Gov.-elect Pat McCrory nominated Tony Tata as his transportation secretary Thursday but didn't know how to say his name.
At the press conference, McCrory repeatedly pronounced it "TATT-ah" with a short-A syllable. Tata didn't flinch and didn't mention the mistake when he took the podium.
But afterward, when McCrory heard a reporter address Tata (pronounced TAY-tuh), he realized what he did. “I probably butchered your name; I apologize,” McCrory told Tata.
Tata smiled and shrugged it off. “Sometimes it’s hard to get that long-A,” he said.
--Staff writerBruce Siceloff
