Britt Cobb

Some of Perdue's interesting donors

ryanteaguebeckwith — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 17:11:01 -0500

Some of Gov. Beverly Perdue's smaller donations are also interesting.

As previously noted, Perdue raised $17.8 million through the end of 2008 for her successful campaign for governor, including a number of political action committees and big donors.

But some of the smaller donors from her final campaign finance report are also worth noting:

* Former Supreme Court Justice Burley Mitchell gave $2,000.

* Former Disney CEO Michael Eisner and his wife Jane gave $2,000.

* Former Sen. Lauch Faircloth gave $2,000.

* Perdue's recently appointed general counsel, Eddie Speas, gave $1,750.

* Administration Secretary Britt Cobb gave $1,000 on Oct. 28. He is the only member of Gov. Mike Easley's Cabinet to remain under Perdue.

* Former Orange County commissioner Moses Carey gave $300. Perdue appointed him chairman of the Employment Security Commission.

* Perdue's deputy campaign manager, David Kochman, and communications staffer Kennetha Smith each gave $250.

* The head of Perdue's gubernatorial endowment effort, Tom Lambeth, gave $200.

* Former U.S. Sen. Robert Morgan gave $200.

* Noted Washington, D.C., political consultant Donna Brazile gave $100.

Easley ties in Perdue's Cabinet

ryanteaguebeckwith — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 14:41:02 -0500

Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue has stressed she will break from Gov. Mike Easley.

Still, the newly elected Democrat hasn't entirely escaped the shadow of her two-term predecessor. Several of her appointees so far have ties to Easley.

In order of most closely tied to least:

Britt Cobb: Perdue's secretary of Administration held the same job under Easley, who also appointed him commissioner of agriculture.

Linda Wheeler Hayes: Perdue's secretary of Juvenile Justice chaired the Governor's Crime Commission for Easley and was one of his fundraisers in 2000.

Eddie Speas: Perdue's general counsel worked for Easley during the eight years he was attorney general. Easley later appointed him lottery commissioner.

Reuben Young: Perdue's secretary of Crime Control served as deputy legal counsel and chief legal counsel for Easley's two terms as governor.

Lanier Cansler: Perdue's secretary of Health and Human Services served as deputy secretary under Easley, although he was directly hired by Secretary Carmen Hooker Odom.

Gene Conti: Perdue's secretary of Transportation served as chief deputy secretary under Easley, who asked him to leave because of a conflict of interest.

In addition, Perdue transition team had ties to Easley: Don Hobart worked as legal counsel to Easley when he was attorney general, Norris Tolson was Easley's Revenue secretary, Hilda Pinnix-Ragland was appointed to the state community college board by Easley, and Howard Lee served as Easley's budget and education adviser and was appointed to two boards by Easley.

Still, many of Perdue's key appointees have no ties to Easley, including at least half her Cabinet.

Get to know the cabinet

bniolet — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 11:45:04 -0500

Here at Dome we've been working furiously to get to know Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue's 10 cabinet secretaries. And while we aren't experts yet, we've found a few facts that we find intriguing. Test your knowledge with our quiz.

The secretaries are: Lanier Cansler (HHS), Linda Carlisle (Cultural Resources), Britt Cobb (Administration), Gene Conti (DOT), Keith Crisco (Commerce), Dee Freeman (DENR), Linda Wheeler Hayes (Juvenile Justice) Al Keller (Correction), Kenneth Lay (Revenue) and Reuben Young (Crime Control).

— Which secretary holds a Ph.D. in anthropology?

— The new cabinet job is the first government post (local, state, federal) for this secretary.

— Only one of Perdue's new cabinet secretaries was a Tar Heel of the Week in The News & Observer. Which secretary was featured in the 2002 story?

— This secretary is the only member of the cabinet to have run for statewide office.

— The 4-H honored this secretary in 2000 for outstanding alumni work.

— This secretary was formerly an assistant attorney general for the state of Texas.

— Which secretary, known for fundraising prowess, helped the Girl Scouts' Tarheel Triad Council raise $7 million for a new campus?

— This cabinet secretary was a White House Fellow from 1970 to 1971.

— A manager of four North Carolina cities, this secretary is the Brevard City Manager Emeritus.

— In a former job, this secretary presided over 800 criminal trials.

Answers after the jump.

Document(s):
cabinet_bios.pdf

More Perdue cabinet appointees

janestancill — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 15:36:10 -0500

Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue finished naming her cabinet Tuesday with picks for to lead the state's revenue, environment, health and administration agencies.

Revenue: Kenneth Lay, a marketing executive with Bank of America in Charlotte.

Environment: Dee Freeman, former executive director of the Triangle J Council of Governments.

Administration: Britt Cobb, the only member of Gov. Mike Easley's cabinet to keep his job.

Also today, Perdue named Lanier Cansler, a lobbyist and former legislator, to lead Health and Human Services.

Who on Easley's Cabinet might stay?

ryanteaguebeckwith — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 20:54:37 -0500

What will happen to members of Gov. Mike Easley's Cabinet?

As the two-term governor prepares to leave office in January, at least six of his top appointees have already said they will do the same, while others may be hoping to stay under Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue.

Here's the current rundown on their plans (question marks indicate decisions are not official):

Britt Cobb, Administration: Stepping down
Jim Fain, Commerce: Stepping down
Theodis Beck, Correction: Retiring
Bryan Beatty, Crime Control: Moving to Correction?
Libba Evans, Cultural Resources: On leave already
Bill Ross, Environment and Natural Resources: Hoping to stay?
Dempsey Benton, Health and Human Services: Stepping down
George Sweat, Juvenile Justice: Retiring
Reginald Hinton, Revenue: Retiring
Lyndo Tippett, Transportation: Hoping to stay?

We've put the question to each of the secretaries and will update this post as we get more definitive answers on the remaining holdouts.

As always, e-mail any tips, gossip and unsubstantiated rumors to dome@newsobserver.com.

What does the Administration Secretary do?

ryanteaguebeckwith — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 13:49:00 -0500

Answer:

Supervises the behind-the-scenes business of state government.

As head of the N.C. Department of Administration, the governor-appointed secretary acts as the business manager for the state.

The secretary oversees building contruction, purchasing and contracting, managing state vehicles and acquiring and disposing of real estate. Other functions include handling surplus property, maintaining state grounds and providing police security for state buildings in Wake County.

In 2008, the department had 849 employees and an annual budget of $175.8 million. The secretary's salary was $120,363.

The department was created in 1957 under the administration of Gov. Luther Hodges. It is one of 10 Cabinet-level positions appointed by the governor to head state agencies.

The first female secretary of Administration was Jane S. Patterson, who served as acting secretary from 1979 to 1980 and as secretary from 1981 to 1985.

In 1993, Gov. Jim Hunt named Katie Dorsett of Greensboro, the first black woman to hold a Cabinet position in North Carolina. She served through 2000.

Another black woman, Gwynn Swinson, served under Gov. Mike Easley.

In 2009, Gov. Beverly Perdue announced that she would reappoint Britt Cobb as secretary, the only member of Easley's Cabinet to remain.

The department is outlined in general statutes under Article 9 of G.S. 143B.

Brief:

Supervises the behind-the-scenes business of state government.

Cobb to retire from Administration

ryanteaguebeckwith — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 16:07:52 -0500

Britt Cobb will step down at the end of his term.

The secretary of the N.C. Department of Administration told Dome that he has not sought to continue in that position after the end of Gov. Mike Easley's term.

"I've had my paperwork in for a long time," he said.

A longtime employee of the N.C. Department of Agriculture, Cobb was appointed commissioner of that department by Easley after former head Meg Scott Phipps left office in the wake of a scandal.

Cobb unsuccessfully ran for Agriculture commissioner in 2004 and was then appointed secretary of administration by Easley in 2006. Having retired from politics once already, he said he'll "never say never" to coming back.

"It's kind of like Sen. (Tony) Rand said one time, once it's in your blood, the only thing that will get it out is embalming fluid," he said.

State Rep. Alma Adams of Greensboro is considered to be a potential secretary of Administration under Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue.

What is the Iron Cabinet?

ryanteaguebeckwith — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 15:45:20 -0500

Answer:

Seven Cabinet members appointed by Gov. Mike Easley in 2001 who stayed through the end of his administration.

After winning his first election as governor, Easley appointed 10 people to his Cabinet after nearly three months of deliberation.

The following stayed through the tail end of his administration in late 2008:

Theodis Beck, Secretary of Corrections, reappointed Jan. 11, 2001 after serving under Gov. Jim Hunt since April of 1999
George Sweat, Secretary of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, reappointed Jan. 9, 2001, after serving under Hunt since 2000.
Bryan Beatty, Secretary of Crime Control and Public Safety, appointed Jan. 8, 2001
Libba Evans, Secretary of Cultural Resources, appointed Jan. 11, 2001
Bill Ross, Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources, appointed Jan. 15, 2001
Lyndo Tippett, Secretary of Transportation, appointed Jan. 25, 2001
Jim Fain, Secretary of Commerce, appointed March 7, 2001

N&O political reporter Rob Christensen nicknamed the group "the Iron Cabinet" in a March 1, 2007, column.

Brief:

Seven Cabinet members appointed by Gov. Mike Easley in 2001 who stayed through the end of his administration.

Democratic pols plug Obama today

ryanteaguebeckwith — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 09:52:23 -0400

Eight Democratic pols are campaigning for Barack Obama today.

Former Gov. Jim Hunt; Secretary of State Elaine Marshall; U.S. Reps. Bob Etheridge, David Price, Brad Miller and G.K. Butterfield; Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand and former Agriculture Commissioner Britt Cobb will appear at an event at the Raleigh Farmer's Market at 9:30 a.m.

The event is focusing on the economy and regulation of Wall Street.

It was previously scheduled for late September, but the Obama campaign postponed due to the votes on the bailout bill.

Eight Democratic pols to plug Obama

ryanteaguebeckwith — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 14:39:30 -0400

Eight Democratic pols will campaign for Barack Obama Monday.

After the event, Hunt, Marshall, Butterfield, Etheridge and Cobb will then travel to Greenville to promote Obama.

Update: The event has been postponed because Congress will be in session.