Democrats hire new ED

The North Carolina Democrats have hired a new executive director with experience in working in Republican territory.

State chairman David Parker announced Tuesday that Jay Parmley will be the new executive director. He replaces Andrew Whalen, who resigned earlier this year to work for a political comittee tied to Congressman Heath Shuler.

“Democrats have hired the right guy for this election cycle,” Parker said. “Jay Parmley comes to us battle-tested and ready to go, with extensive experience working with the grassroots, as database director and executive director. It's exactly what we need.”

Parmley served since June 2008 as executive director of the South Carolina Democratic Party and two terms in 2001 and 2003 as the state chairman of the Oklahoma Democratic Party. At age 30, he  was the youngest chairman of a state party in the nation.

The Oklahoma native has also worked for the Democratic National Committee as a state party liaison in Mississippi, and served as a member of the Democratic National Committee. He holds an associate of arts degree from Northeastern A&M College and a master's degree in public administration from the University of Oklahoma.

UPDATE: When Parmley left as state chairman of Oklahoma in 2005, the party was left with a $500,000 debt after an unsuccessful effort to defeat Republican Sen. Tom Coburn. For a short period of time, the Oklahoma Democratic Party had no staff.