Governor Pat McCrory's office says it no longer has a staff member devoted to Hispanic affairs. The governor's staff says the duties of the state's Latino office will go to another office that handles all contact with state residents.
The Latino office staff member was the Hispanic community's liaison to state government. McCrory's chief of staff says the administration does not divide constituents by race or gender.
"I agree with that, but they need to acknowledge that different people with different backgrounds have different needs," says Pilar Rocha-Goldberg, chair of the governor's Advisory Council on Hispanic-Latino Affairs.
"They can't try to resolve issues for every community in the same way because we have different barriers."
Rocha-Goldberg says she has not yet heard from the administration about how the changes might affect the way it hears from Latino advocates. McCrory's chief of staff says the governor will still hear from the advisory council about culturally sensitive issues.
