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Gov. Pat McCrory issued his first executive orderMonday to repeal a nonpartisan judicial nominating commission put in place by his predecessor.

The Republican said the commission didn’t work, noting that even former Gov. Bev Perdue rescinded the order in the final weeks of her term to fill a vacancy on the N.C. Supreme Court.

Perdue created the commission in 2011 to take the politics out of the process of picking judges. But the Democrat appointed some of her closest aides and prominent Democrats to the 18-member panel.

McCrory said politics is still a concern but he will appoint judges with the “highest integrity.”

Gov. Bev Perdue signed a new executive order Wednesday that will enable her to fill a seat on the N.C. Supreme Court in the waning days of her term.

The new order, No. 137, essentially rescinds a previous executive order that required an independent nominating commission to recommend candidates for court vacancies. In the document, She blamed time constraints as the reason to circumvent the process she voluntarily created -- and even went so far as to urge future governors to use the commission.

Perdue's new order calls the changes "a temporary modification" that gives her the ability to pick her own candidates for "all judicial vacancies that currently exist or that may arise" before she leaves office in a month.

Gov. Bev Perdue issued an executive order Monday establishing a task force to push forward with a controversial natural gas drilling process known as fracking.

Perdue asked the workgroup to "develop recommendations for regulatory framework and interagency protocols for oil and gas exploration." 

“North Carolina needs a strong set of standards in place before we allow fracking here," she said in a statement. "If done safely, fracking can be part of a larger energy solution to create jobs and help lower energy costs.  Before we permit anyone to ‘frack’ in North Carolina, however, we must hear from all sides, address all issues, and develop a robust set of rules."