Full up
If I'm not mistaken, an appointment made today by Speaker Jim Black means the Lottery Commission is up to its full strength of nine members. From the Speaker's office:
RALEIGH -- N.C. House Speaker Jim Black (D-Mecklenburg) today appointed Max O. Cogburn, Jr. of Asheville to the North Carolina Lottery Commission. Cogburn is an owner of the Pisgah View Ranch in Candler and is a former United States Magistrate Judge for the Western District of North Carolina.
Speaker Black pointed to Cogburn's retail experience, which was required for this appointment by the lottery statute, as well as his judicial background and being from western North Carolina."It is extremely important that we move forward in implementing the North Carolina Education Lottery as quickly as practicable," Speaker Black said. "We need to be investing North Carolina's dollars in the education of our children and their schools instead of sending our money to South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee and Virginia when North Carolinians buy their lottery tickets. Judge Cogburn shares my commitment to improving education and his judicial background will ensure North Carolina's new education lottery is honest, above reproach and truly benefits the children of our state, which must always remain our top priority."
Cogburn serves as the President and is one of the owners of the Pisgah View Ranch, which is a dude ranch in western North Carolina that his family has owned since the 1790s and operated it as a business since 1941. He is currently a partner at Cogburn, Goosman, Brazil and Rose law firm in Asheville. He served as a United States Magistrate Judge from December 1995 until June 2004 and is a former Assistant United States Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
Cogburn replaces Gordon Myers on the lottery commission, who resigned last month.