Pearse Edwards, Gov. Beverly Perdue's newly hired senior communications and policy adviser, will be paid $136,000 a year.
Edwards is slated to start Sept. 14 but will not join the communications staff.
He "will be advising not only communications but policy and government relations," said Tim Crowley, Perdue's deputy communications director.
Edwards' job is a new position, but Crowley said the salary still fits within the budget for the governor's office, which was trimmed this year along with other agencies. The new hire and six-figure salary, however, come a week after the legislature approved a budget that raised $1 billion in new taxes and trimmed spending to at least minimize layoffs of teachers.
Edwards, a North Carolina native, currently serves as chief spokesman for Gov. Christine Gregoire, of Washington. Gregoire and Perdue are both Democrats.
Edwards, the new communications adviser, did not return a phone call to Dome Wednesday evening.
Blog RSS feed
Re: New Perdue adviser: $136,000
When will it end? Agencies can't hire prison guards or nurses and are ordered to prepare lists of employees who will be RIF'd, while non-state employee Friends of Bev get put into newly created big salary jobs like Wellness Coordinator and Senior Communication and Policy Advisor. While the N&O is investigating, why don't you take a look at the wives of legislators and cabinet secretaries occupying nice new six-figure positions. Oooh it smells so bad.