WHY IS FORMER AUDITOR
BETH WOOD THROWING
SHADE ON JESSICA HOLMES?
By Cash Michaels
An analysis
Last week, headlines were brimming in North Carolina’s political circles
when disgraced former NC State Auditor Beth Wood, a Democrat, suddenly, after being forced to leave office after 15 years last December, not only endorsed conservative Republican state auditor candidate Dave Boliek, but blasted her successor, current State Auditor Democrat Jessica Holmes, telling both WRAL-TV and The News and Observer newspaper in Raleigh that Holmes, “ …doesn’t have a clue;”“…was picked because of race and gender, hoping to make her more electable;” is “not qualified;” “…clearly, ...does not understand what the function of that job is;” and “...can't lead what you yourself don't understand.”
Top Democrats, from the chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party to Gov. Roy Cooper’s office, immediately shot back, noting that Wood was no longer respected after she pled guilty to misusing state-owned vehicles for her personal use, resulting in a hit-and-run drunk-driving accident in December 2022, only to now return to the public eye to demean her Black female successor and endorse Holmes’ Republican opponent in November.
But why is Wood stepping out on such a long limb now? Knowing that she’s persona non grata in the Democratic Party, why openly use her name to not just promote Republican Dave Boliek, even though he admittedly has no certified public accountant experience qualifying him to lead the NC Auditor’s Office, but trash incumbent Holmes, who has successfully been on the job since last December when Gov. Cooper appointed her?
Thus far, in answer to the controversy, Holmes has only issued a statement, which says in part, “I inherited an incredibly competent but demoralized staff, and audits that were several years old, some of which were fiscally irresponsible and /or politically or personally motivated fishing expeditions intended to make headlines as opposed to making a difference to ensure the public’s trust in government spending.”
“I stand by my approach, and statutory responsibility, to be the state’s “independent” auditor, to be solutions-oriented to prevent fraud, waste and abuse, and to call it out without bias or political puppeteering.”
Holmes’ statement is loaded with allegations that the state Auditor’s Office she took over nine months ago was beset not only with low morale (she lost several members of the staff upon arriving), who, despite their professionalism, were previously forced to produce “…audits that were several years old, some of which were fiscally irresponsible and or politically or personally motivated fishing expeditions intended to make headlines…”
In short, that’s an indictment of former Auditor Wood, and the alleged manner she conducted business during her tenure there.
Add to that sources within state government that confirm that during her tenure, Wood developed good relationships with legislative Republicans, and specifically former Gov. Pat McCrory.
Given the unceremonious way she was drummed out of office nine months ago, being dismissive now of her Democratic successor, and fully supportive of Holmes’ Republican opponent, seems to make more sense.
Last April, Dave Boliek, a staunch MAGA conservative Republican, notably led the effort to defund DEI efforts on UNC-Chapel Hill University’s campus as chair of the Board of Trustee’s Budget Committee.
As a result, $2.5 million was removed from the budget that funded the UNC DEI office, forcing it to close. Boliek described the elimination of diversity, equity and inclusion policies from the UNC - Chapel Hill campus as “nondiscrimination.”
Boliek has also said if elected state auditor, he would create an “Office of Election Integrity,” even though North Carolina has almost no instances of voter corruption on record.
And Boliek, during a recent candidates’ forum in Cary, came out in support of MAGA state supt. of Public Instruction candidate Michele Morrow, who has touted attending the January 6th takeover of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., and has called for the execution of former Pres. Barack Obama by firing squad on pay-per-view television.
Despite all of the above, Wood told the N&O that her endorsement of Boliek “…was based solely on which candidate she felt has ‘the competencies, the experience, and the expertise to run that agency.’ “I’m just shocked that people are up in the air because I’ve picked a Republican,” Wood continued. “It’s not about party to me, it’s never been about party. It’s about who’s the most qualified.”
Despite Wood’s opposition, Auditor Holmes has been endorsed for election by most of the state Democratic Party’s top elected leadership, and recently, SEANC (the State Employees Association of North Carolina).
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IS ROBINSON’S LOSING CAMPAIGN
HURTING TRUMP’S NUMBERS
IN NORTH CAROLINA?
By Cash Michaels
After weeks of unceasing rhetorical battering, and with just nine more weeks to go before the November 5th election, the gubernatorial political campaign of Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson is in serious trouble.
According to the most recent reporting, Robinson, who is seeking to be elected the first Black governor in North Carolina history, is trailing Democratic opponent Attorney General Josh Stein badly in two of the latest polls released..
In the High Point University/SurveyUSA poll released August 22nd, Stein led Robinson 48% to 34%, a 14 point lead. 18% were undecided.
The Elon University poll, taken August 2-9, wasn’t much better.
In that survey of registered voters, Stein topped Robinson in the favorable column, 44% to 30%. Again, a 14 point lead.
Considered to be one of the top gubernatorial races in the nation, the contest between fiery Black MAGA Republican Robinson and Gov. Roy Cooper loyalist Stein has been marked by one key factor - money, and who has the most of it.
According to North Carolina campaign analyst Thomas Mills in his weekly “Politics NC” newsletter, a campaign ad tracking service that reports advertising spending in realtime called AdImpact reports that Robinson’s campaign only has $1 million in advertising reserved between now and November 5th, Election Day.
Mills writes that that’s less than a week’s worth of advertising in a statewide media buy.
Meanwhile, the Josh Stein campaign has more than $16 million in advertising reserved for that same period, Mills adds. Stein has been outspending Robinson in ads 3 to 1 since the March primaries.
Unless the national Republican Party sends some big dollars to North Carolina in a hurry to help Robinson, not only has he been outgunned when it comes to the number of campaign ads needed to combat the literal $46 million onslaught Stein’s campaign and others have spent defining Robinson not only as a staunch opponent of abortion rights, but someone, who, along with his wife, allegedly once ran a daycare center which was cited by the state Dept. of Health and Human Services as being found dangerous for the children looked after there.
Robinson and his wife have denounced those ads, and charged that Stein’s wife, who works for NCDHHS, is responsible for leaking that report to her husband’s campaign. Stein has denied the charge.
Meanwhile, the sudden emergence of Democratic VP Kamala Harris as a formidable opponent to former Republican Pres. Donald Trump has become a problem, many observers say. In just over a month, Harris has taken a national polling lead over Trump in several battleground swing states, and is running a statistical dead heat with Trump here in North Carolina presently. In fact, Cook's Political Report, now moves North Carolina from leaning
Republican to tossup, meanIng that Harris can win it in November.
Trump narrowly won North Carolina over Pres. Joe Biden in 2020.
Are Robinson’s bad polling numbers affecting what was once seen as a solid Trump lead in the Tar Heel state when Pres. Joe Biden was still running for re-election?
Trump did endorse Robinson for governor, calling him “Martin Luther King on steroids,” and Robinson likewise has endorsed Trump, so theoretically they share the same voters. But if Robinson can’t energize his campaign, and continues to flounder, while Stein puts further distance between the two, observers say that can only help Harris possibly win North Carolina and its 16 Electoral College votes.
“Trump is being weighed down by a very unpopular Republican candidate for governor,” Mick Mulvaney, Trump’s former chief of staff, told News Nation on Aug. 17.
“Trouble and dissension down ballot can have an effect on party turnout, which can influence the results at the top of the ticket,” Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, told the Associated Press.
For his part, Robinson, who is now on the campaign trail, rejects Mulvaney’s concern.
“I don't believe that at all,” he told a Raleigh television station outside of a campaign stop at a local Beaufort County restaurant. “When you put your ear to the ground and you hear what's going on — you see most of the people that are in here right now? What was the gear that they had on? Mark Robinson, Donald Trump. We're arm-in-arm.”
Though Election Day is nine weeks away, absentee voting begins Sept. 6th when mail-in ballots are sent out. So Mark Robinson does not have long before voting starts in North Carolina to turn his electoral fortunes around.
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