Auditor's staff surfs Democratic Web site

ryanteaguebeckwith — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 15:44:36 -0500

Someone in the state auditor's office has been reading the Democratic Party Web site.

According to server logs released by the state party today, a computer in the state auditor's department has been used to check the Web site 217 times in the past six months, making him one of the top 40 visitors in that time period.

"The state auditor's office should not use state resources for political purposes," said Democratic Party spokeswoman Kerra Bolton.

Auditor Les Merritt, a Republican in his first term, is running for re-election. One of his former employees, Beth Wood, is running for the Democratic nomination for auditor.

Bolton said that one of the auditor's computers was used to look at sections of the Web site dedicated to Wood, her fundraising efforts and the Democratic Women of North Carolina.

In response, Merritt said he reminds his staff routinely not to use state resources for political activity. He also questioned the timing of the release, noting that his office is investigating Democratic gubernatorial candidates Richard Moore and Beverly Perdue for using state resources on political activity.

"It is possible that the Democratic Party's press release is an attempt to blunt findings that might be part of a subsequent report," he said in a statement.

The statement was the first confirmation that Merritt's office is investigating Perdue and Moore. The two candidates requested investigations of each other's offices in September.