Doug Clark says the gay marriage ban is inaccurate.

The Greensboro News-Record columnist writes today that the preamble to the bill incorrectly argues that a 2008 case in the N.C. Court of Appeals could set a legal precedent for gay marriage.

That case, Mason v. Dwinell, involved a child visitation dispute over a lesbian couple who had conceived a child using artificial insemination and signed a parenting agreement. In her decision, Judge Martha Geer wrote that the fact the couple was gay was irrelevant.

The reference to Mason v. Dwinnell in this House bill could be intended to raise alarm. I suspect it also might be someone’s attempt to target Geer, who comes up for re-election next year. Portraying her as a California-liberal kind of judge could provide an avenue for attack by an aggressive conservative challenger (even though Geer was joined in her opinion by conservative Judge Sanford Steelman).

But as Geer and family law expert Suzanne Reynolds told Clark, there's no comparison with cases that have been used as legal "building blocks" to recognize gay marriage in other states. 

"It's not apples and oranges," Geer said. "It's apples and cows."

Who will be the next treasury secretary? Who's going to be secretary of state? What about defense secretary?

Washington's favorite parlor game - Who will get the key jobs in Barack Obama's administration? - is in full swing.

Jim Morrill and Barb Barrett looked at some of the North Carolinians who might - and we stress, might - be in play for a post:

Former Gov. Jim Hunt: Could North Carolina's longtime "education governor" be considered for education secretary after stumping so hard for Obama in Eastern North Carolina?

Suzanne Reynolds: The Wake Forest University law professor lost her bid for a seat on the N.C. Supreme Court, but might she get a look for a seat on the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, one step below the U.S. Supreme Court?

U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield: The Wilson Democrat was the first member of North Carolina's delegation in the House to abandon John Edwards to support Obama. Might a federal judgeship be his reward?

Gov. Mike Easley: Easley has said he has little interest in Washington, and he initially supported Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary. But he is about to be out of work. Might the former prosecutor get a look for a Justice department post?

Reggie Love: This one would seem to be a slam-dunk. Love, the former Duke University basketball and football player, was Obama's "body man" during the campaign. Hard to imagine he won't have a post waiting for him in the White House.

Karol Mason: A lawyer who sits on the UNC-Chapel Hill board of trustees, Mason is a close friend of Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett. She was also on Obama's national finance committee. Some sort of policy post, perhaps?

Steve Lerner: The Chapel Hill venture capitalist hosted a $1,000-a-plate fundraiser for Obama way back in June 2007. Might such early support lead to an ambassadorship?

Jim Wynn: Wynn, just re-elected to his seat on the N.C. Court of Appeals, was nominated by President Clinton for the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, but was blocked by U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms. Will Obama give him another chance?

U.S. Rep. David Price: The Chapel Hill Democrat leads the powerful Appropriations subcommittee on Homeland Security, and has worked with Obama on legislation concerning private security contractors. Would he be willing to give up his seat in Congress for a spot at the Department of Homeland Security?

N.C. Supreme Court candidates Bob Edmunds and Suzanne Reynolds stayed away from partisan messages or hot-button social issues at a forum Monday night.

So how did those attending get a sense of the candidates they would be voting for? By asking a lot of questions about personal favorites, Dan Kane reports.

Former N.C. Supreme Court Justice Willis Whichard, the moderator, even had some fun with it, asking the candidates if the court survived a nuclear attack, what one book would they each bring?

Reynolds said she'd bring a law school staple: "The Nature of the Judicial Process" by Benjamin Cardozo, a U.S. Supreme Court justice who died in 1938. Edmunds said he'd bring a book of Alfred Tennyson's poetry.

Whichard then asked that if the laws of nature had been suspended by the attack and they could talk to any one person (he excluded Jesus and the Apostles), who would that be?

Edmunds said Abraham Lincoln; Reynolds said Eleanor Roosevelt.

Edmunds, 59, a Greensboro Republican, is seeking his second, eight-year term on the court. He is a former N.C. Court of Appeals judge and a former federal prosecutor.

Reynolds, 59, a Winston-Salem Democrat, is making her first run for political office. She has been a law professor at Wake Forest University for 27 years and is a recognized expert on family law.

More after the jump.

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The State Employees Association of North Carolina has made its endorsements.

The group's Employees Political Action Committee, also known as EMPAC, made 16 endorsements in statewide races after meeting Saturday.

"We're thrilled to support candidates who support the state's working families and the retirees who dedicated their careers to serving North Carolina's citizens," said SEANC President Linda Rouse Sutton.

Although most are Democrats, there is one Republican: State Auditor Les Merritt.

They also endorsed several other incumbents: Attorney General Roy Cooper, Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, Superintendent of Public Instruction June Atkinson and Appeals Court Judges John Arrowood, Doug McCullough, Linda Stephens and Jim Wynn.

The others: Beverly Perdue for governor, Walter Dalton for lieutenant governor, Wayne Goodwin for insurance commissioner, Ronnie Ansley for agriculture commissioner, Mary Fant Donnan for labor commissioner, Suzanne Reynolds for Supreme Court and Kristin Ruth for Appeals Court.

SEANC, which is affiliated with the Service Employees International Union, has 55,000 members.

Both Bob Edmunds and Suzanne Reynolds are running on experience.

In brief speeches before the N.C. Bar Association in Atlantic Beach this morning, Edmunds noted his service on the state Supreme Court since 2001 as well as his time as a criminal defense attorney and a prosecutor.

"You know with me what you're getting as a judge," he told the crowd of more than 150 attorneys. "I'm not running for re-election to pull the old switcheroo on you."

Edmunds noted that five of the seven judges on the Supreme Court are in their first term, arguing that the court needs "experienced, season justices."

Meantime, Reynolds cited her experience as a longtime law professor at Wake Forest University, an instructor for bar review and the author of a three-volume treatise on family law. She said that she has spent a lot of time reading and analyzing legal opinions.

"Some of our best appellate judges have been law professors," she said.

Suzanne Reynolds says she won't politicize the judiciary.

The candidate for the N.C. Supreme Court signed a pledge by the N.C. Bar Association swearing to avoid commenting on pending cases, preserve the impartiality of the judiciary and make only "professional comments" about her opponent.

"Preserving the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary should also be an important consideration for voters and for those who seek public office," states the pledge, which was adopted in 2002.

A professor at Wake Forest University, Reynolds is running against Supreme Court Justice Bob Edmunds. A registered Democrat, she has campaigned at some party events — while Edmunds has touted his ties to Republicans — but she said she plans to run a nonpartisan campaign.

"Removing party affiliation from the ballot was a positive step," she said in a statement. "Now it is up to the individual candidates to avoid partisan appeals and to reject efforts to elicit our positions on hot button issues. We have an obligation to conduct our campaigns in a way that instills confidence that judges will not pursue political agendas."

Update: Edmunds has also signed the pledge. 

The N.C. Association of Women Attorneys has endorsed Suzanne Reynolds.

The statewide nonpartisan group makes judicial endorsements based on skill, legal experience and support for women's rights.

"The NCAWA has used its voice — distinctive and distinguished — to improve the lives of women in the legal profession and of women from all walks of life," Reynolds said in a statement. 

Reynolds is running for the state Supreme Court against incumbent justice Bob Edmunds.

She has previously been endorsed by the N.C. Association of Educators, the N.C. Academy of Trial Lawyers and the state chapter of the AFL-CIO. 

Bob Edmunds has received the maximum amount of contributions for publicly funded judicial candidates.

The candidate for the state Supreme Court is asking supporters to stop sending contributions.

As a participant in a publicly funded campaign, Edmunds raised the maximum $80,160 from more than 700 qualifying contributions.

Edmunds had to rasie a minimum of $40,050 from 350 registered North Carolina voters giving between $10 and $500 as a judicial candidate participating in the program.

"I am gratified that so many North Carolinians have chosen to support my reelection," Justice Edmunds said. "These contributions have come from citizens from all walks of life. However, it is awkward to return checks now that I have received the maximum amount. For that reason, I am asking that no additional contributions be sent."

Dome previously reported on April 8 that Edmunds' opponent, Suzanne Reynolds, reached her maximum for publicly funded judicial candidates.

Reynolds received nearly 450 qualifying contributions that totalled $80,100.

Both candidates are eligible for an additional $233,625 from the public campaign fund.

Suzanne Reynolds has raised the maximum for publicly funded judicial candidates.

Reynolds, who is running for the state Supreme Court, announced today that she has received nearly 450 qualifying contributions totaling $80,100.

She will now receive an additional $233,625 from the public campaign fund.

Judicial candidates participating in the program must raise at least $40,050 from 350 registered North Carolina voters giving between $10 and $500.

She said that public financing spurred her run.

"In the past, I have resisted the urge to run," Reynolds said in a statement. "The necessity of raising exorbitant amounts of money in races that were heavily partisan kept me away."

She faces Supreme Court Justice Bob Edmunds.

Suzanne Reynolds is working the crowd at the Young Democrats convention.

As a candidate for the nonpartisan state Supreme Court, Reynolds said there was nothing wrong with campaigning at a clearly partisan event.

"It's where excited voters are," she said.

Reynolds compared her Democratic voter registration to her specialty of law, saying both are facts about her that curious voters might want to know.

"I think it's relevant that I'm a registered Democrat," she said. "Where candidates cross the line is when they characterize themselves as Democratic or Republican judges."

Reynolds' opponent, Supreme Court Justice Bob Edmunds, has stressed his Republican ties at recent GOP events.

A law professor at Wake Forest University, Reynolds has been on the short list for judicial appointments before, but she said she never wanted to run until the position was made nonpartisan and the state created public financing for judicial candidates.

"I didn't have the stomach for that," she said.

N.C. Court of Appeals candidates Kristin Ruth and Linda Stephens are also at the event.