A change at the top typically does wonders for the Junior League of Raleigh's inaugural celebrations, tax returns show.

Consider when Mike Easley was first elected governor: the Junior League cleared $695,000, Dan Kane reports. For his second term: roughly $185,000.

Junior League President Virginia Yopp said ticket sales so far suggest that Beverly Perdue's inauguration will continue the trend, one the league has tracked since it began holding the celebrations 76 years ago.

This inauguration is historic, since Perdue will become North Carolina's first female governor and the Council of State will include its first female state treasurer (Janet Cowell) and state auditor (Beth Wood).

"Of course this is very historic and we're very excited," Yopp said. "But every governor has been special to North Carolina."

The celebrations — which include two receptions, a rock concert, and a gala presentation followed by a ball — are a major fundraiser for the nonprofit Junior League.

The state Senate will have six women next session.

Three of the women are from major urban areas: Sens. Julia Boseman of Wilmington, Katie Dorsett of Greensboro and Linda Garrou of Winston-Salem.

A fourth, Sen. Ellie Kinnaird, is from Carrboro, a liberal enclave near UNC-Chapel Hill.

Only two come from small towns: Sen. Jean Preston of Emerald Isle (population 3,855) and incoming Sen. Debbie Clary of Cherryville (population 5,680), about an hour drive from Charlotte. They are the only Republicans.

Coincidentally or not, both Preston and Clary served seven terms in the state House before being elected senator. None of the other female senators served in the House.

Two former female senators from urban areas have since won statewide races. Former Sen. Janet Cowell of Raleigh was elected state treasurer in November, while former Sen. Kay Hagan of Greensboro was elected U.S. senator.

As noted previously, rural areas have been slow to elect women.

The women make up 12 percent of the 50-member Senate.

Women lost a little ground in the legislature.

After the November elections, the number of female state legislators will go down next year by one, from 45 to 44, according to the principal House and Senate clerks.

Six women will serve in the 50-member Senate; 38, in the 120-member House.

That leaves 25.9 percent of the legislature female, the same as in 2007.

The 2008 session will remain the high water mark, with 26.5 percent women, according to statistics compiled by the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University. The national average was 23.7 percent.

The center's rankings for 2009 are not yet available, but North Carolina was the 19th most gender-balanced state legislature in 2008. Vermont was first; South Carolina, last.

Since the group began tracking legislative women in 1975, the low for North Carolina was 11.8 percent in 1985 and 1986. The number has been steadily climbing since and has been above 20 percent — or one-fifth — since 2003.

There is a silver lining, however. Two of the women who left the legislature — Sens. Kay Hagan and Janet Cowell — went on to higher office, while Rep. Debbie Clary moved to the Senate.

Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue will be the state's first female governor.

But it won't be the only first for women in North Carolina. Below, a list of other female firsts compiled by N&O researcher Brooke Cain.

STATE REPRESENTATIVE: In 1920, Lillian Exum Clement of Buncombe County was the first woman elected to the state House and first female Southern legislator.

DEPARTMENT HEAD: In 1921, Kate Burr Johnson of Morganton was the first woman in the country to serve as state commissioner of public welfare and the first woman to head a major department.

STATE SENATOR: Gertrude Dills McKee was elected the first female state senator in 1931.

CONGRESSWOMAN: In 1946, Eliza Jane Pratt became the first woman to represent North Carolina in Congress.

SUPERIOR COURT JUDGE: In 1949, Susie Sharp became the state's first female Superior Court judge.

SUPREME COURT JUSTICE: In 1962, Sharp became the first woman to serve on the N.C. Supreme Court.

BIG CITY MAYOR: In 1977, Isabella Cannon was elected the mayor of Raleigh, the first female mayor of a major North Carolina city.

ELECTED PROSECUTOR: In the late 1980s, Jean Powell became the state's first elected district attorney, winning in Hoke and Scotland counties' District 16A.

BLACK CONGRESSWOMAN: In 1992, Eva Clayton was elected the first African-American Congresswoman from North Carolina.

SHERIFF: In 1994, Barbara Pickens was elected sheriff of Lincoln County, the state's first female sheriff.

COUNCIL OF STATE (APPOINTED): In March of 1996, Gov. Jim Hunt appointed Janice Faulkner the first female secretary of state and the first woman on the Council of State.

COUNCIL OF STATE (ELECTED): In the fall of 1996, Elaine Marshall became the first elected female secretary of state and the first woman elected to the Council of State.

LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR: In 2000, Perdue was elected the state's first female lieutenant governor.

LABOR COMMISSIONER: In 2000, Cherie Berry was elected the first female labor commissioner.

AGRICULTURE COMMISSIONER: In 2000, Meg Scott Phipps was elected the first female agriculture commissioner.

U.S. SENATOR: In 2002, Elizabeth Dole was elected the first female U.S. senator in North Carolina.

SCHOOLS SUPERINTENDENT: In 2005, June St. Clair Atkinson became the first female superintendent of public instruction.

STATE TREASURER: In 2008, state Sen. Janet Cowell was elected the first female state treasurer in North Carolina.

STATE AUDITOR: In 2008, Beth Wood was elected the first female state auditor.

COUNCIL OF STATE MAJORITY: In 2008, six women — Marshall, Berry, Atkinson, Perdue, Cowell and Wood — made up the first female majority of the 10-member Council of State.

Are we missing anybody? Let us know in the comment thread.

David Young is starting a new business.

After running unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for state treasurer this year, the outgoing Buncombe County commissioner announced last week that he and his wife Leigh will be forming Young and Associates.

The company aims to help local government find top management personnel.

"I wanted to stay involved in local government and give back a portion of what I received over my 16-year tenure," he said in a statement.

The company will seek to be a middle-man between qualified managers and cities and counties with openings, including providing interim leaders.

Young is the past president of the N.C. Association of County Commissioners.

He lost the May primary to Treasurer-elect Janet Cowell.

Janet Cowell thinks the treasurer should have more tools.

The treasurer-elect told Dome that she thinks financial planners taking care of the state's pension fund should have more options to invest in order to hedge against bad markets like this one.

Cowell was not ready to talk specifics about her proposal, but she said as an example that if the pension had invested heavily in German securities, it might look for another investment to hedge against the euro rising against the dollar.

"You could use that tool to control risk," she said. "Some people might be afraid that if you give (the treasurer's planners) that authority, they might use it to increase risk. So the question is can we give them tools so they can make good investment decisions, but put some contraints on them?"

She said any changes to investing strategy should be "appropriate, prudent and conservative."

Cowell said after her January swearing-in she'll talk more with legislators about expanding the statutory authority of the state treasurer's office, perhaps with a bill as early as next session. 

Janet Cowell says the treasurer's legal authority should be clarified.

The Democratic state treasurer-elect said she believes the office should have the authority to hire its own attorneys to lead class action lawsuits, such as one proposed by Treasurer Richard Moore against mortgage giant Freddie Mac.

North Carolina's attempt to play a lead role in that suit was rejected by a judge after Attorney General Roy Cooper objected, saying that his office should handle the lawsuit.

Cowell told Dome that was unfortunate. She hopes the legislature will clarify the legal role of the treasurer and she pledged to work with Cooper's office to come up with a list of outside law firms approved by both offices that could be hired for such suits.

"Clearly, as treasurer I would like to have that kind of authority and know I've got the full set of tools at my disposal to go after losses," she said. 

She added that she would still prefer the matter be resolved, even if the legislature stopped short of giving the treasurer the full legal authority she prefers.

"I think that's a question worthy of clarification," she said. 

Josh Stein says he's gotten some good advice.

Taking a break from a two-day orientation for new legislators, the state senator-elect told Dome that leaders such as Speaker Joe Hackney, Senate president Marc Basnight and Lt. Gov.-elect Walter Dalton have told him and others to work hard.

"Be civil. Get to know your colleagues," he said. "Hackney said that occasionally partisan issues come up, but the bulk of the work here is what makes most sense. ... It's not particularly glamorous. Most of legislating is pretty much grunt work."

Stein, a Raleigh Democrat taking the seat of Treasurer-elect Janet Cowell, said he plans to focus on transportation issues with a focus on mass transit and improving health care and education.

In the meantime, he has a more prosaic concern.

"I'm trying to figure out how to sync my Blackberry to a PC and a Mac at the same time," he said.

The Senate class of 2008 has some big shoes to fill.

For the most part, the freshman senators are taking the seats of lawmakers who went on to higher offices — or at least ran for higher office.

The five (or six, depending on your definition) may face higher expectations as a result.

Here's a quick look at the new senators-elect:

Don Vaughan (D): A politically active Greensboro attorney who served seven terms on the City Council will be taking the seat of U.S. Sen.-elect Kay Hagan.

David Rouzer (R): A former aide to U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms from McGee's Crossroads will take over the Johnston County seat of unsuccessful gubernatorial candidate Fred Smith.

Debbie Clary (R): The state representative from Cherryville, the sole Republican win from its November wishlist, will take the seat of Lt. Gov.-elect Walter Dalton.

Josh Stein (D): A well-connected Raleigh lawyer who worked for John Edwards' in D.C. and served as deputy attorney general will be taking the Raleigh seat of Treasurer-elect Janet Cowell.

Don Davis (D): An Air Force veteran, college professor and the popular (and youngest ever) mayor of Snow Hill will be taking the seat of retiring Sen. John Kerr III.

Bob Rucho (R): A former four-term state senator, appointed to unsuccessful lieutenant governor candidate Robert Pittenger's seat in June, is already running for a leadership role.

Correction: An earlier version misstated the length of Vaughan's tenure.

Related: The House Class of 2008 

UNITE HERE spent $16,500 in 2008 races.

The retail workers union gave $8,000 apiece to Treasurer-elect Janet Cowell, $4,000 each to lieutenant governor primary candidate Hampton Dellinger and gubernatorial primary candidate Richard Moore and $500 to Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue, all Democrats.

Correction: An earlier version of this post misstated the donations.