NC SPIN Online

Perdue’s appointments
The streets around the capitol are filled with buzz about Governor-elect Perdue’s appointments. More correctly stated, the buzz is about why she isn’t releasing the names of her appointments, especially critical appointments relating to the budget, jobs creation, the probation system, mental health, and transportation.

Some are quick to point out that previous governors have not announced their cabinets until late December or even the week of inauguration, but these are different times. Longtime observers of state government are eager to get some idea of who will be named to address the urgent problems our state faces at this critical moment. President-elect Barack Obama was quick to name his team to address the economy and, in like manner, people want to know who Bev Perdue will put in place. North Carolina, like the nation, is suffering from a crisis in confidence.

Perdue has her hands full. She has many interests to try to please, some with positions opposed to each other. It is difficult to get the teachers, state employees, labor, African American and business interests to agree on many things. Each contributed strongly to her winning the office. Now she must try to appease them in making appointments. You can see her dilemma.

The inner sanctum of the Perdue team doesn’t seem to be in a hurry. We hear some appointments may be named Christmas week. But we are also told they would be released in early December.

Who didn’t get appointed
Since there are no appointments to discuss the talk has shifted to who hasn’t been appointed. It was well known, for instance, that both Representative Bill Owens and former deputy Tony Copeland were interested in being named commerce secretary. Owens withdrew and the buzz is Copeland won’t get it. It’s pretty well acknowledged that DENR Secretary Ross and Crime Control Secretary Beatty won’t get reappointed, although both were hoping to.

Dunn’s Oscar Harris had publicly stated his interest in becoming the new Revenue Secretary under Perdue. He had certainly earned his spurs. A former Mayor of Dunn, State Senator and longtime Treasurer for Perdue’s campaign committee Harris has the maturity, the business experience, the loyalty, and knowledge in state government that would win plaudits if appointed, but the Dunn Daily Record reported this week that Harris had withdrawn his name from consideration.

Read between the lines. When someone withdraws their name from consideration it is because they know they aren’t going to get the job and don’t want to be embarrassed. There’s a lot of that going on.

By the way, the name we hear will be appointed as Revenue Secretary is a mid-level fiscal research staffer at the legislature. This isn’t good news for those hoping there might be some independence and distance between the legislature (read that Senate) and the Governor’s office.

Latest names on the table
Under the Dome has had their ears close to the ground regarding appointments and reported earlier this week that Perdue was going outside the state to get a new head for DOT and DHHS. Going back to who didn’t get the appointment (above) this means that DOT board member and longtime Perdue contributor Lanny Wilson won’t get the nod. Neither will Gene Conti, former Deputy Secretary, who wanted the job. We do hear that David Joyner, head of the NC Turnpike Authority, may still be in contention if someone inside the state is selected.

Nina Szlosberg’s name had been mentioned as a possible Secretary but we hear she may become Deputy. Szlosberg is currently a DOT board member involved with environmental issues and has support of environmentalists. We have also heard her name mentioned for a Deputy position at DENR but we’re told the business community won’t support that. It is pretty well agreed, however, that Szlosberg will land a high-ranking spot in the administration.

Was Dempsey Benton’s retirement premature? There are conflicting stories. We hear that Benton was approached early on about staying, but Perdue’s people wanted Benton to promise to stay on the job four years. Experienced as he is, Benton wouldn’t make such a promise, so he figured he was out and announced his retirement. Now we hear the Perdue folks are back and asking if he will stay on for at least one year. Talk around town is that this is a commitment Benton will make and that he will be reappointed Secretary.

Secretary for Administration we are told will be an African American woman not connected with state government. That’s all we hear.

With Owens and Copeland out, the name being heard for Commerce is Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines. Prior to his election as Mayor, he was deputy assistant city manager and had previously been involved in economic development for the Triad region.

The gross mismanagement of the parole system leaves Bryan Beatty out in the cold at Crime Control. He might get Corrections, although we hear he isn’t keen on this. The names we’re hearing most frequently for Crime Control are Gaston Sheriff Alan Cloninger and Scott Thomas, DA out of New Bern, but we also hear neither will get the nod if a suitable African American candidate can be found.
We hear Linda Hayes is a lock for Juvenile Justice. Hayes chaired the Governor's Crime Commission since 1995 and is a past chair of the national Coalition for Juvenile Justice. She is also from Dunn, Oscar Harris’ home town.
Bill Ross wanted to stay at DHNR but we hear that isn’t going to happen. Environmentalists are actively engaged in this appointment. We hear that former Secretary Bill Holman won’t get it. Names mentioned include Senator Daniel Clodfelter, Senator Linda Garrou, consultant Freda Porter, and Creedmoor Mayor Darryl Moss. Observers are concerned about the loss of either Clodfelter or Garrou in the Senate. Both are highly regarded and many believe that in this tight economy both will be valuable in finding solutions to a state budget filled with red ink.

For more interesting discussion on how the Perdue administration is shaping up, be sure to catch this week’s NC SPIN.

Deputies on board
One of the perks of being elected Governor is in being able to place your friends and contributors to key positions throughout state government. We hear that some close to Governor-elect Perdue are being appointed. Chris Mintz, former head of the Wake Republican Men’s group until he defected to the Democratic Party and a former Legislative candidate, will become a Deputy Secretary. Administration is what we are hearing, but we also hear that defeated Representative Jim Harrell will become a Deputy, either in Administration or Commerce.

Golden Leaf with a case of the shorts
When Mike Easley’s former budget advisor Dan Gerlach was hand-picked by Easley and Marc Basnight to head the Golden Leaf Foundation, it is a safe bet he didn’t know what kind of budget problems he would be encountering or else he might have run from the job. While the Foundation has a corpus of something like $700 million, the crumbling stock market has decimated investment returns, leaving the organization in a cash flow squeeze, we hear.

Safety inspections dumped?
A legislative committee heard that there is no evidence that North Carolina’s safety inspections, which cost motorists $30 per year, are effective. Further, the 27 page report shows that DMV oversight of the program is inadequate. After three decades of inspections, there is little or no evidence that mechanical defects are even a significant cause of accidents or that inspections reduce accident rates. States no longer have to have the programs to receive federal highway funds and 15 states no longer require them. Senator Charles Albertson, from Duplin County and known for his plain speaking, responded to the report by saying “This is a program that we need to take to the scrap yard and put on the junk pile.”

This will be a test for change. Will the legislature decide this, like the ABC system, have long outlived their usefulness and scrap them? For more discussion on ABC reforms, be sure to tune in this week’s NC SPIN.

Charlotte and Fayetteville about to throw down?
News that Fayetteville will get funding for their outer loop has sent leaders in Charlotte into a frenzy. They have desperately wanted money for their outer loop and the project is partially completed, but they can’t get funding to finish the loop. Charlotte leaders went to President-elect Obama, suggesting that he hold up all funding for the state to help Charlotte get the money it needs. This infuriated Fayetteville’s most powerful citizens, Senator Tony Rand and DOT Secretary Lyndo Tippett, responsible for seeing the money go to their community instead of Charlotte.

Charlotte residents say the Fayetteville outer loop may have 30,000 cars a day by 2020, while the Charlotte outer loop already has 120,000 cars a day. Do the math, they say, to determine where the most critical need is right now.

This is sure to set off a full-scale war on the funding formula being used at DOT, along with more cries of political influence. Look for the debate on this to get hot next year. For her part, Governor-elect Perdue has very close ties to Rand, but she has also promised leaders in Charlotte they will get their fair share of attention in her administration. This is another early test for Perdue. Somebody ain’t gonna be happy. For the moment there’s no money to fund either project so that is a temporary hiatus for the dispute.