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Former Gov. Jim Hunt didn't mention his successor, former Gov. Mike Easley by name Monday. 

He didn't really have to. 

Hunt, a Democrat, was introducing current Gov. Bev Perdue, also a Democrat, at the Emerging Issues Forum. As the Charlotte Observer's Jack Betts notes, Hunt piled on the praise for Perdue. But his introduction also included what Betts said had to be a dig at Easley, a Democrat who was known for being slow to help with efforts to recruit business to the state.

Perdue, Hunt said, meets with every CEO that expresses interest in moving to North Carolina.

"She never says no. She always shows up," Hunt said. "That's what you have to do" if you going to land new jobs, he added.

State Republican Chairman Tom Fetzer Monday called for Gov. Bev Perdue to fire two of her Cabinet members as a result of recent controversies.

At a news conference at GOP headquarters, he urged the governor to remove Alvin Keller, the corrections secretary and Reuben Young, the crime control and public safety secretary, Rob Christensen reports. Fetzer criticized Keller for failing to fill vacancies of parole officers and for backpedaling on his orders to release prisoners who were sentenced to life in prison. Fetzer said it was "inexcusable" that parole jobs would go vacant in the current economy. And he said Keller's comments regarding the release of inmates sentenced to life was inconsistent with what private emails have shown.

Fetzer criticized Young for his role as chief legal counsel to former Gov. Mike Easley for failing to properly investigate claims that the governor's office instructed employees to delete emails. He said Young should not be in charge charge of crime and public safety when he "twice looked the other way" when state open record laws were being broken.

"If the governor is serious about reform, if she is serious about ethics and transparency, if she is serious about filling parole officer vacancies...these are two actions she should take today," Fetzer said. He called on Perdue to appoint a panel of journalists and concerned citizens to identify obstacles that stand in the way of access to public records.

Gov. Bev Perdue is rounding up advice on picking a new chief of staff from, among others: Norris Tolson, CEO of the NC Biotechnology Center who often serves as Perdue's Mr. Fixit; Ken Eudy, CEO of Capital Strategies public relations and lobbying firm and Hilda Pinnix-Ragland, a Progress Energy executive and chair of the state community colleges board.

Chief of Staff Zach Ambrose announced last month he was leaving after one year of Perdue's administration, though he served the same role when she was lieutenant governor. Perdue's poll numbers remain lackluster and her administration has endured grousing, inside and out, about how well the machinery has operated. Her communications director left in December, and she brought in a new senior adviser, Pearse Edwards, last fall to try and help the governor's office operate more smoothly.

 Now to the speculation! Among those mentioned in state government circles as potential chiefs of staff are: Tolson; Leslie Coman, executive vice president at CapStrat; former House Majority Leader Phil Baddour and Secretary of Administration Britt Cobb.

UNION? Gov. Bev Perdue has given North Carolina's largest state employee association the authority to represent workers in discussions about workplace conditions, a move that business and conservative groups say is a step toward unionization.

Without fanfare, Perdue issued an executive order Jan. 21 to create a formal procedure for "meet and confer" gatherings between agencies and representatives of the State Employees Association of North Carolina, which is Local 2008 of the Service Employees International Union, the nation's largest public employee union. (N&O)

HIT DELETE: Former Gov. Mike Easley's press secretary said in sworn testimony that the governor wanted e-mail messages to and from his office deleted so they would not become public.

Easley's communications directors denied giving that instruction, although public information officers took notes in a meeting suggesting the order was given. (N&O)

IN THIS CORNER: State Treasurer Janet Cowell wants the legislature to referee a fight with Perdue's administration over the funding for Interstate 485 in Charlotte - along with the bigger question of who controls the state's credit card. (N&O)

The N.C. Democratic Party serves as a something of a travel web site for Gov. Bev Perdue, only she doesn't have to pay, according to the party's most recent campaign finance disclosure. 

After First Gentleman Bob Eaves loaned the use of a Jeep SUV to his wife's 2008 campaign, the state Democratic Party paid the property tax of $84.39 last year. Eaves sold the car last spring, according to Andrew Whalen, the party's executive director.

When Eaves joined Perdue on her October trip to Japan and China, the party paid $7,526.80 for his travel and to upgrade Perdue to business class. The state paid coach fare for Perdue, Whalen said.

The Democratic Party also paid $1,527.45 last September for Perdue to fly to Washington for an event for Emily's List, a political action group that aids female candidates. The flight was provided by Clark Griffin, of Greensboro, one of several aircraft owners who provided a total of 31 free flights to Perdue while she was lieutenant governor that she did not disclose until recent months, after her predecessor, Mike Easley, was caught in a scandal involving free flights, among other perks.

Gov. Bev Perdue said that when it comes to Sunday's Superbowl, she's a Saints fan.

"I am rooting for New Orleans," Perdue said. "Any of us who watched the town come from back from Katrina have a reason to root for them."

IT'S A PRIORITY: Gov. Bev Perdue said that fixing the state's probation system remains high on her to-do list. Perdue was responding to a report in the N&O that showed that a year after the paper highlighted problems with the system, many jobs are still unfilled. (N&O)

SPARE A MILLION DIMES? The campaign committee of former Gov. Mike Easley is broke, according to a report filed late Friday.

The campaign spent $170,000 in the last half of 2009, mostly on lawyers who advised and defended the former two-term Democratic governor as the State Board of Elections investigated his activities.

Easley's campaign started 2009 with $427,700 in its account. It ended the year with just $4,465 on hand - and now lists more than $114,000 in debt to law firms. (N&O)

GLUTEN PATROL: When state officials sought to shut down a Durham food company last month for marketing bread as gluten-free that tested positive for gluten, cheers went up across the country among those suffering from celiac disease. (N&O)

Gov. Bev Perdue is getting away from Raleigh's chilly weather today, but she won't say where.

Perdue is headed off for a week vacation and wouldn't tell N&O reporter Sarah Ovaska her exact destination.

That's because Perdue didn't want to see N&O photographers camped out at the mystery vacation spot, Perdue joked.

"I am going on a vacation to a nice warm place," she said.

At a ceremony Thursday, Gov. Bev Perdue honored 10 state employees with the Governor's Award for Excellence for 2009.

The governor also honored the entire Employment Security Commission for Outstanding State Government Service. The citation said the employees have "risen to the challenge, worked countless hours of overtime, served as a shoulder to cry on, and offered a glimmer of hope to the citizens of North Carolina who find themselves out of work."

The names of the 10 employees honored and brief accounts of what they were honored for are available after the jump:

Lanny Wilson, the fundraiser and developer who was once on the short list to run the state transportation department, has resigned his position on the transportation board.

Wilson, a Wilmington developer and lawyer, was a key money man for the campaigns of former Gov. Mike Easley and Gov. Bev Perdue. He was unknown to many in North Carolina, until he testified in a State Board of Elections hearing that he gave large checks to the Democratic Party that he expected would be in turn given to Easley's campaign.

Such funneling would violate limits on donations to individual candidates. Wilson was the main financial backer of several coastal developments, including the Cannonsgate development where Easley bought a lot at a six-figure discount.

"After much consideration and thought, I am stepping down to avoid any further unnecessary distractions that would only serve to impede the progress of your reform efforts with the Board and Department of Transportation," Wilson wrote.

Buzz around that state when Perdue was picking her cabinet was that Wilson was on the short list. Senate leader Marc Basnight advocated for Wilson, saying that Wilson raised money for campaigns because he genuinely cared about North Carolina.

"Lanny has so much to give this state. He's smart and he understands the department very well. I believe he could reorganize the department in a fashion that we would get much more out for our money," Basnight said.

Perdue accepted the resignation and thanked Wilson for his service.

Update 3:20pm:  The governor now will be responsible for picking Wilson's successor to represent Division 3, which includes New Hanover and five other southeastern counties.

Wilson has not resigned his seat as vice chairman of the N.C. Turnpike Authority, to which he was appointed by Basnight.  Wilson has been a champion of one of the Turnpike Authority's pending projects, the $1.3 billion Cape Fear Skyway in Wilmington. He participated by telephone in the turnpike board's monthly meeting Wednesday.