Carolina Politics Online

Incoming N.C. Auditor Beth Wood (D) was the recipient of some nice free advertising by the N&O. The auditor is in charge of making sure than our tax dollars aren’t wasted by the Raleigh politicians. It’s an incredibly important, if un-glamorous, job. So I’m glad we learned the following about our next taxpayer watchdog:

- She’s a talker. 
- She stands over 6 feet tall when wearing 3-inch heels.
- She’s “just a little old country girl from Cove City.”
- She used to be a dental hygienist.

Oh, and she’s really, really confident:

 ”I’m not sure there’s ever been a team this talented, starting with the state auditor,” Wood said.

Well ain’t that swell?

What you won’t learn from this article is how she plans to be a skunk at the Raleigh garden party when she’s a Democrat, along with the governor, lt. governor, attorney general, state house, and state senate. Nor will you hear her plans to be non-partisan despite being a Democrat Party hack who owes her election to the zombies who voted straight ticket Democrat last month.

Wood was hired by the last Democrat Auditor, Ralph Campbell, who found a special job for her after she didn’t get the one she originally applied for.

During the campaign, Wood criticized Merritt for what she saw as partisanship by the auditor’s office. Merritt fought well-publicized jurisdictional battles with the N.C. State Ethics Commission, and he launched a much-criticized look into the voter rolls.

“Les is a great guy in a lot of ways,” she said. “He just was out of touch with what we were doing.”

So apparently, our new government watchdog thinks that looking into waste, fraud, and corruption in all areas of state government constitutes being, “out of touch”?

Y’know… since this is Christmas and I’m still feeling jollier than usual, I’ll cut her some slack. I’ll give her an opportunity to prove herself. But fair warning- if she lacks even an ounce of the tenacity and fearlessness Les Merritt had when fighting waste and corruption from BOTH parties, I will pillory her every day from then until Election Day 2012.

So Election 2008 is now over and your friendly admin of CPO can slack off for a little while now.  We saw some big changes last night around the country and also right here in the Carolinas.

North Carolina has turned blue.  By a fraction of a hair it went to Obama last night.  He earned it.  His campaign had the ground game to make it happen.

Kay Hagan predictably ousted Elizabeth Dole by a handy margin.  Dole got slaughtered with outside 527 ads and I think the “Godless” ad she ran against Hagan sealed her fate.

One Congressional seat changed hands and that was the 8th Congressional District held by Republican Robin Hayes.  This was expected to happen, but I was hoping Hayes would pull it out only because I think Larry Kissell is the wrong man for that seat.  His energy policies are an infantile fantasy that will hurt his constituents which are mostly low income.  Virginia Foxx, Heath Shuler, and Patrick McHenry easily won reelection.

In statewide races, Bev Perdue (D) narrowly defeated Pat McCrory (R) for the gubernatorial race.  This made me very angry.  It could not have been more obvious who the candidate of change was in this race.  Bev Perdue will continue the same status quo culture of corruption that has plagued Raleigh for years.  I think straight party voting caused this victory.  Likewise, State Senator Walter Dalton (D) defeated State Senator Robert Pittenger (R) in the Lieutenant Governor’s race by a slightly larger margin.

Democrat Beth Wood defeated Republican incumbent Les Merritt in the Auditor’s race which is another blow to the state.  Merritt was the only firewall defending the people from the corruption in the state legislature and now that is gone.  Roy Cooper (D), Steve Troxler (R), Cherie Berry (R), Elaine Marshall (D), and June Atkinson (D) all got reelected to their posts.  State Senator Janet Cowell (D) is now the new State Treasurer and Democrat Wayne Goodwin won the Insurance Commissioner’s race.

The Republican Party in North Carolina is extremely incompetent.

In the State Legislature Debbie Ann Clary won the race in Senate District 46 flipping that from Democrat to Republican.  In State House District 86 Republican Hugh Blackwell defeated Democratic incumbent Walter Church and in State House District 90 Republican Sarah Stevens ousted incumbent Democrat Jim Harrell.

South Carolina gave our electoral votes to John McCain last night and we were the only Atlantic coast state to do so.  Lindsey Graham easily won reelection to the U.S. Senate.  All six Congressmen won reelections to their seats as well.

In the state legislature there weren’t many changes.  Republican Kris Crawford did win reelection in House District 63.  I said last night that he lost.  Anton Gunn picked up House District 79 for the Democrats.  The District 115 race between Republican incumbent Wallace Scarborough and Democrat Anne Peterson Hutto is too close to call at this time, althought Scarborough has claimed victory.

The ballot amendment to change the Constitution to allow the state legislature to set the age of consent passed.

RALEIGH - State Auditor Les Merritt said this morning that trips to France, Russia and Estonia by First Lady Mary Easley and others included “unreasonable and excessive expenses,” including a taxpayer-funded $332 lunchtime caviar cocktail.

Taxpayers picked up hundreds of dollars in alcohol purchases, against state policy. They paid for ballet tickets, and an executive assistant to Easley billed the state $227 dollars for a linen jacket.

Merritt found that the trips to France and Russia — which cost a total of $110,000 — were of questionable value to taxpayers.

The News & Observer

Les Merritt is about the only thing standing between the corruption in Raleigh and the taxpayers.  If the folks of North Carolina do not reelect him on Tuesday they will be doing an enormous disservice to themselves.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 21, 2008

State Auditor Leslie Merritt announces Co-Chairs of Democrats for Merritt

Press Contact: Frank Williams
919-833-4345
frank@lesmerritt.com

ZEBULON, N.C. - State Auditor Leslie Merritt, a Republican who is seeking re-election in November, announced today that the following North Carolina Democrats have crossed party lines and joined his team as Co-Chairs of Democrats for Merritt:

* Wesley Williams, Raleigh, N.C.

* David Bradley, CPA, Nashville, N.C.

* Perry Safran, Raleigh, N.C.

* Davis Milligan, CPA, Shallotte, N.C.

* Gerry Kennedy, Zebulon, N.C.

* Michelle Rich Goode, Raleigh, N.C.

* Andy Gay, Zebulon, N.C.

* Jane Fowler, Zebulon, N.C.

“I am grateful to these and many other Democrats who have crossed party lines and endorsed my candidacy for re-election,” says Merritt. “All North Carolinians, regardless of their party affiliation or their candidate preference in other races, want to know that state government is spending their tax dollars wisely. That’s why I have worked hard to shake up state government and hold the politicians accountable. We have exposed countless examples of fraud, waste and abuse in state government. We have spoken out against the irresponsible budgeting practices in state government. We have called for stronger internal auditing controls in state agencies. We’ve accomplished a lot in four short years, but there is still much more to be done. I am grateful to have the support of these and many other Democrats as we continue our efforts to reform state government.”

Auditor Merritt demonstrated broad-based, bipartisan statewide support while raising qualifying funds under the Voter-Owned Elections Act pilot which applies to his 2008 campaign. During that effort Auditor Merritt received contributions from all 100 counties, with 14% of those contributions coming from registered Democrats.

State Auditor Leslie Merritt, The Taxpayers’ Watchdog, was elected in 2004 when he defeated a three-term incumbent. He is the first Certified Public Accountant (CPA) to serve as North Carolina’s State Auditor. Merritt, a native and lifelong resident of North Carolina, was raised on a farm in rural Sampson County between Clinton and Magnolia. He earned degrees in both Economics and Accounting from North Carolina State University. Prior to being elected State Auditor, Leslie Merritt owned and operated a small business for over twenty years and has been a CPA for 27 years. He was elected to the Wake County Board of Commissioners in 1994. During his time as a County Commissioner he developed a reputation as a voice of fiscal responsibility, fighting to set priorities and improve the effectiveness and efficiency of county government. Leslie Merritt served as president of the Zebulon Elementary School PTA, the Zebulon Rotary Club and the Zebulon Lions Club. He has also served as a director with the Zebulon Chamber of Commerce. Leslie Merritt and his wife of 31 years, Cheryl, are members of Zebulon Baptist Church. They have two adult children. For more information, visit www.auditormerritt.com.

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A state audit has questioned N.C. A&T State University’s use of state procurement cards to buy suits for student leaders to wear at homecoming festivities.

The audit, released today by State Auditor Les Merritt, questioned the purchase of $1,672 for the suits, along with two cases of gift and gift card purchases without proper documentation and credit card finance charges of $755. It also found that N.C. A&T violated policy when it made purchases to support travel to the Jena Six Rally last year in Louisiana.

The N&O

Will you PLEASE get a Les Merritt sign and put it in your yard?!

He still needs our help though. Get involved.

Les Merritt needs our help.

Let me explain the situation to the uninitiated. Les Merritt is the Republican North Carolina State Auditor. He’s finishing up his first four year term and is trying to get re-elected to another one. He’s facing a tough candidate in a bad year for Republicans.

His is also the single most important campaign in North Carolina this year.

Hyperbole? Exaggeration? Evidence of the man-crush I so obviously have on him? No. Just reality.

Les Merritt has spent the last four years hunting down government waste and exposing corruption to the light of day. He has saved taxpayers millions of dollars, and done the job that our local press and the Democrat controlled State Ethics Commission won’t do. He’s stepped on toes in both parties, sniffed around in places that the powerful don’t want him, and has never forgotten that every tax dollar wasted was a dollar earned by you and me.

And for this, he is in trouble. The Democrats don’t like him because he’s a check on their power. The Republicans don’t like him because he’s not a “yes man” lackey. The voting public doesn’t know about him because he doesn’t get a lot of publicity, and his campaign is down-ballot. And now he’s in trouble. I’ve seen polls that show him trailing his opponent. There’s still time to come back, but he needs our help.

This isn’t “The I Love Les Merritt” page, and I don’t want to turn it into one. But I want every North Carolinian reading this to consider the following- that unless something really funky happens on election day, the state house and state senate will remain in Democrat hands. That there is a 50/50 change that the governor and lt. governor will be Democrat. That there’s a good chance the AG will remain a Democrat. Les Merritt is the ONLY check on their power. He is the ONLY official in Raleigh who can pick through their spending and find government waste. He is the ONLY person who can keep the Ethics Commission on their toes (or do their job for them, as is sometimes the case). And his opponent, a lifelong Democrat staffer, has offered no proof that she would ever stand up to her own party if needed. She’d be a “yes woman” when we need a bulldog.

The bottom line: If we lose Les Merritt, we don’t just lose a Republican; we lose our best chance for reform and accountability in Raleigh.

If you’re a Republican- you MUST help Les Merritt. If you’re a Democrat, and you care about fixing the Raleigh cesspool, even if you have to hold your nose while doing so, you NEED to vote for Les. He’s earned it. Please visit Les’ campaign at www.lesmerritt.com and get involved. Help in any way you can. We need to keep this man in Raleigh. And if you want further proof, keep reading below…

The state health plan for teachers and state employees lacks adequate and effective leadership, according to an audit released this morning recommending that the General Assembly place the plan under an executive branch agency’s authority.

In 35 other states, the report from state Auditor Leslie Merritt’s office notes, the state health plan is run by an executive branch agency, which helps to prevent potential conflicts of interest among health-care providers and legislators. Merritt’s report declares that allowing a state legislative committee to oversee the plan creates the opportunity for undue political influence in the plan’s administrative decisions and contract negotiations.

The N&O

Two questions:

1) Would a Democrat State Auditor have ever released a report like this?
2) Would a Republican “yes man” lackey have released it?

THAT’S why Les Merritt needs to be re-elected.

“There is clearly a problem when the Health Plan is running a deficit and facing tough economic times ahead. North Carolina’s teachers and State employees need to know that the Health Plan that they’re paying for is being properly managed and will be there when they need it,” Merritt said in a news release.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 6, 2008

State Auditor Leslie Merritt announces Co-Chairs of Business Leaders for Merritt

Press Contact: Frank Williams
919-833-4345
frank@lesmerritt.com

ZEBULON, N.C. - State Auditor Leslie Merritt, who is seeking re-election in November, today announced that the following business leaders have agreed to serve as Co-Chairs of Business Leaders for Merritt:

* Phil Kirk, Vice President for External Relations at Catawba College; Kirk previously served as Chairman of the State Board of Education and President/CEO of N.C. Citizens for Business & Industry;

* Michelle Rich Goode, president and founder of Raleigh-based Rich Commercial Realty; Goode was previously announced as a co-chair of Women for Merritt;

* Bob Luddy, founder and president of Captive-Aire Systems in Wake Forest;

* Carolyn Grant, president and founder of Omega Property Group in Raleigh, Grant was previously announced as a co-chair of Women for Merritt;

* Bob Warwick, CPA with McGladrey & Pullen, LLP in Wilmington; and

* Steve Stroud, Chairman of NAI Carolantic Realty, Inc. in Raleigh.

“In these tough economic times, it is more important than ever for state government to spend the people’s money wisely,” says Merritt. “That’s why our team is shaking up state government. Since taking office less than four short years ago, our team has worked hard to ensure that state government takes good care of our tax dollars. We have exposed countless examples of fraud, waste and abuse in state government. We have spoken out against the legislature’s irresponsible budgeting practices. We have called for stronger internal auditing controls in state agencies. We’ve accomplished a lot in four short years, but there is still much more to be done. I am grateful to have the support of these respected business leaders as we continue our efforts to reform state government.”

State Auditor Leslie Merritt, The Taxpayers’ Watchdog, was elected in 2004 when he defeated a three-term incumbent. He is the first Certified Public Accountant (CPA) to serve as North Carolina’s State Auditor. Merritt, a native and lifelong resident of North Carolina, was raised on a farm in rural Sampson County between Clinton and Magnolia. He earned degrees in both Economics and Accounting from North Carolina State University. Prior to being elected State Auditor, Leslie Merritt owned and operated a small business for over twenty years and has been a CPA for 27 years. He was elected to the Wake County Board of Commissioners in 1994. During his time as a County Commissioner he developed a reputation as a voice of fiscal responsibility, fighting to set priorities and improve the effectiveness and efficiency of county government. Leslie Merritt served as president of the Zebulon Elementary School PTA, the Zebulon Rotary Club and the Zebulon Lions Club. He has also served as a director with the Zebulon Chamber of Commerce. Leslie Merritt and his wife of 31 years, Cheryl, are members of Zebulon Baptist Church. They have two adult children. For more information, visit www.auditormerritt.com .

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I have a purely platonic man-crush on N.C. State Auditor Les Merritt solely because of articles like this:

The state auditor’s office is questioning the expenditure of $300,000 for aviation courses at Robeson Community College, saying the money could have been put to better use.

The aviation courses have served 28 students over three academic years, state Auditor Leslie W. Merritt Jr. said in a news release and audit report issued today. As of May, no student had completed the eight courses that make up the aviation curriculum.

Currently only five students are enrolled in the aviation courses, although $41,000 has been spent to advertise the program, Merritt said. He said the community college’s president, Charles Chrestman, had threatened to terminate admissions workers unless 15 or more students enrolled in the program this fall.

The N&O

Can you imagine the sort of government waste and ethical violations that would occur if Les Merritt wasn’t State Auditor?

It’s just platonic. I asssure you.

An interagency battle in North Carolina state government ramped up Thursday when the auditor’s office blasted the ethics commission for blocking its investigation of the panel.

Auditor Les Merritt released an unusual interim report of the probe, which he says has been hampered by the commission’s unwillingness to provide records and to interview staff. The report calls those barriers an apparent violation of state law.

The Rocky Mount Telegram

Hmmm… me wonders why the state ethics commission, which shouldn’t have  a lot to hide, is hiding. 

Merritt’s office wants to know whether an aide to Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue received special treatment last year by reviewing in private a financial disclosure statement she had filed previously. Newson also failed to give a reason why he fired office assistant Amanda Thaxton in July, also a potential violation of the law, according to the report.

According to her attorney, Thaxton was the office assistant that made the notation in an electronic log showing that Perdue’s aide reviewed the document behind closed doors. She later spoke with Merritt’s office and state personnel workers and provided copies of the log.

The interim report says Merritt’s office later uncovered evidence that the log was altered to remove Thaxton’s notation, which if done intentionally, would be a misdemeanor.

I guess that’s what passes for “ethics” in Raleigh these days.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 16, 2008

Former N.C. State and professional basketball player Todd Fuller named Chair of Young Professionals for Merritt

Press Contact: Frank Williams
919-833-4345
frank@lesmerritt.com

ZEBULON, N.C. - State Auditor Leslie Merritt, who is seeking re-election in November, announced today that former N.C. State basketball star Todd Fuller of Charlotte will serve as Chairman of Young Professionals for Merritt. Auditor Merritt previously announced that his two adult children would serve as Honorary Co-Chairs of Young Professionals for Merritt.

Fuller, a first-round NBA draft pick in 1996, played in the NBA for five years and played on professional teams in Spain, Poland, Greece and Australia over the course of six seasons. He sponsors an annual mathematics competition, the “Todd Fuller Math Competition,” for Raleigh-area high school students through his alma mater. Fuller has also established a scholarship fund through the NCSU College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences (PAMS). NCSU honored Fuller by hanging his number 52 jersey from the roof of the RBC Center in during a halftime ceremony of the Red-White basketball scrimmage game on October 27, 2007. Fuller, who is now a licensed private pilot, lives in Charlotte with his wife, Libby.

“State Auditor Leslie Merritt has exposed countless instances of fraud, waste and abuse in state government,” said Fuller. “As a young professional who plans to live in North Carolina for many years to come, I am grateful for his efforts to ensure that state government spends our tax dollars wisely. I encourage other young professionals to join me in voting to re-elect Auditor Merritt in November.”

State Auditor Leslie Merritt, The Taxpayers’ Watchdog, was elected in 2004 when he defeated a three-term incumbent. He is the first Certified Public Accountant (CPA) to serve as North Carolina’s State Auditor. Merritt, a native and lifelong resident of North Carolina, was raised on a farm in rural Sampson County between Clinton and Magnolia. He earned degrees in both Economics and Accounting from North Carolina State University. Prior to being elected State Auditor, Leslie Merritt owned and operated a small business for over twenty years and has been a CPA for 27 years. He was elected to the Wake County Board of Commissioners in 1994. During his time as a County Commissioner he developed a reputation as a voice of fiscal responsibility, fighting to set priorities and improve the effectiveness and efficiency of county government. Leslie Merritt served as president of the Zebulon Elementary School PTA, the Zebulon Rotary Club and the Zebulon Lions Club. He has also served as a director with the Zebulon Chamber of Commerce. Leslie Merritt and his wife of 31 years, Cheryl, are members of Zebulon Baptist Church. They have two adult children. For more information, visit www.auditormerritt.com.

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Office Depot overcharged state agencies by nearly $300,000 last year, according to a state auditor’s report released today and confirmed by the N.C. Department of Administration.

The embarrassing overpayment, which has been recovered, comes two years after an administrative law judge ruled that the department improperly awarded Office Depot the state’s office supplies contract. The judge ruled the department could have saved $1.8 million by giving the contract to the lowest bidder, Colorado-based Corporate Express.

The N&O

Any wonder why the appointed lackeys on the State Ethics Panel don’t want Les Merritt encroaching on their turf?

A legal battle involving the State Ethics Commission and the Office of the State Auditor could end up costing taxpayers $40,000.

The battle is over whether the commission has to comply with the auditor’s investigation into an allegation of preferential treatment for Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue, the Democratic nominee for governor. A Perdue aide visited the commission’s office to review Perdue’s financial disclosure statements and was allowed to look at them alone in a vacant office.

Since then, a log noting the arrangement was altered, and the employee who made the original notation has been fired. Ethics commission officials say nothing was improper in the visit and the employee was not fired as a result of the notation.

The N&O

State Auditor Les Merritt is right.

There… can I have that $40,000 now?

In all seriousness, Les Merritt is the only thing keeping Raleigh from being even more corrupt. Re-electing him this November must be a priority for anyone who wants to clean up N.C. politics.

The State Ethics Commission is asking a Superior Court judge to prevent state Auditor Les Merritt from investigating a claim of preferential treatment for Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue, the Democratic nominee for governor, that ultimately may have led to a commission staffer’s firing.

The suit claims that Merritt’s office has a conflict of interest because its investigations chief, Frank Perry, left the ethics commission a year ago. The suit also claims that Merritt, a Republican seeking re-election, “denigrated” the commission in an hourlong interview with radio station WPTF.

It may also be the first time the Office of State Auditor has been sued by another state agency.

Merritt’s office released a statement contending that the commission is trying to keep the matter out of the public eye.

The N&O

Les Merritt hunts corruption the same way future VP Sarah Palin hunts moose. Then he goes home and makes soup out of it. If liberals are angry at him, it probably means he’s doing his job.

The probe stems from Nesbitt’s long history of helping his son run his racing team, which until recently was sponsored by Blue Cross Blue Shield.

Merritt, a Republican, deemed the Democratic senator’s ties to the team and sponsor a “potential conflict of interest” that he should have listed in a financial disclosure report, according to an Ethics Commission opinion released by Nesbitt. The auditor has not made his findings public.

The Ethics Commission said it advised Nesbitt in 2007 that there was no need to disclose the relationships.

Asheville Citizen-Times

I can kind of see where someone might question this.  Blue Cross Blue Shield is a health insurance provider and that is part of a huge lobby for States and the Federal government, but it’s not really Nesbitt that has the tie to them, but rather his son.

At issue is Nesbitt’s statement of economic interest, a form filled out annually by elected and top appointed officials.

Its nine pages ask about a series of financial relationships, ending with a request to list “any actual or potential conflicts of interest.”

Nesbitt wrote he had none. He says listing Blue Cross Blue Shield, just because it does business with his 41-year-old son, Mart, and frequently comes before the legislature, would open the door to questions about countless other potential omissions.

“Hell, my granddaughter goes to the public schools, and I like her teacher,” Nesbitt said. “That’s not why I gave teachers a raise.”

And that’s a good point.

This is a connection to a connection.  How many degrees of a relationship does a politician have to disavow?

On Wednesday, the legislature’s ethics committee agreed to a bill that would prohibit the state auditor from investigating possible violations of the ethics law. Instead, the State Ethics Commission would have sole authority to enforce ethics laws.

Legislative supporters of the bill, mostly Democrats, say their goal is to have a single, unbiased agency to keep an eye on public officials.

But State Auditor Les Merritt, a Republican, argues that it never hurts to have more watchdogs of government officials.

…

Officials in Merritt’s office argue also that giving the ethics commission sole authority to investigate such matters would mean essentially that only the legislature can keep an eye on legislators. That’s because the commission is required to turn over any findings it has about lawmakers to a legislative committee, which then determines whether any public action should be taken.

The News & Observer

Boy, is Les Merritt right. The State Ethics Commission is an appointed body; the State Auditor is elected. Both of them should have a role in corruption probes because neither of them can be trusted completely.

The fact that the Democrats, who are in charge of the governor’s mansion and state legislature, want to limit Merritt’s authority ought to be very frightening to all North Carolinians. Any ethics panel would have to answer to the party in charge, and for the foreseeable future that appears to be the party of Jim Black, Thomas Wright, Nick Mackey, et al. Les Merritt, meanwhile, is answerable to the voters every four years.

 

After a failed attempt at the position in 2000, the Sampson County native ran again in 2004 and won against the three-term state auditor. Just like his previous elections, Merritt is campaigning as, “The Taxpayer’s Watchdog.”

“I’ve done what I said I would do when I campaigned and more,” he said. “We have proved that we can be ‘The Taxpayer’s Watchdog’ and we can make a difference with this office.”

As the first state auditor to be a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Merritt has reduced a backlog of investigative audits by 76 percent, reduced the processing time for non-profit reports and increased the emphasis on performance audits.

“I think that we have made some real headway,” said Merritt, who resides in Zebulon. “I ran for the job and felt like it is one of the key jobs in the state. I put it next to the governor and his cabinet.”

Looking over every department in the state, Merritt said he is non-partisan when keeping close tabs on employees. Having experienced the problems of serving as state auditor, he wants to finish some of the work he started.

Thomasville Times

Merritt has undoubtedly been an effective auditor.  The reduction in backlogged cases is astonishing in itself.  It would seem that the state is in pretty good hands and could benefit from his continued leadership.

State Auditor Les Merritt defended Tuesday his office’s handling of an audit of a nonprofit organization operated by Rep. Mary McAllister, who accused his office of targeting her in “a prolonged political witch hunt.”

A state audit released Monday said staff and computers at Operation Sickle Cell, a nonprofit organization led by the Fayetteville Democrat, were used improperly for political work on McAllister’s behalf.

Merritt said in a prepared statement: “We stand by the work of our professional audit staff as contained in this grant review.”

Winston-Salem Journal