North Carolina Law Helps Hide Cronyism
In 2005, the state Division of Motor Vehicles hired Sherry Creech as a nurse consultant at the top of her pay grade, making her among the best paid in the division. Shortly after she arrived, she persuaded the division to send her to examiner school, learning skills that DMV officials later said weren't necessary for her job.
The state spent $8,900 in salary and expenses for Creech to attend the school near Fayetteville, including giving her a $768 examiner's uniform she would never need to wear for her job. She stayed in a hotel for a month.
Today, state officials say it was a waste of money. They no longer send nursing consultants, who determine whether people are physically fit to drive, to the school. Creech, who continues to work at DMV, declined to comment.
None of this spending makes sense unless you know that Creech was one of many DMV hires recommended by a long-standing political patronage boss, Eddie Carroll Thomas of Greene County.
Patronage, nepotism and cronyism can be serious problems for state government, but the state's restrictive personnel law makes them almost impossible to catch. The public has no access to employee applications and résumés. Recommendations from political officials or campaign fundraisers are off-limits. Applicant review panels work behind closed doors.
One consequence is government operated by those in the know, not necessarily those best qualified to serve. Sometimes the employees aren't thoroughly vetted.
These kinds of hires have led to misuse and waste in state and local governments. Federal authorities have investigated how former Gov. Mike Easley's wife, Mary, won a job followed by an 88 percent pay increase at N.C. State University. The university initially cited the personnel law in not releasing key documents showing Mike Easley's involvement in creating Mary Easley's job.
Investigators also have obtained information regarding politically connected hires within DMV.
Some states, including Florida and South Carolina, make much hiring information public. They protect home addresses, Social Security numbers and other personal information by redacting it.
In North Carolina, it takes extraordinary circumstances for hiring details to become public. In Creech's case, the DMV launched an internal investigation after learning that two top job candidates were dumped in place of two others, including one recommended by Thomas. The N&O persuaded the state Transportation Department to release the investigation by contending that DMV's integrity was at stake.
That investigation turned up roughly 20 employees within DMV's Driver and Vehicle Services section who were alleged to have received Thomas' help in getting hired, promoted or assigned to jobs that allowed them to boost their paychecks with overtime and mileage. Six of them were Thomas' relatives.
All told, the investigation found at least $80,000 wasted on expenses related to these employees. The investigation did not assess the cost of hiring people who were less qualified, save for $911 in overtime paid to an examiner to tutor a Thomas-recommended hire so she could pass the examiner's school.
DMV Patronage
At the same time Thomas wielded his influence within Driver and Vehicle Services, DMV Commissioner George Tatum brought in several friends and political helpers to the agency's law enforcement arm - the License and Theft Bureau. They too received special treatment that conflicted with their public duties.
Tatum, a former Cumberland County register of deeds, resigned in 2007 after he helped a friend get a replica of a 1937 Ford truck titled as the real thing, a move that had saved the friend hundreds of dollars in highway use taxes.
DMV is the perfect home for patronage. It employs roughly 1,500 people, many in 9-to-5 customer service positions that do not require advanced degrees or hard labor.
Mike Robertson, an appointee of Gov. Bev Perdue and a former director of the Division of Alcohol Law Enforcement, took over the agency a year ago. He has spent much of his time cleaning up one personnel mess after another.
He discovered that the bureau's training director, Neil "Rusty" Callahan, a Tatum hire, had been working out of a DMV office in Elizabethtown -- close to his home but 100 miles from Raleigh. Few if any training exercises were taking place there, Robertson said.
Robertson also discovered that Callahan and three other Tatum hires - Marva Courtney, Brian Hawkins and WilliamToman - had not attended the bureau's basic training school, which grounds employees in DMV laws and procedures.
"I noticed a lack of understanding ... that I think would have been remedied in a basic school," Robertson said.
Hawkins has since gone through the school. The others left. Robertson said Callahan retired after being told he would have to work out of Raleigh. Toman, a district supervisor in Cumberland County, was charged in September with felonies related to his purchase of three lawnmowers that authorities say he knew had been stolen.
The current federal investigation involving DMV has produced a list of employees who were recommended for jobs, promotions or special assignments by Thomas and powerful lawmakers such as former Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand, a Fayetteville Democrat, and former state Sen. John Kerr, a Goldsboro Democrat and Finance Committee co-chairman. The DMV redacted the employees' names, citing the state personnel law, but confirmed nearly all have worked or are working for the agency.
Robertson said he can't prevent the politically connected from suggesting whom to hire, but he said he now requires them to put it in writing.
Fewer Applicants?
Representatives of employee groups and local governments oppose efforts to make public how hires and appointments are conducted. They say the exposure would drive away good candidates.
Ellis Hankins, executive director of the N.C. League of Municipalities, said keeping the applicants secret "clearly increases the applicant pool" for professional positions in government. But Florida and South Carolina municipal associations do not report that they have poorly run governments because some candidates choose not to apply. And they are less likely to run into the situation that embarrassed Fayetteville State University two years ago, when it hired a provost who lasted less than two months before quitting.
The search committee that recommended Carol Blackshire-Belay had no idea that she had unsuccessfully accused her former employer of sexism and racism, The Fayetteville Observer reported. FSU Chancellor James Anderson told the newspaper that the university would no longer conduct searches in secret.
"The provost job is too important to take any chances," Anderson said.
dan.kane@newsobserver.com or 919-829-4861
Mayor Anthony Foxx's Wife Resigns Charlotte-Meck. County DSS Job That Sparked Debate
Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx's wife, Samara, has resigned from a high-paying DSS job that was one of three sparking concerns about nepotism last year.
Reached at her home Sunday morning, Foxx said she resigned from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Department of Social Services effective Dec. 31 to “focus more time and energy” on her family. The couple have a 5-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son.
Her husband was a councilman and mayoral candidate when she was hired for the job – with an annual salary of $100,000 – which was posted for just a day.
The agency hired two other relatives of high-ranking government officials early last year: the daughter of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Rodney Monroe and the daughter of Resident Superior Court Judge Yvonne Mims Evans.
The hires prompted a public debate about hiring practices and perceptions of favoritism in local government.
Officials said the three hires were made in accordance with county policy and without regard to family ties. Charlotte-Mecklenburg County Commissioners examined resumes from the three during a lengthy closed session and concluded the hirings were proper. But County Manager Harry Jones soon changed the minimum time that most available jobs would be posted to six days.
Samara Foxx, a lawyer, was hired in summer 2008 as a special assistant to newly assigned DSS Director Mary Wilson. Foxx later headed DSS business affairs, one of six divisions in the agency. Wilson could not be reached Sunday.
Wilson had said in the spring that Foxx won the job over other candidates because of her experience, including work in legislative affairs.
Hollye Monroe was hired early last year as a management analyst with social services for a $46,613 annual salary. Tracey Evans was hired as a social services manager at a salary of $57,380.
DSS is the county's second-largest department and has an annual budget of $180 million. It employs 1,200 employees.
Jennifer Roberts, Part of the Problem
I think I’m done cutting Roberts any slack on this DSS mess. For her to obstruct and slam the attempts of other commissioners to find out what is going on with county’s massive, $200m. DSS operation is too much. And for Roberts to suggest that a closed session airing of DSS’s dirty laundry is not her preferred way to go is an insult to the intelligence of all Mecklenburg County taxpayers.
The only reason Commissioner Bill James and the other GOPers are suggesting the closed session route is in response the “disclosure” stonewall County Manager Harry Jones has erected around the investigation — a construction effort aided and abetted by Jennifer Roberts. Fine. Let’s hear DSS chief Mary Wilson answer questions in open session. Super. Next.
It will also be interesting to see if Commissioner George Dunlap’s confirmation that a federal grand jury probe is underway of DSS shakes anything new loose. Why it took a full month for the probe’s existence to be reported remains a mystery, but at least everyone in town has caught up to the story.
However, it would be wrong to assume that the probe will result in any indictments, both as a matter of fairness and institutional inertia. Prosecutors are political animals and will require some slam-dunk, smoking gun type evidence of wrongdoing for them to move on a DSS devoid, until very recently, of adult supervision of its funds.
On the third hand, not all gross mismanagement rises to the level of criminality. This is why the county commission must itself reestablish public trust in one of its largest ongoing budget expenses. Jennifer Roberts needs to help that process or get out of the way.
Foxx’s Wife’s Hiring Due to Patronage?
It sounds like there is a little of “you scratch my back, I scratch yours” down on Billingsly Rd. Controversy is brewing over the hiring of Samara Foxx, the wife of Charlotte City Councilman and mayoral candidate Anthony Foxx (D), to a position with the Mecklenburg County Department of Social Services which pays a salary of $100,000. Her hiring alone isn’t enough reason to suspect any unethical play here. What raises my eyebrow is the fact that the department was on a hiring freeze and she got the job after it being posted for just one day.
Nothing to see here folks (wink, wink). Move along. Move along…….
DSS hires politically-connected during "Hiring Freeze"
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- While Mecklenburg County is cutting some jobs, the county's Department of Social Services has been hiring.
The NewsChannel 36 I-Team discovered DSS has hired 30-40 positions, many of them managers and several filled with candidates who have political connections.
The DSS hiring freeze was in effect when Mary E. Wilson joined the department as director last July. But in the name of reorganizing the department, DSS has hired dozens of new employees, including the daughter of Charlotte's police chief, the daughter of a Superior Court judge and the wife of a city councilman who is running for mayor.
DSS hired Samara Foxx, the wife of at-large councilman and mayoral candidate Anthony Foxx, last July.
Her salary as Division Director II was $100,000 a year.
Foxx's hiring raised questions among some DSS staffers since the position was posted on July 17 and taken down the very next day.
For months, the I-Team has asked DSS in writing for public records showing when the job was posted. At first a department spokeswoman told us that legal counsel had advised her the records were confidential personnel records. After our repeated requests for only the public portion of the records, DSS sent us a two-page letter detailing the job posting.
The letter says in part, "The creation of Ms. Foxx's position was an initial step in the re-organization of DSS, which was approved by the county's executive team."
County Commission Chair Jennifer Roberts told us by phone from Washington, "I did not realize that opening was posted for such a short period of time. It's concerning. We pride ourselves on being open, transparent, equal and fair. I can't imagine why the posting period would not be available to reporters."
After DSS Director Mary E. Wilson gave Samara Foxx the job, Wilson's husband Cornell donated $4,000 -- the legal maximum -- to Anthony Foxx's mayoral campaign.
Foxx Campaign Manager Bruce Clark said Wilson and Foxx had worked together in the past but declined comment on the hiring, saying it was a county decision.
Foxx is not the only person with political connections to be hired by DSS since the "hiring freeze" went into effect.
Public records show DSS hired Hollye Monroe, the daughter of CMPD Police Chief Rodney Monroe, on Jan. 14 as a Management Analyst. Her salary: $46,613.60 per year. Our phone messages to Monroe's public information officer and chief of staff were not returned.
DSS also hired Tracey Evans, the daughter of Superior Court Judge Yvonne Mims-Evans, on Feb. 11 as a Social Services Manager at a salary of $57,380.95 per year. Judge Mims-Evans told us in a brief telephone interview that she had nothing to do with the hire.
County Manager Harry Jones e-mailed us a two-line response saying, "These individuals were hired within our policies and without regard to who their parents or spouses are."
Neither Jones nor DSS Director Mary E. Wilson responded to our requests for an on-camera interview.
But County Commissioner Bill James says the hiring smacks of political patronage and in his words "just smells bad." Commissioner James says the hiring should be investigated.
Charlotte City Councilman and Mayoral Candidate Anthony Foxx's Statement to the local media about his wife Samara's qualifications for her DSS job. (Note: No one ever questioned her qualifications, just the way she obtained her job in a looming Recession.)
The insinuations regarding my wife Samara’s employment with Mecklenburg County’s
Department of Social Services in yesterday’s report on WCNC-TV and today’s related
article in the Observer are irresponsible and deeply hurtful.
A close reading of those overheated reports reveals that, despite all the smoke and mirrors, there is no evidence of wrongdoing by my wife or me.
The facts in this story are simple and straightforward, Samara’s qualifications for the job are beyond question. She is a cum laude graduate of UCLA with a degree in Political Science as well as a law degree from the University of Michigan Law School.
Samara worked as staff counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee for five years prior to our getting married and relocating to Charlotte in 2001.
That same year, Samara accepted a contract attorney position at KOSA, an industrial products company. Mary Wilson, the company’s General Counsel, served as her supervisor.
Their working relationship began, independently of me, and four years before I ran for public office. In 2004, Samara left her job at KOSA to help raise our children.
Samara did not rest during that time. While raising our two children, Samara joined the Board of Directors of Florence Crittenton Services, an agency that provides prenatal care and other services for pregnant teens and woman, many of whom are victims of domestic violence and incest.
She saw firsthand the positive impact of direct service programs for those who desperately needed help. Samara was eventually selected to chair the Board of Directors.
In July 2008, Samara applied for a position within the Mecklenburg County Department
of Social Services and was hired by Mary Wilson, her former supervisor in the private
sector. Other than applying for the job, Samara had no role in the hiring process.
In taking the position, she had to give up her Florence Crittenton Board affiliation. But Samara did so with the belief that she would impact many more people who need help at the Department of Social Services.
I am proud of Samara, her accomplishments and, most importantly, her commitment to
integrity. As I work to change Charlotte for the better, there will be voices opposed.
However, make no mistake: I will not allow gratuitous assaults on my wife -- a highly
qualified and talented professional -- to go unanswered. The people of Mecklenburg are fortunate to have her. I expect any serious investigation of the facts to confirm this truth.
Sincerely,
Anthony Foxx
Samara Foxx's statement to the local media about how "riduculous" the accusations were over the way she was hired. (Therein again no one doubted her qualifications, just her connections which may have allowed her special privileges.)
3/10/2009
To: Charlotte Media
From: Samara Foxx
Re: Recent accusations made by WCNC I-Reporter
The accusations made and alluded to in yesterdays report by WCNC I-Reporter Stuart
Watson regarding myself and my husband "Border on Slander and the Ridiculous".
Within all of the loose language contained in the report, there are no allegations of
wrongdoing on the part of my husband or myself. However, the story was presented to
smear us both. It is unfortunate that these false attacks would be given attention by a news outlet that is supposed to report the news without bias.
The facts are simple and straightforward: I graduated cum laude from UCLA with a
degree in political science as well as a law degree from the University of Michigan Law School.
I am a lifelong member of the Episcopal Church. I worked as staff counsel to the
U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee for five years prior to getting
married and relocating to Charlotte with Anthony in 2001.
In 2001, I accepted a contract attorney position at KOSA, global polyester
manufacturing company. Mary Wilson, the company!s General Counsel, hired me.
Our working relationship began fours years before Anthony ran for public office in 2005.
In 2004, KOSA moved most legal positions to Wichita, Kansas. I remained in Charlotte
and spent a few years raising our small children.
During that time, I joined the Board of Directors of Florence-Crittenton Services, an
agency that provides services for pregnant teens and woman, many of whom are
victims of domestic violence and incest. I saw firsthand the impact of direct service
programs. I was eventually selected to Chair the Board of Directors.
In July 2008, I applied for a position within the Mecklenburg County Department of
Social Services and was hired by Mary Wilson, my former supervisor. In this capacity, I am responsible for contracts issues, legislative affairs issues, compliance issues and helping to improve the delivery of social services to DSS clients.
Given this fuller picture, my qualifications for this position are clear. I have worked my entire life to uphold the highest standards of integrity, and I expect, even as my husband begins his campaign to lead our city, that the facts, not innuendo, will prevail.
- Samara Foxx
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Sources: McClatchy Newspapers, WCNC, Google Maps
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