Scandal-hit Mark Robinson blows off voting for North Carolina hurricane relief

North Carolina Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson did not vote to pass an emergency relief declaration as Hurricane Helene barrelled towards the state, public records have shown.

Robinson, who has been rocked by public scandal in recent weeks, skipped out on a vote on September 25, shortly before the storm arrived, leaving communities devastated and at least 160 people dead across multiple states.

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper said on Tuesday that his office was working with the state’s information and referral service to determine the number of missing, but that “more fatalities” were expected.

Records from the governor’s office show that a concurrence request for an executive order was sent out on September 24. Approval was needed by Cooper from other elected officials to exercise certain authorities under the state Emergency Management Act.

Approval enables the governor to more easily mobilize rescue vehicles, order evacuations and begin other emergency actions by waiving some of the state’s transportation regulations for heavy vehicles.

The final record shows that the order was approved by all other state officials, including the Secretary of State, Treasurer and Attorney General, mostly within the hour. Robinson did not respond.

However, he has spent recent days calling on Cooper to do more, including deploying more resources and National Guard personnel to lead additional search-and-rescue teams. In a social media post on Tuesday, he added: “Stop waiting on federal resources and allow private industry in to assist with rescue and recovery efforts, and repair infrastructure immediately.”

After the news that he did not weigh in on the emergency order was revealed in the media on Wednesday, Robinson again took aim