* A former state trooper wants his job back after being fired for having a drunken sexual encounter with another trooper's wife in the back seat of a car headed home from a Christmas party.

The woman's husband was in the front seat.

Timothy J. White of Salisbury was dismissed from the N.C. Highway Patrol on June 2 after he continued to contact the other trooper's wife, despite being told by his superiors to stay away from her, according to documents on file at the state Office of Administrative Hearings.

White, 39, was terminated for personal conduct unbecoming of an officer. He immediately filed an appeal on the grounds that he was being treated more harshly than other troopers accused of similar behavior.

Since 1998, state records show at least 27 cases of sexual misconduct by troopers either on or off duty. While some troopers were fired, several who had extramarital affairs or behaved inappropriately were given lesser punishments and later received promotions.

The incident that led to White's dismissal occurred after a Dec. 17 party at a bar in Mocksville, southwest of Winston-Salem. White, a patrol veteran who had been promoted to the rank of sergeant earlier that month, said he consumed about nine beers at the party. He then had a sexual encounter with the wife of Master Trooper Eric B. Perdue, according to the state report.

Perdue was White's subordinate and is listed as a witness to the incident. A third trooper was driving them home. (N&O)

* The director of the N.C. Division of Alcohol Law Enforcement announced his sudden retirement Monday, eight days after reports his agency bought all of its agents assault rifles and that two of the weapons were missing.

Bill Chandler's retirement was announced in an afternoon e-mail to the agency's employees from Reuben F. Young, the state secretary of the N.C. Department of Crime Control and Public Safety. Chandler, who was appointed to head ALE by former Gov. Mike Easley in November 2007, had worked at the agency 30 years as a field agent and supervisor.

Young said Chandler, 51, put in his retirement papers after the two had a private talk Monday morning. Though he would not discuss what specifically triggered the director's departure, the secretary said he was concerned by issues raised in a Sept. 13 article published in The News & Observer and The Charlotte Observer.

Chandler will be replaced by John Ledford, a former ALE agent who is currently the sheriff of Madison County. Ledford, 44, will take over the agency in November, according to Young.

Burley Mitchell has never gotten the Order of the Long Leaf Pine.

But his wife — and his dog — have.

The former N.C. Supreme Court chief justice says his English bulldog, Bruno, received the award in the late 1970s from then Gov. Jim Hunt.

As secretary of Crime Control and Public Safety, Mitchell had started a neighborhood watch program featuring Bruno that was an early predecessor to McGruff the Crime Dog. Bruno became something of a celebrity in local newspapers. 

"It was sort of a spoof," Mitchell said.

He said the award was not taken as seriously in those days. It had started as a symbolic honor for visiting dignitaries, like being a Kentucky colonel, then became more of an honor for notable North Carolinians, such as Mitchell's wife, Lou, a longtime civic volunteer.

But he disputes the idea that it's the state's highest civilian award.

"Some deputy press secretary over there started the notion that its the highest award the state gives and that concept entered the world through Wikipedia," he said.

By statute, the state's highest award is the North Carolina Awards, selected annually by a committee of the Department of Cultural Resources.

Reuben Young, the new secretary for the N.C. Department of Crime Control and Public Safety, has decided to leave in place much of the agency's leadership.

Chief Deputy Gerald Rudisill, Deputy Secretary Jonathan Williams and Assistant Secretary Rhonda Raney will remain in their current positions, Dan Kane reports.

One change: Ernie Seneca is replacing Julia Jarema as the public affairs director. Seneca held a similar role with the Department of Transportation. Jarema is now the public information officer for N.C. Emergency Management.

Young was Mike Easley's deputy legal counsel and chief legal counsel during his two terms as governor.

Another name has come up for Crime Control secretary.

Reuben Young, chief legal counsel for Gov. Mike Easley, may be under consideration for the Cabinet appointment by Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue.

Other names that have been suggested: Gaston County Sheriff Alan Cloninger and Down East district attorney Scott Thomas.

Current Secretary Bryan Beatty's nomination to the N.C. Utilities Commission means he is almost certainly no longer under consideration.

Young is best known to the press as author of a letter that said there was "absolutely no evidence" that the administration deleted e-mails illegally.

Gov. Mike Easley has nominated Bryan Beatty to the N.C. Utilities Commission.

Beatty has served as secretary of the N.C. Department of Crime Control and Public Safety under Easley since 2001, overseeing the State Highway Patrol, the Division of Alcohol Law Enforcement and the Emergency Management Division, among other agencies.

"Bryan Beatty's dedication and integrity is unmatched in government," Easley said in a statement. "No matter what job he has held, he has always put the best interests of the state of North Carolina and her people first. I know he will continue to do so as a member of this commission."

Beatty had been angling to continue as secretary or in another position under Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue, but recently announced that he would instead leave for a new post.

The Utilities Commission regulates the rates and services of the state's public utilities, including telephone, electric, natural gas, wastewater, buses and ferryboats.

The governor appoints all seven members to eight-year terms, but they must be confirmed by the legislature. Other members appointed by Easley are Howard Lee, Bill Culpepper, Lorinzo Little Joyner, Sam Ervin IV, Robert Owens, and Chairman Edward Finley.

The appointment will fill one of two openings on the board.

Ervin will leave the board to join the N.C. Court of Appeals on Dec. 31. Jim Kerr left the board on Aug. 31.

There are only a handful of glass ceilings left in North Carolina.

As of this November, women have been successfully elected to nearly all of the statewide positions and have served in a number of appointed posts as well.

But a few glass ceilings remain, mostly in the legislature and in law enforcement.

HOUSE SPEAKER: No woman has served as speaker of the N.C. House of Representatives.

SENATE LEADER: No woman has led the Senate, either when the lieutenant governor had most of the power or more recently when the Senate president pro tem became more powerful. (Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue served as lieutenant governor when that role had fewer responsibilities.)

LEGISLATIVE MAJORITY: Women have never held the majority of seats in either the House or Senate.

ATTORNEY GENERAL: No woman has been elected the state's top cop.

CRIME CONTROL SECRETARY: No woman has overseen the state Department of Crime Control and Public Safety, a member of the governor's Cabinet.

CORRECTION SECRETARY: No woman has been appointed to head the state Department of Correction.

In addition, no woman has served as state insurance commissioner, though that job has been held by Jim Long for decades so few men have had the chance either; or as secretary of Environment and Natural Resources or secretary of Transportation, two appointed positions.

Another name has surfaced for Crime Control secretary.

Gaston County Sheriff Alan Cloninger is reportedly under consideration for the Cabinet appointment by Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue.

A former prosecutor and defense attorney from a prominent political family, Cloninger is active in Democratic politics and worked on Perdue's gubernatorial campaign.

Scott Thomas, the district attorney for Carteret, Craven and Pamlico counties and a former state senator, is also in the mix. Current secretary Bryan Beatty is reportedly under consideration for Correction secretary.

Thad Beyle says women will break through the remaining glass ceilings soon.

The longtime UNC-Chapel Hill professor of political science told Dome that he thinks it's just a matter of time before women serve in the few state posts left that have been all-male.

Among appointed positions, there have been no female secretaries of Environment and Natural Resources, Transportation, Crime Control, Correction or Juvenile Justice. Among elected posts, there has been no female commissioner of insurance or attorney general.

Beyle said that Cabinet positions require a pool of qualified candidates and a governor who thinks women can do the job. There have been more of both in recent years, he argued.

"It will take a little while for women to move through the ranks because there has been a bias in males being elected and selected," he said.

He said women have done better in positions — such as Cultural Resources secretary — that are not necessarily viewed as central to the governor's administration because politicians may be simply looking to add a woman to their Cabinet.

"I think that could be something where they say, 'Well, we'll put a woman in there,'" he said.

Correction: An earlier version of this post misstated Council of State positions that have not been held by women. 

North Carolina had a military secretary before.

Until 1973, the governor's Cabinet included a secretary for the state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. It was eliminated during a restructuring of state government that led to the creation of the N.C. Department of Crime Control and Public Safety.

The Division of Veterans Affairs was then transferred to the N.C. Department of Administration. 

On Monday, a group of military advisors recommended Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue consider adding a Cabinet position to oversee military and veterans issues. 

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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