After Florence, North Carolina political unity to be tested
He offered encouragement and warnings to the public in daily news conferences, visited evacuees in shelters and traveled with
"When (Cooper) was here, he was perfect," Rep.
But that was then — and as the immediate crisis gives way to rebuilding, with a key election just weeks away, the temptation to revive partisan rancor will grow.
The first significant test comes this week when lawmakers reconvene a special session Cooper called to address initial needs from Florence. The session resumes exactly five weeks before an
House Majority Leader
Bell praised Cooper for his actions during the storm but added "now we're starting the recovery and that's a whole 'nother ball game.'" He's hopeful that the legislature and Cooper don't get "into a battle of dollars," with the Cooper administration over recovery funds.
For now,
"As North Carolinians dig out from the devastation of Hurricane Florence, I have an important message," Cooper said in front of television cameras last week. "We'll be by your side, every step of the way and we'll work diligently to keep people from being left behind."
Florence dumped over 30 inches (0.76 meters) of rain in parts of eastern
The storm-spawned unity among
The underlying conflict between Cooper and
"It's unseemly to look political now, but ducks have got to swim, politicians have got to be political," said
Before Florence,
Cooper hasn't yet provided publicly a detailed post-Florence wish list with a price tag, but said long-term recovery would focus on rebuilding "stronger and smarter." That includes more affordable housing, state programs to help raise or relocate homes out of flood plains and assist people with paying for flood insurance, he said.
Meanwhile,
"We've got a rainy day fund that we can brag about, and (Cooper's) got things that he can brag about," said Iler, the coastal lawmaker — adding that everyone needs to work together because "the recovery is going to be a marathon."
They've already avoided early conflict. Initially Cooper set the session for
"They don't want to come across as being insensitive to the needs of
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