top priority. Stein has also highlighted the importance of temporary housing for the victims as permanent structures are rebuilt. He is also in favor of providing grants for small businesses in addition to the loans already approved by the legislature.
“There needs to be new appropriations and authorization from the federal government, which we will seek, but it can also come from the state,” Stein said in a news conference with Cooper on Oct. 28. “That can be a gap-filling that the state – we have a little more flexibility with how our dollars can be spent.”
Unfortunately for western North Carolinians, what that money is spent on is up to the Republican-led legislature. Two relief packages have been passed so far, with a third possible to pass before Stein takes office. The total funding included in the three aid packages will likely come out to around $830 million – well short of Cooper’s call for a $3.9 billion package to begin rebuilding critical infrastructure, homes, businesses, schools and farms damaged during the storm.
“They’re not done, and I think they recognize they’re not done,” Stein said in an interview in October, shortly after lawmakers passed the second round of aid. “What we want to see is a significant investment in what people need, which is housing and small businesses.”
“So there’s still opportunity for them to address those needs on a meaningful basis,” he added. “And I look forward to working with them to do just that.”
Stein wasted no time putting Helene recovery front and center. In his victory speech after defeating Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, he promised to “show up for the people of western North Carolina, to help them rebuild safer and stronger than ever before.”
