Patrol problems indict Perdue, too

The News & Observer's latest expose on the state Highway Patrol adds to the impression of an agency run amok in cronyism, misconduct, hypocrisy, favoritism and self-protection. It's also an indictment of Gov. Bev Perdue and her management style.

Her Republican opponent in the 2008 election tried to pin a label of cronyism and scratch-my-back politics on Perdue, but the Democratic sweep led by President Obama that year carried Perdue to victory. As today's N&O article shows, Perdue has a history of seeking out proteges and providing special treatment for them. Her appointment of Highway Patrol Commander Randy Glover follows that pattern. The N&O quotes Patrol insiders saying that Glover got his position not by his own merit and achievements but by his friendship with Perdue. If that accusation is true, it wouldn't be the first time it has happened. The Highway Patrol has a long history of intervention by the chief executive. It also has had a history of sexual shenanigans, and those incidents seem to be multiplying. They are at least catching the attention of the news media more frequently. Glover himself was involved in an illicit affair earlier in his career, but he was not forced out as some troopers have been recently for lesser offenses. The N&O has documented a number of recent cases of troopers being involved in illicit sex acts or affairs, sometimes while on duty. The most recent was the case of Patrol spokesman Everett Clendenin, whose text messages on a state-owned mobile phone and directed to a married Patrol secretary bordered on raunchy.

Perdue had vowed to clean up the Highway Patrol, but by appointing a crony with disputable credentials, she has continued the long tradition of keeping the Highway Patrol outside the normal standards of ethics, conduct and promotion by merit. If she is serious about cleaning up the Patrol, she'll correct her own appointment error and appoint an outside, bipartisan commission to examine the organization, training, discipline, supervision and political involvement of Patrol employees.