Being the governor of any state is difficult.
Being the governor of a state that is almost equally divided by the two major political parties is even more so.
Handling a never before seen pandemic in a narrowly divided state seems like the kind of Herculean task few people would be willing to take on.
So it goes for North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, who made a lot of people happy and a lot of people mad this week. It’s par for the course for Cooper who appears to be splitting the populous almost perfectly between fans and detractors during the COVID-19 era.
On Friday, Cooper signed a new executive order that relaxed the COVID-19 related restrictions imposed by the state. The new order lifts the statewide curfew and allows businesses to stay open past 10 p.m. It also moves the cutoff for alcohol sales from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. and it increases the seating capacity of indoor businesses like bars, restaurants, entertainment venues, arenas, fitness centers and museums.
While operating at 50 percent capacity isn’t ideal, businesses that fall under the new order will certainly appreciate the increase from the previous 30 percent limit. Indoor gatherings may now have 25 attendees, up from 10.
Many conservative voices hailed Cooper’s relaxing of restrictions as a step in the right direction, while Cooper’s more liberal counterparts have warned that the move comes to early in the pandemic response.
Over the weekend Cooper vetoed Senate Bill 37, which would have allowed schools to enact “Plan A” of the state’s education response to COVID-19. Plan A would send students back to the classroom fulltime, either four or five days per week, depending on the local school district.
Conservative members of the NC Legislature immediately called out Cooper for keeping schools on Plan B (a mix of in-person and virtual instruction), while their more liberal contemporaries applauded the move as a way to protect students and teachers until vaccinations were available to all public school employees.
No matter what way Cooper takes the state with future orders he is sure to hear pushback. He should get used to hearing it from both sides.