#ncga: Moore County’s Boles stands up for Nelson Dollar’s wife (and her state job)
Raleigh was atwitter last week over the dismissal of state Rep. — and House Committee chairman — Nelson Dollar’s wife from her high,um, “dollar” job at the Department of Public Safety. Now, chairman Dollar is trotting out his soldiers on the appropriations committee to give him some cover and stand up for his wife — who apparently MUST be on the government payroll:
A third state lawmaker said Friday that a provision in the budget eliminating a high-ranking position in the state public safety agency did not come from the House’s chief budget writer, and criticized the shake-up in management that followed.
Lorrie Dollar, the wife of the budget writer, Republican Rep. Nelson Dollar of Cary, was removed as the Department of Public Safety’s chief operating officer this week. The agency says it was due to a reorganization, but the move raised suspicions of retaliation over the unexpected budget cut.
Pamela Walker, the agency’s communications director, in an email Friday said the budget provision was problematic.
“While the department respects the General Assembly’s ultimate authority to decide to eliminate a position and division, this decision was made in the dead of night without consultation of Public Safety’s experts and leadership,” she wrote.
Why is Jones Street micro-managing an agency to the point of cutting ONE JOB? *Sniff, sniff. Nope. No politics being played here.* MORE:
The budget cut led to department Secretary Frank Perry then reorganizing his management team. In a memo to his staff this week, he said the management reorganization was meant to make the department more efficient. He has not commented on the appearance of retaliation caused by the management shake-up.
Lorrie Dollar’s close associate, Commissioner of Administration William Crews, was also removed from his job, along with Lorrie Dollar’s administrative assistant. Walker says the department is trying to find jobs for them elsewhere in state government.
Perry created a new position, incorporating some of Lorrie Dollar’s and Crews’ responsibilities, and filled it with Gregory Baker, whose position as commissioner of law enforcement had been eliminated in the budget provision.
Baker – who, like Perry, spent most of his career as an FBI agent – became director of N.C. Alcohol Law Enforcement in 2013. Baker later replaced Perry as the law enforcement commissioner when Perry was elevated to secretary in the cabinet of Gov. Pat McCrory.
Okay. Let’s get this straight. The honorables thought it was important to cut the most senior law enforcement official from THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY and to KEEP two “administrators” with no law enforcement experience and a lot of political clout? *Sniff, Sniff. Nope. No politics here.* MORE: 
On Thursday, two state senators said the budget cut didn’t come from Rep. Dollar, but originated as a recommendation from the chairs of the joint justice and public safety appropriations subcommittees during final budget negotiations. On Friday, Rep. James Boles, a Republican from Southern Pines who was one of the subcommittee chairmen, also said Rep. Dollar had nothing to do with cutting Baker’s position from the budget.
“I will assure you Rep. Dollar, the full appropriations chairs and others were not aware of it,” Boles said of the plan to add the provision. “Neither was Mrs. Dollar or anybody in DPS (the Department of Public Safety). We were tasked with looking for efficiencies.”
Boles said if Dollar and Crews were removed from the management team in retaliation for something that Rep. Dollar hadn’t even done, “I think it’s a poor decision.”
“It’s sad the secretary has taken this personally,” Boles said. “That was the best-run department, under Lorrie Dollar. I don’t know why the governor let it happen.”
Oh, okay. The chairman of the full committee and sub-committees had NO IDEA of the details of the legislation moving through his committee? On a decision like cutting a senior position from an executive branch agency?
While we’re on the subject, let’s look at the propriety and ethics of a committee that oversees appropriations for an agency trying to micromanage the internal HR matters of said agency. Especially internal HR matters that involve said committee chairman’s wife.
And while we’re on the subject of Mr. Boles, let’s recall his efforts to push through legislation that directly benefits his private business.
And let’s not forget the appropriation he pushed through to reopen Samarkand that NOBODY asked for. And the $300,000 bill for an EMS substation (to service that new state facility) that Boles’s pet pork project has saddled Moore County taxpayers with.
It would be simpler for each elected office to include a job for the spouse and or partner. That way the voters could get a bogo deal with their vote.
Do we have anyone in North Carolina in charge of the school lunch menu? I do not mean to be disrespectful of Michelle’s school lunch program but shouldn’t states rights take precedence over Michelle’s menu?
The State House Committee Chairman should be able to appoint a Menu Czar! I remember Dumplin’ appointed Bobby Ray as the Hurricane Czar and the Stimulus Czar back in the day.
Does a Czarship have an ending date or are you a Czar for life?
If you go to all the trouble to be elected to office your spouse should get a state job! That is common sense. We expect these things in government. Is Ms. Mary still working over there at State College recruiting speakers?
Isn’t Rep. Boles’ Legislative Assistant David Guice’s Wife? David Guice is one of the top Commissioners at DPS? Is there a conflict of interest?
The sub chairs are given a budget number to meet, and within a few restrictions can do what they think best for the people of NC. The big chairs are updated but unless the sub chairs acted outside their restrictions or the other legislative body disagrees they likely cede the point. My guess they did ask why and a veteran sub committee chair defended it and the big chairs went “ok”.
There are a lot of pieces missing to this puzzle, or more appropriately soap opera,
To start with legislators do not take out top level political appointees of a governor of their own party to balance the budget, especially not when the state has a surplus. Second, the obvious retaliation against a legislator when his wife worked in a similar level position in the same department is as plain as day, Whether that would be specifically targeted at her husband or merely at the legislature in general is immaterial,
One scenario is that the desire to get rid of the guy whose salary they zapped was so high that they considered the likely collateral damage to Lorrie Dollar worth the risk, Or it is possible someone in the legislature calculated the collateral damage liklihood to Lorrie Dollar and that is why they did it, to get at Nelson for some reason,
It is also worth remembering that Secretary Perry is a replacement secretary, and that it was his predecessor, not Perry, who hired Mrs. Dollar, That former secretary is the only one of McCrory’s cabinet appointees who was a bona fide GOP conservative activist and his hires pretty much reflected that including Mrs, Dollar. Mrs. Dollar was also one of only two or three Martin administration veterans hired in the departments by McCrory”s secretaries, and the Martin appointees tended to be policy oriented Republicans instead of the mishmash you get from McCrory,
Of the Dollars, I would much rather have Lorrie handling policy than Nelson, Nelson has largely turned into the man he beat in the primary, David Miner, excepting only Miner;s sexual orientation.
Give Frank credit he quickly figured out about the leftovers from the Martin Administration, they are the real problems. (aka rhino one term Government establishment flunkies) Hey this may be the most conservative move this session, fire two and an replace with one, if only this would start a fad. Frank for Governor!
As for thinking that some sub committee chair made a late night or last minute change, think again. Speaker Moore like Speaker Morgan ALWAYS knows the game plan or it don’t pass. Plan and simple no surprises, no bump ups, NEVER!
You have that backwards. The Martin administration put policy oriented Republicans in top administration positions while McCrory puts just about anyone except policy oriented Republicans, Most of those Martin appointees were conservatives, Under Martin, the governors office had a large staff that rode herd on who got hired in departments, while McCrory leaves it totally up to cabinet secretaries, half of whom are not even Republicans to begin with, and the balance are RINOs. Democrat holdovers were few and far between under Martin but are rampant under McCrory,
Nelson Dollar had absolutely nothing to do with this whole ordeal.
It was his evil twin brother Joseph Dollar, who by the way just happens to be his campaign treasurer.
How many state supported colleges allow their football coach to give a full scholarship to his son when the son cannot play a lick?
And how does the Prince of Wales get his title?
Taking care of your own family should be job one! The voters understand this.
“Do we have anyone in North Carolina in charge of the school lunch menu? I do not mean to be disrespectful of Michelle’s school lunch program”
Well I do, JR! Mooch-elle’s school lunch program sucks. Roots, nuts, dried fish wilted lettuce, and no salt shakers: and the kids are throwing it into the trash cans, en masse! The good news is that the school custodians have job security!
Meanwhile, the First Daughters attend an exclusive private school, with a gourmet lunch menu.
As Mister Roger would ask: “Can you spell hypocrite?”
Political Cronyism has been around since the Continental Congress (that’s back during the time of the Revolutionary War, for you recent high school graduates).
“Duh, what’s the Revolutionary War…..Radagast?”
Never mind, kid. Turn the rap music back on and smoke another joint.
“Hey Radagast, how come Renee Ellmers didn’t get her husband a political crony job in DC?”
Well I suppose by now, you can figure out the answer to that one, just as well as I can!