Smoky Mountain News: “‘It’s kind of funny to say ‘step down,’ because I never saw him step up,’ said Margaret Ackiss, a member of the North Carolina Republican Party’s 11th Congressional District executive committee.”

In new reporting from the Smoky Mountain News, Margaret Ackiss, a member of the North Carolina Republican Party’s 11th Congressional District executive committee, slammed DC insider Michael Whatley for failing to deliver federal relief to Western North Carolina as their “recovery czar.”

“Don’t take it from me – Republicans and independents across Western North Carolina are giving DC insider Michael Whatley a failing grade as ‘recovery czar,’” said Mallory Payne, senior communications advisor for the North Carolina Democratic Party. “Whatley will never put North Carolinians first. He’s only looking out for the billionaires and special interests he’s spent his career delivering for.”

Read More in Smoky Mountain News:

• “Hurricane Helene recovery czar Michael Whatley is blaming Democrats for the growing chorus of criticism over his job performance — but in heavily Republican Western North Carolina, it’s not just Democratic voices calling for Whatley to be replaced or step down.”
• “‘It’s kind of funny to say ‘step down,’ because I never saw him step up,’ said Margaret Ackiss, a member of the North Carolina Republican Party’s 11th Congressional District executive committee.”
• “Ackiss, a lifelong Republican who only recently saw the letter but would have signed it had she known about it, said that Helene recovery should be a non-partisan issue and that Whatley’s attempt to blame Democrats isn’t reflective of Appalachian values.”
• “‘This is a human issue. I have friends on both sides of the aisle, although I’m a Republican. When catastrophes happen, I don’t care what party you’re in — we help the people on the ground,’ said Ackiss, who claims 10 generations of roots in the region. ‘To me, it was completely disappointing to see Michael Whatley and many others who espouse themselves to be Republicans not step up and help the people involved in this.’”
• “‘If it were on a scale of 10, it’d be a zero,’ [Wrobel] said of Whatley’s job performance, ‘because we’ve not had any interaction with him. The funding has not come down in any way. Municipalities are suffering, trying to get just some basic things done. They have to take loans to try and get funding for repairs and whatever design or engineering is required for remediation. I’d say he’s done an extremely poor job.’”
• “Wrobel, an unaffiliated voter, said he hadn’t seen the letter demanding Whatley step down but that if he had, he too would have been a signatory.”

This follows Republicans Ted Budd and Chuck Edwards sounding the alarm over the delays in federal relief, with Budd calling it a “problem” that “should not have been allowed.”

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