How Diverse Will Gov. Stein’s New Administration Be?

By Cash Michaels –

Almost a year ago, North Carolina’s Black press asked then-NC gubernatorial candidate Josh Stein, “Will you commit today to lead an administration of qualified professionals that closely reflects the diversity of North Carolina?”

Stein, then the state’s Democratic Attorney General replied, “I will. I firmly believe that we make the best decisions when all perspectives are around the table. I’ve always prioritized hiring people who come from a variety of different backgrounds.”

He added, “My whole career has been about trying to expand opportunity for all people in North Carolina.”

Now that Gov. Stein has officially taken office, it may take a few weeks to determine if and how he intends to hold to that promise. At press time, Stein was still putting his administration together, but his progress, or lack of it, will be noted, not as some artificial quota system to meet a political promise, but as a measurement of Gov. Josh Stein’s stated commitment to a policy goal.

Ten members of Stein’s thirteen-member cabinet were sworn in recently, and among those ten, three were African American:

• Eddie Buffaloe—Secretary of the Dept. of Public Safety
• McKinley Wooten, Jr.—Secretary of the Dept. of Revenue
• Jocelyn Mitnaul Malette—Secretary of the Dept. of Military and Veteran Affairs

Each of the thirteen cabinet secretaries will be responsible for hiring a diverse staff to flesh out the Stein Administration. [See “New Governor Names Cabinet Appointees” for a full listing.]

When asked last year by NC’s Black press, “In what ways have you and the African American community worked together successfully, and how can you do so as governor,” Stein replied, “As governor I will continue my focus of trying to make sure that every person in this state has every opportunity to achieve whatever it is that they want in their dreams for their futures.”

Stein’s answer was certainly broad, but his intentions, given his first answer, are clear: diversity should be expected to be seen in the new Stein Administration when it comes to qualified hiring and appointments, as well as its policy implementation.

Stein, a white Jewish Democrat, won office by defeating a conservative Black Republican, despite a tide of Republican victories across the country, signaling that, like his predecessor Roy Cooper, Stein depended on strong support from North Carolina’s Black Democratic voting base. That normally is expected to translate into making sure that African Americans are not forgotten when it comes to hiring, appointments, doing business with or policy implementation as his young administration proceeds.

As former Gov. Cooper has proven, the African American community has a deep talent pool across the state from which to choose when it comes to judicial and administrative appointments, so if the Stein Administration is not appropriately staffed up at least six months from now, observers may note it, thus forcing Gov. Stein to address an issue of his own making.

The Black press can be counted on to continuously monitor the Stein Administration’s progress on the issue of diversity, equity and inclusion, or the significant lack thereof.