We requested the calendars of 3 NC officials who want to be governor. What we received.

State law now exempts all 170 legislators in the General Assembly, who were chosen by the people of North Carolina, from having to share public records with those same people.

But that’s not the case for statewide elected officials, including Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper and the nine other executive branch officials who make up the Council of State. While not every politician responds to records requests in a reasonable time frame, they are compelled to do so under the law.

Three members of the Council of State who want to be governor all have experience in the General Assembly: Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein and Republican State Treasurer Dale Folwell. Robinson and Stein are the frontrunners in their party’s primaries, and whoever wins the primaries on March 5 will move on to the general election Nov. 5.

So the N&O requested calendars from those three Council of State members who are running to be the next governor. All three responded with their schedules, which you can read below (or if you are reading this story in print, by finding this story at newsobserver.com).

Robinson and Folwell responded with their calendars within days of the records request, while Stein responded about three months later. The calendars include Council of State meetings, meetings with state lawmakers, speaking events and media appearances.

The schedules include things like Folwell delivering ceremonial checks, Robinson touring a factory and Stein attending a law enforcement conference.

Their calendars also show major public appearances, like Robinson’s speech in January 2023 at the North Carolina Right to Life’s 25th Annual Rally and March for Life and Stein being part of a roundtable about fentanyl with Vice President Kamala Harris in July.

There are many days with nothing at all on each of their official calendars.

Calendars, if officials keep them, can provide valuable insight into the daily workings of state government, Brooks Fuller, who leads the N.C. Open Government Coalition, said in 2022.

“We want to know what public officials and representatives of the people of North Carolina do with their time,” he told the NC Watchdog Reporting Network.

Turning over those records should be a straightforward matter, he said: “A calendar is a pretty easy control print function to turn that document into a record that can be disseminated to media outlets or any interested citizen.”

Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson’s calendar

Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson’s duties include serving as Senate president, which means he may preside over the Senate sessions, but only votes if there is a tie in the Senate.

Here’s Robinson’s calendar, available at this link and below:

Treasurer Dale Folwell’s calendar

Republican State Treasurer Dale Folwell previously served in the N.C. House.

Here’s Folwell’s calendar, available at this link or below:

Attorney General Josh Stein’s calendar

Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein previously served in the N.C. Senate.

Here’s Stein’s calendar, available at this link or below:

This story was originally published January 10, 2024 at 6:00 AM with the headline "We requested the calendars of 3 NC officials who want to be governor. What we received.."

Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan

The News & Observer

919-829-4877

Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan is the Capitol Bureau Chief for The News & Observer, leading coverage of the legislative and executive branches in North Carolina with a focus on the governor, General Assembly leadership and state budget. She has received the McClatchy President’s Award, N.C. Open Government Coalition Sunshine Award and several North Carolina Press Association awards, including for politics and investigative reporting.