Orr vs. McCrory on mental health forum

Pat McCrory said he doesn't read Bob Orr's blog.

The Charlotte mayor said a campaign staffer showed him fellow Republican gubernatorial candidate Orr's blog post questioning McCrory's absence from a N.C. Mental Health Coalition forum Monday.

Orr's post chastised McCrory for missing the forum, declaring that all the other candidates "made the effort" to weigh in on a challenging problem facing the state.

"Frankly, Pat needs to get away from the fluff and one-liners that mark his campaign," Orr writes. "And he needs to show up."

McCrory said he missed the forum to attend a Charlotte City Council meeting.

"I'm disappointed that Mr. Orr resorted to making a negative and quite fluffy one-liner before getting the facts," McCrory said, adding that he has not missed a council meeting since he entered the race for the Republican nomination.

McCrory said he expects the issue of mental health will come up again in future debates.