By Galen Bacharier

NC Newsline

Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, in a speech Wednesday at an event for former President Donald Trump, slammed the “weaponization of government” as he likened state oversight of his family’s businesses to Trump’s ongoing investigations and legal battles.

And he alleged that Attorney General Josh Stein’s wife was “deeply embedded” in the agency charged with that oversight — a claim that Stein, a Democrat running against Robinson for governor, called “ridiculous and completely false.”

“We have got to stop the weaponization of our government,” Robinson said in Asheville. “It is dangerous. My wife and I have felt the sting of it.”

A daycare owned by Robinson and his wife Yolanda Hill was cited almost 20 years ago during inspections by the Department of Health and Human Services. And Balanced Nutrition, a nonprofit led by Hill following the daycare business, owes the state money after allegedly falsely claiming reimbursement, a recent audit found.

Robinson said after “folks inside” of he and his wife’s business “found out who I was,” the “games began.”

“The harassment began, and now we find out that my opponent’s wife is deeply embedded into the very agency that holds sway over my wife’s business,” Robinson said.

Stein, in a statement provided to NC Newsline, said “this attack is ridiculous and completely false.”

A spokesperson for his campaign echoed that sentiment.

“These shameful attacks are baseless and exactly what you’d expect from someone doing everything in his power to avoid responsibility for a dangerous daycare and allegations of six-figure fraud,” spokesperson Kate Frauenfelder said.

Robinson’s campaign released a statement Wednesday alleging that “after Mark Robinson announced his campaign for governor, DHHS suddenly began to have issues” with his wife’s business.

“Now, after reviewing public documents, we find out that Mark’s political opponent’s wife is a lawyer at the very same agency making these false attacks against Mrs. Robinson,” spokesperson Mike Lonergan said. “But for some reason, all the reporters who have covered this story don’t seem to think that’s a relevant point. We’ve seen the weaponization of government against President Trump, and now the Robinson family is experiencing it first-hand.”

Anna Stein works in separate division, now in part-time role, at DHHS

Stein’s wife Anna has worked for the state’s Division of Public Health since 2011. She is an agency legal specialist, working with the Chronic Disease and Injury Section and focused on tobacco-free living, health eating, active living and injury prevention policies.

Her role is in a different division than the one that oversees Balanced Nutrition, and she has never spoken to anyone at the agency about the nonprofit or Hill, the campaign said.

A spokesperson for DHHS confirmed that Stein “has not been involved in any CACFP or Balanced Nutrition work.”

She worked on the Community Transformation Grant Project from 2012-2014, and currently serves on the Injury and Violence Prevention Branch’s opioid overdose prevention team.

As of October 2023, she became a part-time, temporary employee at DHHS — limited to focusing on a health care “toolkit” for use in jails and detention centers, DHHS spokesperson Kelly Haight said.

On average, she works 10 hours or less each week with the agency, and her temporary role will end by Sept. 9.

This is not the first time Robinson has suggested the investigations into the family businesses were driven by political motivation. At the Faith & Freedom Coalition prayer breakfast last month in Milwaukee, Robinson told the audience of RNC delegates that he and his wife had “been through the fire” and “when they came after me, they came after her as well.”

The state agency has described the reviews of Balanced Nutrition as routine and federally required.

Robinson, who spoke briefly ahead of Trump at Wolfe Auditorium on Wednesday, went on to criticize “weaponization” at all levels of government.

“It does not jive with being able to have a good economy,” he said. “Why? Because people should be able to work and earn a living and run a business without fear of reprisal from their own government.

“It’s bad at the state level for me and you, and it’s bad at the federal level when it’s done against someone like President Trump.”

Galen Bacharier covers North Carolina politics and government for NC Newsline.