WS Chronicle

BY TIMOTHY RAMSEY 

THE CHRONICLE

Josh Stein, Democratic candidate for Attorney General, visited the Ministers’ Conference of Winston-Salem and Vicinity on Tuesday morning as a stop on his campaign trail.  Stein, who worked under current Attorney General Roy Cooper for eight years as senior deputy, is hoping to replace his former boss.

Stein most recently was a member of the North Carolina Senate, representing District 16 (Wake County).  He addressed the conference about his campaign platform and addressed questions and concerns of those who attended.

He touched on the immediate issues he wanted to address if elected, such as fighting the opioid epidemic in the state, protecting families by cracking down on violent crime, reducing repeat criminals and protecting families and seniors from scam artists, just to name a few.

“I’ve had a number of different jobs over the years, but I look at it as one career, that’s public service,” said Stein.  “One of my goals is to help people improve their lives.”

He went on to speak about his qualifications for the position and what he has done in the past to help the citizens of North Carolina.  He said, “I don’t need on-the-job training as attorney general because I already know the job from my time working in that office.”

He then took questions from the conference in reference to the Kalvin Michael Smith and Dante Sharpe cases.  He stated that he is familiar with the cases but has not had the opportunity to read the court briefs, and if elected, would like to sit down with families, the Silk Plant Forest committee and the Truth committee to talk about the cases further.

He also touched on his feelings about the state of North Carolina declaring a 16-year-old an adult and thus sent to prison instead of a juvenile facility. He strongly opposed a person this young being considered an adult.

Stein also was open to researching the proposal of having a third party prosecutor preside over police shooting cases to avoid any biases along with working with the Ministers’ Conference about helping former prisoners and low-income individuals with reclaiming their driver’s licenses.

Stein wanted to make it clear that he has the utmost respect for Roy Cooper. He said he and Cooper are both human beings but “there may be matters where we come to different determinations based on the same information.”

Stein wanted to let the people know that he will take a fresh look at matters that concern the people of North Carolina.  He said his track record will show the voters what he will do as attorney general.

“I have experience having served as senior deputy attorney general for eight years and as a state senator,” Stein continued.  “I have stood up for people and taken on powerful interests to look out for the people’s interest, and people can have confidence that I will do that as attorney general.”