A former lobbyist's name has surfaced for Environment Secretary.

Alexander "Sandy" Sands III is reportedly under consideration by Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue for the Cabinet post heading the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

A lobbyist with Womble, Carlyle, Sandridge & Rice, Sands has been ranked one of the top in the state by the N.C. Center for Public Policy Research.

Others in the running include fellow Womble Carlyle lawyer John Garrou, state Sen. Dan Clodfelter, current secretary Bill Ross, corporate consultant Freda Porter, transportation board member Nina Szlosberg, Creedmoor Mayor Darryl Moss, parks director Lewis Ledford and former secretary Bill Holman.

Update: Greenbridge developer Tim Toben has also been mentioned.

How much did the candidates for Environment Secretary give?

Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue will not necessarily make decisions on who to appoint to her Cabinet based on campaign donations, but that's not to say there's no link between the two.

Here's a quick list of donations from the top contenders:

Bill Ross, current secretary: $4,000, most recently on Oct. 2.

Freda Porter, corporate consultant: $4,000, most recently on Oct. 10.

John Garrou, husband of Sen. Linda Garrou: Nothing, but Senator Garrou's campaign fund gave $3,000, most recently on April 18.

Sen. Dan Clodfelter's campaign, $2,000 on Sept. 26.

Nina Szlosberg, transportation board member: $1,500, most recently on Oct. 16.

Dome could find no donations from former DENR Secretary Bill Holman, parks director Lewis Ledford, Conservation Trust Director Reid Wilson or Creedmoor Mayor Darryl Moss, although his wife Michelle gave $50 on Sept. 4.

One more name has surfaced for Environment Secretary.

John Garrou, a former managing partner of white shoe law firm Womble Carlyle and the husband of Sen. Linda Garrou of Winston-Salem, was reportedly also under consideration for the job. 

He joins a long list of names, including current Secretary Bill Ross, Sen. Dan Clodfelter, parks director Lewis Ledford, former Secretary Bill Holman, Creedmoor Mayor Darryl Moss, conservationist Reid Wilson, transportation board member Nina Szlosberg and consultant Freda Porter.

Dome has heard one more name for the secretary of Environment and Natural Resources.

Sen. Dan Clodfelter, a five-term Charlotte Democrat who currently sits on the Committee on Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources, is reportedly interested in the job.

He joins a long list of names, including current Secretary Bill Ross, parks director Lewis Ledford, former Secretary Bill Holman, Creedmoor Mayor Darryl Moss, conservationist Reid Wilson, transportation board member Nina Szlosberg and consultant Freda Porter.

The opposing pressures from the environmental and business communities are playing out in Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue's search for a Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Eight environmental groups sent Perdue a letter on Dec. 2 asking for a meeting at which they would suggest DENR secretary candidates. Representatives from those groups met with members of Perdue's transition team last week and suggested: former DENR Secretary Bill Holman, currently teaching at Duke; Reid Wilson, executive director of the Conservation Trust for North Carolina and former chief of staff at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and Nina Szlosberg, a board of transportation member and former chair of the Conservation Council of North Carolina's political action committee.

Business groups, though, are unlikely to greet any of those names warmly, and with Perdue understandably focused on job creation, she'll feel pressure from both sides.

Another name in the mix that the corporate side might be more comfortable with is Freda Porter, president of Porter Scientific Inc., in Pembroke, which consults with governments and corporations on a range of environmental issues, including compliance with regulations. She is a Duke-trained PhD in mathematical and computational sciences and did post-doctoral work at UNC Chapel Hill in groundwater contamination. She also is a Lumbee Indian.  

Names have risen and fallen like the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

But with no Cabinet-level appointments made yet by Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue, the guessing game on her administration continues.

(Perdue has named a transition team, a chief of staff and the head of a public campaign finance project, however.)

Here's the latest rundown:

Transportation: State Sen. Clark Jenkins chairs the Appropriations committee on transportation. Gene Conti is a former assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation. Lanny Wilson is vice chairman of the N.C. Turnpike Authority and has Senate leader Marc Basnight's backing. David Joyner is a transportation expert and head of the turnpike authority. Nina Szlosberg, a Board of Transportation member appointed to oversee environmental issues, has the support of transit advocates, women political leaders and environmentalists.

Correction: Crime Control Secretary Bryan Beatty is reportedly under consideration.

Crime Control: Scott Thomas is the district attorney for Carteret, Craven and Pamlico counties and served in the state Senate from 2000 to 2005.

Juvenile Justice: Linda Hayes has chaired the Governor's Crime Commission since 1995 and is a past chair of the national Coalition for Juvenile Justice.

Commerce: Senate Finance Committee chairman David Hoyle is well known as an advocate for business in the legislature. Rep. Jim Harrell helped pass incentives bills. Former deputy Tony Copeland now works in the private sector.

Revenue: Former state Sen. Oscar Harris served as Perdue's campaign treasurer.

Legislative Liaison: Former Senate budget analyst Andy Willis is vice president of government relations for the University of North Carolina system.

Health and Human Services: Perdue may conduct a national search for this post.

Environment and Natural Resources: Current secretary Bill Ross has served since 2001 and is reportedly interested in sticking around.

Administration: State Rep. Alma Adams filmed a TV ad for Perdue in the primary, but later criticized her transition team for its lack of diversity.

Cultural Resources: Adams, an art professor, may also be considered for this department.

Charlotte Office: Crandall Bowles is the former chair of Springs Industries and wife of UNC system president Erskine Bowles.

The search for a transportation secretary continues.

N.C. Board of Transportation member Lanny Wilson, a fundraiser for Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue, has been promoted by Senate leader Marc Basnight and derided by commentators such as Chris Fitzsimon.

David Joyner, head of the N.C. Turnpike Authority, has emerged as an alternative to Wilson in recent days, although he was also a Perdue fundraiser.

Some public transit advocates, environmentalists and female political leaders are promoting another alternative: Nina Szlosberg.

Szlosberg, of Raleigh, is also a member of the transportation board and the Triangle Transit Authority. She's long been a backer of mass transit projects, once distributing copies of "The Little Engine That Could" to cheer up her fellow TTA trustees.

She's a popular choice among environmentalists, having chaired the Conservation Council of North Carolina's political action committee in the past.

She also has a clean reputation — a potentially crucial factor for a troubled agency. According to a Feb. 17 story in the N&O, she has not pushed for local projects in Raleigh in the last four years — a stark contrast to outgoing Secretary Lyndo Tippett.

Former assistant U.S. transportation secretary Gene Conti is also reportedly under consideration.

The Conservation Council of North Carolina endorsed Beverly Perdue.

The environmentalist group's political action committee announced its endorsement of the Democratic gubernatorial candidate today, citing her campaign's plan to develop renewable energy and and her "responsible, reasoned approach" to offshore drilling.

"North Carolina needs a governor that will take seriously the environmental challenges and opportunities facing North Carolina," said president Nina Szlosberg in a statement.