Gov-elect Bev Perdue announced her second round of cabinet appointments this morning.  This one included a few (okay, two) more outsiders than the last round on Friday.

Today’s Picks:

DOT:  Eugene “Gene” Conti, Jr.  In his long career, he’s served as Chief Deputy Secretary of the NCDOT, and Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy at the USDOT (under Clinton).  His remarks are here.

Perdue says her choice of Conti is part of her plan to reform the DOT. She wants to depoliticize the agency by putting day-to-day decision-making back into the hands of qualified managers and relegating the appointed civilian board to a strategic planning role. 

There’s no shortage of NC statutes standing in her way, of course. But Perdue says she’ll use her gubernatorial bully pulpit to a) get legislators to change the law, and b) persuade current board members to cede their authority to Conti.  As for new board members, well… 

Maybe it's not the most heartwarming metaphor, but I’m sure we all get the (slightly macabre) point.

Commerce:  Asheboro Elastics CEO Keith Crisco, in one of the most outsider-ish picks so far.  As Asheboro’s Mayor pro tem, Crisco’s no stranger to politics, but he’s no Beltline insider, either.  His comments are here.

Cultural Resources:  The decidedly insider-ish Linda Carlisle, a high-profile Triad businesswoman, arts supporter, and member of Perdue’s transition team.  If the name’s familiar, it might be because she was one of the original State Lottery Commissioners. She’s convinced the arts could be NC’s next big avenue for economic development.  (And no, I didn’t get a chance to ask her whether she considers NASCAR a cultural resource.) 

Employment Security Commission:  Former Orange County Commissioner Moses Carey was named to the job probably least in demand right now -- managing benefits and training for the burgeoning ranks of NC's unemployed.  Carey says he’s looking forward to the challenge of marshalling state resources to retrain workers for 21st c. jobs.

Irony supplement

• Our new DOT Secretary currently serves as vice-chair of the perpetually struggling Global Transpark Authority.  Points for persistence, then.
• Our new Commerce Secretary spent the last thirty years in the gutted NC textile industry.  See above. (BTW, the N&O's Ben Niolet says Crisco's company has been very successful.)
• McClatchy’s Lisa Zagaroli had a great piece this morning on politicians and social networking.   Scant hours after it hit the wires, someone hacked the Twitter feeds of President-elect Barack Obama, CNN's Rick Sanchez, Fox's Bill O'Reilly, and Britney Spears.      

What not to wear

Ladies, if you’re hoping not to meet yourselves coming and going at Madame Governor’s inaugural festivities, check out the Dress Registry, where attendees at public events can let everyone else know what they’re wearing.  Yes, the NC Inaugural Ball is on the list, but so far, only three attendees have signed in. 

Bonus points to anyone who can predict which Tar Heel fashionista will be rocking the Oleg Cassini purple silk with the purple, gold, and black beaded bodice. (H/T: The ever-stylish Evelyn Hawthorne.)

Gossip much? Drop me a line.  

Incoming NC House Dem freshman Nick Mackey is no stranger to controversy after last winter’s protracted fight over his nomination as Meck Sheriff.  But he’s the first member in recent memory to enter the chamber carrying a pending misdemeanor and an unrelated professional grievance.   Hey, there’s nowhere to go but up, right? 

The General Assembly's website gets a facelift, complete with new eye-candy graphics and an easier-to-locate audio stream.  Sweet!

The N&O’s Rob Christensen says neither Easley nor Dole are getting the exits they’ve earned.

NC Community Corrections chief Robert Guy won’t be back this month, but it’s not clear who made that decision. While the N&O’s story seems to imply Guy was axed at Perdue’s direction, Guy told WRAL he resigned three weeks ago of his own accord.   

Fan Club

Does Perdue have one at the N&O?  First, there was the story on her “sweeping restructuring” of Corrections.  But of the five officials named Friday, none could truly be considered a political outsider:  two are longtime bureaucrats, one is Gov. Easley’s chief counsel, one is the head of Easley’s crime commission, and one has been in the AG’s office for five years.  This may not be a bad thing, and Perdue may in fact be committed to change. But Friday’s announcement isn't exactly proof of big changes.  Then there was the paper’s reporting on the governor-elect’s demand for high-level resignations. If you didn't know, you might not have have guessed this is standard procedure for incoming governors.   Who knows -- maybe the Legion of Dome's just happy to have someone new to pick on.

Elsewhere... 

• Charlotte’s Jack Betts says No OLF organizer Doris Morris is in need of help after a horrific car wreck this fall. 
• The AP reports Howard Coble is headed into his 25th year representing NC in the US House.  
• Fay-O’s Andrew Barksdale says Dem freshman Larry Kissell’s ready for DC.  
• Gov-Elect Perdue's Chapel Hill house is on the market for a cool $2.7M.  Check it out here.
• In a perfect political yin-yang, current VA Gov Tim Kaine is in line to run the DNC, while former DNC chair Terry McAuliffe is entering the race to replace Kaine in the Gov’s mansion in Richmond.    So do these guys coordinate this stuff?
• Just for fun:  Relive the year’s most awkward political stories with Politico’s ten weirdest moments of 2008.  

Comments?  Drop me a line. 

Governor-elect Bev Perdue called a press conference this afternoon to announce her cabinet picks for public safety.  No big surprises, and no real outsiders, either – three secretaries and two deputies, all current or former state officials.

Crime Control and Public Safety Secretary:  Reuben Young, who’s worked for eight years as legal counsel to Gov. Mike Easley.  Before that, he spent five years as an assistant AG representing the DOJ in civil rights and personnel cases.  Hear his remarks here. 

Young may be the most interesting pick of the day.  It’s unclear how familiar he is with the current state of the agency he now leads, since he last represented it in court 8 years ago. And as a two-term veteran of Easley’s office, he’s difficult to see as a change agent.  In fact, he’s the attorney who said he found “no evidence” that the Governor’s Office instructed state agencies to “systematically delete and destroy email messages exchanged with the Governor's Office."  (Evidence did surface a few days later.) On the other hand, Young’s well-respected by those who’ve worked with him as a solid, smart, competent guy.

Chief Deputy CCPS Sec’y: Major-Gen. Rudy Rudisill  – he’s held that post since 2007, overseeing the ALE and Emergency Management among other things, and was named Adjutant General of the NC Nat’l Guard in 1993.

Dept. of Corrections Secretary: Col. Alvin Keller, a former Marine Corp prosecutor and military judge.  He’s been at the state DOJ for the past five years.  In his remarks, he pledged to balance the need for prisoner rehabilitation with concern for public safety. His comments are here. 

Keller’s highest media-profile moment was probably his role as judge in the case of Captain Richard Ashby, the Marine pilot whose jet severed a ski gondola cable in Italy in 1998, killing 20 people.  Keller refused to dismiss an obstruction of justice charge that ultimately led to Ashby’s only jail time. (He was acquitted of manslaughter.)  Keller's resume as military judge and attorney is sterling, but his experience with prisons (other than to sending people to them) is unclear at this point.

DOC Chief operating officer:   Jennie Lou Lancaster, who retired in 2004 after 32 years’ work in the state prison system.  Lancaster’s last post was Central Regional Director of the state prison system.  

Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Sec'y:  Linda Hayes.  She’s been the only name on the grapevine for the post, which isn’t surprising given her 13 years leading the Governor’s Crime Commission.  Her comments are here. 

Perdue says she'll announce the rest of her cabinet appointments early next week.  The most interesting part of today's event, I thought, was her explanation of how she made her choices.  More on that later.

Comments? Drop me a line.

With Christmas behind us, Hanukkah ending tonight, and New Year's on the horizon, it's all about perspective this weekend.

Looking back:

Huffington Post’s Jason Linkins lays out the 10 worst media moments of 2008.  (It was a crowded field.)

Char-O’s Lew Powell has a hilarious 2008 “Year in Quotes” recap, plus the 2008 “Carolina” (Charlotte-area) Follies. Good stuff, especially the graphic.   

First Dog Barney’s final Christmas video includes an Olympics dream sequence that makes you wonder what they’ve been putting in the poor thing's biscuits.  (And no, his issues with the press weren’t referenced.)

Looking forward:

The N&O's Rob Christensen offers a mea culpa for his 2008 batting average (you and everyone else, Rob), then breaks out the crystal ball again for 2009.  My favorite line: 

Of course, she won't be the only one scratching her head over the budget next year.  Greensboro’s Mark Binker says Jones St. leaders aren’t sure yet how bad it’ll be, but everyone agrees it won’t be pretty.   

The first big issue on the horizon next session will probably be a bailout for the state health plan. The AP’s Mike Baker reports it’s already broke. 

(Still) staying classy …

Former Huckabee campaign manager Chip Saltsman can probably kiss the RNC chairmanship goodbye.  The Hill reported Friday that Saltsman sent RNC committee members a CD of “holiday songs” including “Barack the Magic Negro.”  Saltsman says the song is a “light-hearted parody” of an op-ed in the LA Times.   (No word on the satirical targets of other songs like “The Star Spanglish Banner” and “Ivory and Ebony.”)

Current chair Mike Duncan, who’s also running, said he’s “shocked and appalled” by the CD.  But other chair candidates say it’s been blown out of proportion due to “hypersensitivity in the press".

Speaking of chairs

Dome says former gov candidate state senator Fred Smith is thinking about challenging incumbent chair Linda Daves for the NCGOP’s top spot this spring.  Ambassador Jim Cain, however, has taken himself out of the running. 

On the D side, another former contender, Richard Moore, tells Rob Christensen he’s done with the game entirely - for now, anyway.

Other good stuff

Best headline of the weekend, at CBS.com:  "Amateurs give genetic engineering a try."   Wait... what?   

Viral video of the weekend – A Salt Lake City dog does some Christmas shoplifting.  (Even more amazing: the reporter tells the story without a single lame joke about the economy.  Bravo!) 

Thoughts?

I'm weighing putting together a few 2008 Top Tens for the blog this week.  So tell me:  who will you miss?  Who won't you? What 08 buzzwords do you fervently hope you never hear again? What big stories got lost in the election shuffle this year? Let me know.

Comments? Drop me a line.

I'm down in south Florida this week, visiting my family and marveling as I always do at the locals' resolve to make it feel like Christmas when it's 80 degrees.

I figure it's because most folks here spent most of their lives in places where all their Christmases actually were white. Here in Fort Myers, getting into the holiday spirit takes a lot more work.

More homes are decorated here than in NC, even if the lights are mostly strung on palm trees. They have not one but two Christmas parades, both on boats. And there's no shortage of seasonal dress, either, though it tends toward rhinestone snowflakes  and santa-themed short sets.

The kicker: on Christmas morning, it’s a local tradition for beachside families to move their fully decorated trees out onto the sand and open their presents at surfside.  How can you not love tinsel on the beach? 

In NC ink

The N&O's Dan Kane has a great story on crazy political shenanigans at the DOT that - wait for it - apparently weren't illegal. How is that even possible? 

W-SJ's James Romoser looks at what federal stimulus money could do for NC.  Related:  The AP's Mike Baker says NC's gonna need a LOT of help - maybe as much as $1.6 billion.

Speaking of federal stimuli, the N&O's Rob Christensen explains how the New Deal turned NC into the state we know today.

Charlotte's Jim Morrill says there's a Southerner shortage in Obama's cabinet. (But his spokesman, Robert Gibbs, is a Wolfpack alum.  Shouldn’t that count?)

Greensboro's Mark Binker goes all Cheezburger-y on the prospect of televising statehouse sessions.

And Charlotte's Jack Betts had a sweet vignette about a Christmas tree that brightens the season for drivers on I-440.

Easley's exit

I sat down Friday with The State of Things' Frank Stasio to dish about Easley's end-of-term interview -- his thoughts on the best and worst things about being governor, and what he wishes he'd accomplished but didn't. If you missed it, it's here.  

I'll have more from that interview in a retrospective when I get back to Raleigh next week.  In the meantime, have a peaceful and happy holiday!

Comments? Drop me a line.

Sorry so late tonight -- I’ve been up to my elbows in chocolate cookie dough. It's part one of the Tavern’s annual Cookie Marathon.

I love covering all the “important people” who serve in the state legislature.  But if you ask me, the really important folks are the ones who keep the place running.  The housekeepers who buff floors and shine brass late at night after the crowds are gone. The front desk ladies who never fail to smile, no matter how many rowdy school groups came through before you.  The relentlessly nice Relia and her coffee-room staff.  The cafeteria workers who always want to chat.  The police officers who’ll walk you to your car at night, even if they’re busy, no matter how far away you parked. 

Everyone who works on Jones St. knows how lucky we are to have these folks, and at holiday time, we all want to say thanks. Gifts aren't really an approved way to do that, so instead, there’s food. Some lawmakers drop off hams, other folks cakes or candy. Me, I make homemade cookies -- two to three hundred most years, divvied up on plates and delivered by shift so the late-night workers get their share, too.

Part one tonight was double-chocolates. Part two (tomorrow) is decorated sugars.  Friday, they'll all go out to all the people who make the legislature a nice place to work.  It's not much, but you do what you can, right?

Le plus ca change

Change may be in the air at the national level, but not on Jones Street. Just as their GOP comrades did, House and Senate Dems opted to stay with their current leadership for the upcoming session. 

House Speaker Joe Hackney won an unanimous secret-ballot vote this afternoon for re-nomination to the dais.  His pro tem, Craven Dem William Wainwright, was also nominated for another term, and Davidson Rep Hugh Holliman was re-elected to Majority Leader.  The unflappable Denise Weeks also cruised to re-election as House clerk.  Majority whips, the only contested races, weren’t settled today. House Dems will elect them in January.

On the Senate side, Marc Basnight was re-nominated to a ninth (!) term as Pro Tem, which would make him the longest serving Senate leader in the state’s history.  Fayetteville’s Tony Rand was re-elected Majority Leader, and RC Soles won his seventh term as caucus chair after almost not making it back to Raleigh last November.  Meck Dem Charlie Dannelly was re-nominated for deputy pro tem, and Katie Dorsett was re-elected to majority whip.

Party officers, like chairs, leaders, and whips, can be decided by the caucus, but chamber offices like Speaker and Pro Tem have to be approved by a majority of the chamber’s voting members. Given the Dems’ healthy margins in both houses, an upset seems unlikely.  But as one staffer reminded me, some of the Dems who backed Joe Mavretic’s 1989 coup were close enough to Liston Ramsey to be invited to proofread his acceptance speech, even as they plotted to keep him from delivering it.  Bottom line: nothing’s for sure until the clerk locks the machine and records the vote.

Gov. Easley interview

Thanks so much to those of you who sent in questions for the Gov.  45 minutes wasn’t enough to get through it all, but I did get to ask him about his take on the email scandal, his plans for the future, his wife’s controversial pay raise, and his advice for Gov-elect Perdue.  

I’m not sure what form this’ll take on the radio, or when – I’ll post here as soon as I know more.  In the meantime, here’s a teaser:  I asked Easley to name the worst thing about being governor.  

Most of the rest of the interview was a lot more upbeat.  Check back to find out when and how it’s airing.    

Comments?  Drop me a line.

I’m back in the Triangle after a few days in the Arctic North (well, okay, the very chilly Midwest, anyway), visiting the first folks crazy enough to trust me in front of a live microphone back in 1994.  It was really great to see everyone.   But I have to admit my years out West and down South have devastated my tolerance for cold weather.   It’s good to be back and warm.

One more vote

I’m very sorry to have missed yesterday’s Electoral College ceremony in Raleigh. NC’s fifteen Democrat electors convened at the old Capitol to officially cast the state’s votes for President-elect Barack Obama. Linda Gunter, who was elected College president yesterday, told me she’d been waiting for six elections now to cast her vote for a Dem presidential candidate. 

NC Secretary of State spokesman George Jeter says the event always draws a lot of media attention.

“I think it’s kind of like people go to the car races sometimes to watch the wreck, as the old saying goes. I think sometimes reporters attend the Electoral College hoping someone does cause a scene.”

But no one did, and it wasn't likely to happen, anyway.  Like most states, NC has a “binding law” that counts a vote for anyone other than the popular vote winner as that elector’s resignation.  (Kind of makes you wonder what the point is, doesn’t it?) WRAL and Greensboro’s Mark Binker both covered it.  Check it out.

Oh, garcon...

Dome reports Governor Mike Easley, First Lady Mary, and their son Michael served a thank-you dinner to thirty-odd inmates who worked at the mansion during the past eight years. Easley says his specialty is tea, but cake a la mode didn’t go so well. Whatever he’s up to next, looks like it won’t be food service. More here.

Whatcha wanna know?

Speaking of the Gov, I’ve got an “exit interview” with him Wed. morning. What do YOU think I should ask him? Email me your ideas before 10:30 am Wed.

Comments? Drop me a line.

Sorry no roundup today -- I'm up in Bloomington, IN, visiting WFIU, the station where I started out in radio.  I'll be back here at the Tavern late Tues.  See you then! 

Thanks to all the folks who came out to the station tonight for the volunteer holiday party. It was great to see everyone!

Holiday spirit aside, pretty much everyone wanted to talk about yesterday’s announced layoffs at NPR.  David Folkenflik reported on the cuts Wed. afternoon and Thurs morning.   As of tonight, here's the most recent info on NPR's cuts. (Please note: these are not layoffs at WUNC.  They're at the national network.)

Staying: Howard Berkes, Ina Jaffe

Still unclear: Noah Adams, Linda Wertheimer

Going (confirmed): 
Madeleine Brand 
Farai Chideya
Ketzel Levine
Libby Lewis 
Jacki Lyden
Kim Masters
John McChesney
Vicky O’Hara 
Alex Chadwick, who's rumored to be fighting it per his contract.

Also leaving:  producers/editors Giselle Grayson, Doug Mitchell, and Marc Rosenbaum.  Marc's a tough one.  He worked with WUNC as an editor on our Poverty and High School series. He’s one of the best AND one of the nicest in the business.  What a loss.

McCrory:  Thanks, but...

Former GOP gubernatorial candidate Pat McCrory says he’s hoping for a future in politics, but not as the mayor of Charlotte. He announced this afternoon he won’t run for an eighth term.  McCrory was choked with emotion as he thanked the Queen City for choosing him as its leader for 14 years. "My heart wants to stay forever...but my soul says it's time to move on." 

McCrory says he and his wife decided before he ran for governor that, win or lose, he wouldn’t run for mayor again.  He told a reporter today he's a little relieved to step out of the field for a while: "The governor's campaign takes a lot out of you, and it takes time to recover." 

Before the election, McCrory had already given his blessing to longtime friend and councilman John Lassiter to seek the GOP nomination for mayor in 2009, so staying in the race might have been a little awkward -- though Lassiter, who was McCrory’s first campaign manager back in the ‘90s, would most likely have stepped aside if McCrory had decided to run again.  On the Dem side, Lassiter’s fellow councilman Anthony Foxx has already thrown his hat in the ring.

McCrory also sent a video message to his supporters, thanking them for their support and reassuring them that he's not through with politics for good - in fact, he says he's interested in running for Congress.  Watch it here.

Si se puede

Workers at Smithfield Foods’ largest slaughterhouse in Tar Heel have chosen to be organized by the United Food and Commercial Workers.  

Collective bargaining agreements already cover about two-thirds of Smithfield's employees, but the Tar Heel plant near Fayetteville was non-organized until today's vote.  The third try was the charm for the UFCW -- the union had failed to win support in 1994 and 1997, but a judge later determined Smithfield Foods had unlawfully influenced the outcome of those elections by intimidating plant employees.

This latest election was part of a legal settlement stemming from a racketeering lawsuit brought against the union by the company.  The secret ballot was  administered by the National Labor Relations Board.  Nearly 5000 workers were eligible to vote. Listen for Leoneda Inge's report on it Friday morning. 

Comments? Drop me a line.

Some updates today from friends at NPR...

First, the good news:  I'm told longtimers Howard Berkes and Ina Jaffe are NOT being cut.  Whew.

Now the bad news:   Alex Chadwick is going, and so is Kim Masters.  I'm very sorry to hear both. 

And yet another source says Linda Wertheimer and Noah Adams are staying on.   So cross your fingers - I know I am!

Comments?  Drop me a line.