Linda Wheeler Hayes

Diversity and Perdue's Cabinet

ryanteaguebeckwith — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 10:28:58 -0500

Gov. Beverly Perdue's Cabinet includes only one first.

The state's first female governor has appointed the state's first female secretary of the N.C. Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Linda Wheeler Hayes.

As noted previously, many of the remaining glass ceilings for women in North Carolina involve law enforcement positions such as Attorney General, Correction Secretary or Crime Control Secretary.

(In addition, there has never been a female secretary of Environment and Natural Resources or Transportation.)

Perdue's Cabinet includes one other woman — Cultural Resources Secretary Linda Carlisle — but that's not news. Six of the seven secretaries who have served since that department was created in 1971 have been women.

Meantime, the Cabinet includes three black men: Correction Secretary Al Keller, Revenue Secretary Kenneth Lay and Crime Control Secretary Reuben Young.

There have been previous black secretaries of all three departments, especially Crime Control and Correction, as well as the departments of Administration and Environment and Natural Resources.

In all, Perdue has essentially tied former Gov. Mike Easley's 2001 Cabinet, which also had only five white male appointees and was described as "perhaps the most diverse" in North Carolina history.

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

Perdue names cabinet picks

janestancill — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 14:24:11 -0500

Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue named her picks to lead her law enforcement and justice agencies today.

To head the state Department of Correction: Al Keller, a former Marine Corps colonel and judge and former assistant attorney general, reports Ben Niolet.

To lead the Department of Crime Control and Public Safety: Reuben Young, a former prosecutor who has been the chief legal counsel to outgoing Gov. Mike Easley. Before joining Easley's staff, Young was an assistant attorney general who represented the crime control department in legal matters. The department includes the State Highway Patrol, and the divisions for Alcohol Law Enforcement, Emergency Management and the National Guard.

To head Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention: Linda Wheeler Hayes, chairwoman of the Governor's Crime Commission.

Perdue said she made her choices, the first she has announced, based on experience and qualifications, but also a willingness to make changes.

"I wanted somebody with the courage to not just accept the status quo, to shake things up if needed," Perdue said.

What does the Juvenile Justice Secretary do?

ryanteaguebeckwith — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 13:59:53 -0500

Answer:

Supervises the state's interactions with young criminals and at-risk youth.

As head of the N.C. Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the governor-appointed secretary oversees juvenile court services and crime prevention programs.

Divisions include the Center for the Prevention of School Violence, the Juvenile Crime Prevention Council and community programs.

In North Carolina, youths age 15 and under are tried through the juvenile justice system. Those 16 and older are tried as adults.

The department was created in July of 2000 under Gov. Jim Hunt. It is the youngest of 10 Cabinet-level positions in North Carolina.

The first secretary was former Winston-Salem police chief George Sweat. He served through the final months of Gov. Mike Easley's second term. His successor, current Secretary Linda Wheeler Hayes, is the first woman to head the department.

The department is outlined in general statutes under Article 12 of G.S. 143B.

Brief:

Supervises the state's interactions with young criminals and at-risk youth.

The latest word on Perdue's Cabinet

ryanteaguebeckwith — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 10:06:38 -0500

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.

Names in the mix for Perdue's Cabinet?

ryanteaguebeckwith — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 13:58:23 -0500

Who might Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue appoint to her Cabinet?

The New Bern Democrat has already appointed a transition team and chief of staff and said that she will put Tom Lambeth in charge of an endowment for gubernatorial campaigns, but she has not yet named anyone to the 10 positions that run state departments.

Based on conversations with Raleigh insiders, a few names have come up:

Crime Control: Scott Thomas is the district attorney for Carteret, Craven and Pamlico counties and served in the state Senate from 2000 to 2005. Current Secretary Bryan Beatty has served in that position since 2001 and is reportedly interested in staying.

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: Crandall Bowles is the former chair of Springs Industries and wife of UNC system president Erskine Bowles. Senate Finance Committee chairman David Hoyle is well known as an advocate for business in the legislature. Rep. Jim Harrell helped pass incentives bills.

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

Health and Human Services: Former Raleigh city manager Dempsey Benton was brought in to clean up problems in the mental health system and is reportedly interested in staying.

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.

In addition, National Education Association executive director John Wilson may be under consideration for an advisory role in education, although the state Superintendent of Public Instruction is elected separately from the Cabinet.

Previously: Five Perdue appointments to watch