If Orr is right, the actions Easley took between Jan. 1 and Jan. 9 are invalid. During that time, he appointed a couple of Superior Court judges, voted with the Council of State to sell bonds and finally came to his senses on state e-mails, reversing policy and ordering state employees to retain copies of e-mails. Perdue is already reviewing the e-mail policy, but the big issues might be the judicial appointments, one of which went to a close political ally.
It will be interesting to see how Orr's lawsuit progresses. Thus far, Orr has not had a good track record in persuading the state Supreme Court, on which he served with distinction, that his verbatim, clear-intent interpretation of the Constitution on such matters as business incentives and the lottery is correct.
Even if Easley was the legitimate governor until the inauguration, it's clear that his successor is off to a good start in her term. Perdue has taken quick action to open up state records and processes and to tackle the state's looming fiscal crisis. She will still face a test when her open government efforts clash with legislative leaders of her own party, which is probably inevitable. However, give her credit for a good first week. I have been skeptical about Perdue's ability to bring about change in Raleigh, but she's started off on the right track, and that's encouraging.
1 comment:
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....if there is any person who has cost NC the most money because of their actions it is Mike Easley.
He was a financial failure as the attorney general, lost lawsuits instead of negotiating settlements, for NC and what many consider to be a dud as Governor. How he got national attention I'll NEVER know.
One good thing is the state has a respectable amount of reserves, soon to be depleted, which I suspect is from a pretty good business climate not the policies of the ex-governer.
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