How good of a launching pad is the Crime Control secretary?

As one of the newer jobs in the governor's Cabinet, the position has been held by only 10 people, but the roster is fairly impressive.

Although appointed positions are not as good resume-builders as elected posts on the Council of State, the list includes future state Supreme Court justices Burley Mitchell Jr. and J. Phil Carlton and state Treasurer Richard Moore.

Current Secretary Bryan Beatty is rumored to be under consideration for another post in Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue's administration, perhaps as secretary of Correction.

The post has also been popular among political insiders, such as Heman Clark, a fixture of Democratic politics who died last week, and Herbert Hyde, a once-and-future state legislator who ran unsuccessfully for attorney general and lieutenant governor.

After the jump, a list of all 10 secretaries.

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Another comment on N&O reporter Pat Stith's retirement.

"Pat has done more than any public official during the last 40 years to keep North Carolina goverment clean," said former NC. Supreme Court Chief Justice Burley Mitchell today.

Hampton Dellinger raised $576,413 by the end of 2007.

The Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor raised $568,073 from large donors, including Raleigh attorney Burley Mitchell and Hillsborough writers Lee Smith and Allan Gurganus.

He also raised $3,339 from donors who gave less than $50, and $5,000 from political action committees, including the Bank of America, according to a campaign finance report filed with the State Board of Elections last week.

In addition, he loaned his campaign $2,500, and his parents, Anne and Walter Dellinger, loaned it $200,000.

He also gave his campaign $360 as a donation.

At the same time, Dellinger spent $51,138 on a fundraiser for state Rep. Beverly Earle, campaign ads, a Web site and event planning.

That left him with $726,439 in cash on hand.

Two former Supreme Court justices were recognized. 

Burley Mitchell and Henry Frye received the state's highest honor: the North Carolina Award Tuesday night. They are the first two recipients who have been justices, Titan Barksdale reports.

Mitchell and Frye, who are now both in private practice, received the awards in the field of public service.

Mitchell joined the N.C. Supreme court in 1982 and served as Chief Justice from 1995 to 1999. Frye joined the North Carolina Supreme Court in 1983 and served as chief justice from 1999 to 2001. 

The North Carolina Awards have been given annually since 1964, and a committee selects the recipients. 

Also recognized: Rosemary Harris Ehle, the actress who plays Aunt May in the Spider-man movies. 

Bob Edmunds is running for re-election.

The state Supreme Court Justice said today that he will seek a second eight-year term to the state's highest court in 2008, Dan Kane reports.

Edmunds, a Greensboro lawyer and a former U.S. attorney, served two years on the N.C. Court of Appeals before being elected to the Supreme Court in 2000.

In a news release, Edmunds said he has the endorsement of all five living former chief justices: Rhoda Billings, Jim Exum, Burley Mitchell, Henry Frye and Beverly Lake. His campaign Web site is here.

Judge Doug McCullough kicked off his re-election campaign Wednesday.

The N.C. Court of Appeals judge, a former federal prosecutor and a Republican, had some bipartisan support. He announced a steering committee that included Republicans such as I. Beverly Lake Jr. and Democrats such as Burley Mitchell, both former chief justices of the N.C. Supreme Court.

Among the other Democrats backing McCullough were former Judges Sid Eagles and Gerald Arnold, both former chief judges on the N.C.Court of Appeals, Rob Christensen reports.

The kick off was at the Raleigh law offices of Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice. A fundraiser was held after the news conference.

North Carolina lost a longtime figure in state courts today.

Dallas A. Cameron Jr., former Director of the N.C. Administrative Office of the Courts, died after a bout with cancer, Titan Barksdale reports. He was 68.

Cameron, a Columbus County native, had a career that led him into a few areas of criminal justice. He started out as a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He then moved to state's judicial standards commission where he was an attorney and executive secretary.

In 1979, he was named assistant director of the administrative office. He spent 17 years in the position before being named as director, a position he held for two years.

Cameron was praised for his dedication to criminal justice. When he was named as the court system's director in 1996, N.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Burley Mitchell, Jr. sang his praises, and said "he was pleased" to have him as the court's top administrator.

Womble Carlyle, North Carolina's largest law firm, is known for having several prominent Democrats in its firm — most notably former Gov. Jim Hunt and Burley Mitchell, former chief justice of the state Supreme Court.

That apparently is not the case in Maryland.

The Maryland Democratic Party issued a news release with the following headline: “Ehrlich's Womble Carlyle: Law Firm or GOP Political Action Committee,” reports Rob Christensen.

The Maryland Democratic Party is alleging that former Maryland Gov. Bob Ehrlich — a Republican who created a Maryland office for Womble Carlyle earlier this year — and the firm’s Maryland-based staff is behind “a totally anonymous and controversial smear website.”

Erlich, who lost to Democrat Martin O’Malley in November, told the Baltimore Examiner that he and his staff did not know who was behind the website, but “we certainly applaud their efforts.”

John Edwards is bringing in the big guns for one last push before the second quarter ends.

The former North Carolina senator is calling together some of his biggest supporters, including former Gov. Jim Hunt, Raleigh attorney David Kirby and former UNC-Chapel Hill basketball coach Dean Smith, for one final push to raise money, Rob Christensen reports.

Edwards has scheduled a high dollar fund raiser for Saturday, June 30, at the home of Steve and Louise Coggins, neighbors of his summer homat on Figure 8 Island. The event will cost $2,300 for hosts, $1,000 for sponsors and $500 for patrons.

His campaign raised $14 million in the first quarter, but reportedly may have trouble matching that figure for the second quarter as it seeks to stay competitive with New York Sen. Hillary Clinton and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama.

A list of the major attendees after the jump.

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John Edwards is having a birthday party. And gifts are not optional.

What the former North Carolina senator wants from those attending his bash in Raleigh on Sunday is money.

The invitations to the party at the Glenwood Avenue offices of his former law partners ask those attending to contribute anywhere from $500 to $2,300 to Edwards' presidential campaign.

Among the hosts are Raleigh lawyers David Kirby and Mark Holt, former Gov. Jim Hunt, former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Burley Mitchell, former Raleigh Mayor Smedes York and Julius Chambers, former chancellor of N.C. Central University.