Mayor Smathers: Let’s come together and deliver for WNC

This column is syndicated by Beacon Media, please contact [email protected] with thoughts or feedback. 

From the moment Hurricane Helene unleashed its fury on North Carolina, we’ve witnessed the best of humanity. Neighbors of all beliefs, political parties, religions, and backgrounds have come together, lifting each other up and proving once again that in times of crisis, our shared resilience is stronger than our differences.

Western North Carolina has been a shining example of what it means to be American: compassionate, united, and determined.

But as we look to Raleigh, the response from many of our state leaders in the General Assembly has fallen short. Lawmakers had come to Raleigh the week of November 20, we were told, to deliver much-needed additional resources to our Western North Carolina communities.

Instead, we saw legislation, known as SB 382, riddled with partisan priorities and power grabs. Lawmakers stuffed a bill that was supposed to be about hurricane relief with controversial provisions that strip powers from our just-elected governor and attorney general, as well as makes major changes to how our elections will be run.

I hope our state lawmakers can stay focused on the needs of our communities. In my town of Canton, we lost more homes and businesses to Hurricane Helene than we did during Tropical Storm Fred in 2021 — a disaster we were told was a “once-in-a-lifetime.”

Now, we face an even greater challenge. Our community is grappling with urgent wastewater needs, crumbling infrastructure, and the desperate necessity for economic recovery. Like every other town devastated by this hurricane, we need more than promises and help is coming — we need immediate action. The decisions being made about our future must come with tangible support today. Without it, we’re not just risking recovery; we’re risking the very survival of our towns.

With the passage of Senate Bill 382, the weakness of our politics stands in stark contrast to the strength of our mountain people. This bill failed to deliver the immediate and critical aid that the people of WNC desperately need. For those who have lost homes, businesses, and loved ones, this was a legislative failure.

Let me be clear: the people and businesses of Western North Carolina cannot wait. Every single step of recovery must match the magnitude of the loss and the resilience we’ve witnessed in our communities. The legislature’s actions were a missed opportunity to provide possibilities like temporary housing, small business relief, and resources necessary to rebuild lives. The only thing that couldn’t wait in this bill was the relief our communities desperately need.

In a moment of bipartisan courage, local Republican leaders — western Reps. Mark Pless (Haywood), Mike Clampitt (Jackson), and Karl Gillespie (Cherokee) — joined Democrats in rejecting this inadequate bill. Their “no” votes were not acts of partisanship but of public service, putting people before politics.

I had witnessed this before from Rep. Pless. On the day of the storm, as he donned a wetsuit rescuing people from the water without asking who they voted for or where they lived; that’s the example of character we need now for others to follow.

This is the kind of leadership we need: bold, principled, and focused on doing right by the people of WNC. A relief bill worthy of our region must be clean, free of political games, and laser-focused on recovery.

I recently joined Governor Roy Cooper, Governor-elect Josh Stein, and a bipartisan coalition of local leaders in Washington, D.C., to advocate for WNC’s recovery. From the White House to Congress to the U.S. Senate, we delivered a simple but powerful message: “If you give Western North Carolinians the respect and resources they deserve, we will rebuild our region.” That commitment must now be matched with action in Raleigh.

If we, as leaders, cannot look into the eyes of those who have lost everything—their homes, their businesses, their loved ones—and assure them that help is on the way, then we are failing them.

Recovery is about more than policy — it’s about people. It’s about the families still searching for stability, the small business owners working tirelessly to rebuild, and the communities that refuse to give up.

Our state motto, Esse Quam Videri —“To be, rather than to seem”— calls us to act with integrity and purpose. The people of WNC are watching, waiting, and remembering who stands with them and who falls short.

Governor Cooper, I believe you should veto this bill. And to every lawmaker in Raleigh: Then do what is right. Reject partisanship. Uphold the veto. Let’s show the people of WNC that their leaders are as strong, resilient, and determined as they are.