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Les would have never had this problem if he had done like most all other administrations and cleaned house of all the previous administration's political cronies.

He will pay the price for not playing the same game the Dems play.

Does anyone think for one second that if a Dem took over a Council of State office from a Repub that any of the Repubs people would be left around?

Hell no.

Les made that mistake though.

What is she supposed to say about her future opponent? That everything is hunky dory? Sounds like she is a real long shot. Good Luck Les.

I find it interesting that both Spaceman Spiff and PityME point the finger at Wood for what took place when she handed in her resignation, despite some of the details that would suggest otherwise. It is clear that the decision was made as soon as the article about her Greensboro activities were posted.

Merritt has made many poor decisions, which will be the result of his downfall and continuing to do things in the name of the people, when it is clearly politically motivated will definitely make the public distrust him. If Wood turned in her resignation on the 24th and said she was not going to return to the office and use her comp time instead of being in the office, then why didn't she pack up her office on that Friday?

Merritt has right out lied about the incident with Wood. And even though Mears and Wood agree that Bailey was the one that decided that she would not return to the office, you can bet that he did not take any action until it was approved by Merritt.

One can only hope that someone as forward thinking and passionate about the OSA office like Wood, will put Merritt to shame on the the campaign trail and will win the election and put the NC OSA on the map.

Oh and Binker, you need to edit your material before posting it. There were several errors in this blog which I believe lessens the punch you might have intended. Just offering a kind word of advice.

The Black Angel

I don't know too many people who think that it makes sense to resign, want to work for 30 days, and all the while you are making preparations to compete against your boss for your boss' job.

Jesus was the only man that knew he was going to be betrayed by Judas and still did nothing to him. Les Merritt isn't Jesus and you'd be hard pressed to find anyone that would be okay with your subordinate running against you for your job.

Just my point of view

WatchingRaleigh,

State employees are encouraged to participate in political functions including running for office, supporting the party or candidates of your choice and so on. The only rule is that it has to be done on your own time.

I spoke to someone that recently left the State Auditor's office and the knowledge that Wood would be leaving and running for office had been circulating in the office some time. The gossip vine is very healthy at OSA and Merritt and Bailey had heard of this well before she resigned.

Bottom line, Bailey and Merritt were just buying their time until Wood turned in her resignation, which my sources tell me had an effective date of September 30, 2007. What they did was completely motivated by politics and was meant to humiliate her. Regardless if these two guys knew of Wood's intentions, they had no grounds to prevent her from working out her notice. She did not break one state law or office policy that warranted her treatment.

However, I would question if Merritt and Bailey didn't break a few. If Merritt thinks his and Bailey's actions will go without notice and will not have consequences then they both are living in denial. Supporters of Wood will make sure these too land where needed. North Carolina wants an honest person in the STATE AUDITOR's Office. WE ARE TIRED OF THE LIES AND THE MISUSE OF POWER.

And for the record, I would recommend that Bailey reconsider any bid for running for another seat as judge. The skeletons in his closet will follow him and will once again prevent him from being related. NO ONE WANTS A
CROOKED JUDGE IN THE WAKE COUNTY COURTHOUSE.

What a shame that these people want to play games w/words like children. I agree w/you Black Angel,It was Merritts idea to pack her things up,and cut Ms Woods off from entering her own office,to retrive her own belongings. Think about it, why would Ms.Woods ask for a few days off, and not plan on coming back,And not take her belongings then. ( HELLO ) What gave them the right to go through her personal things,and box them up. Ms Wood was not FIRED, she gave a 30 day notice She never said to any one,that i'm quitting,theres a BIG differance here.I respect her for even giving Merrit a 30day notice,and have plenty of time to train her replacement.I hope everyone that reads CapitalBeat will see what kind of Non Gentalmen Merrit really is and see how he really treats ladys, political or not, I wouldnt want my wife or daughter working w/him. She'll have my vote,and support.
GOOD LUCK BETH (:

I would like to note that when Ralph Campbell, Jr., who is a democrat, originally took office, DID NOT clean house. He had the good sense to know that he needed to hold onto people who knew what was going on and help him get this office under his control. He did replace some upper management personnel, however, he did allow some of them to remain, regardless of their political party affiliation.

As for Ms. Wood, the Auditor's Office is better off without her because she allows too much of her personal feelings about people take presidence over the work getting done professionally, and has made it clear to many, that should she win the election, not only will she replace the upper management staff, but she will do all that she can to get rid of employees who have been with the office for years, and have done an excellent job! She needs to learn how to leave her personal feelings out of the workplace and think like a professional because she had exhibited extreme childish behavior throughout the office.

In short, she CANNOT run the State Auditor's Office, and if you were to place her at an audit site and requested that she perform an audit from beginning to end, she couldn't do it if her life depended on it! And please note, this information is from a former co-worker who knows her for who she 'reall is!'

Good to know all the characters in a race for State Auditor.

Why would Beth Wood announce she was running against her boss and expect to be retained? That doesn't even make sense, unless she was going to use that as her first attack against Les. I sure wouldn't say I was running for office and expect my boss to keep me.

The Auditor's Office obviously needs some changes, but Beth Wood is not the one who could bring about that change.

Ralph Campbell started the process of bringing in auditors off the street who were not qualified, but he kept them in low paid positions or on his immediate staff and generally left the real auditors alone to do the work. Many were disgusted at having to double and triple their workloads to accommodate the "unqualifieds" and the good one's left and went elsewhere.

Les Merritt is even worse and has almost emptied the office by bringing in his political cronies as top paid staff with salaries much higher than the auditors who have been there for years. Check out the number of auditors who have left since he has been State Auditor, and how many years they had worked in that office.

So now we have Beth Wood who probably has no friends at the Auditor's Office and spends more time stirring up trouble than anyone there. Truly, the woman overrates herself.

When Ed Renfrow was State Auditor, all of the staff were accountants and graduated high in their classes. The Auditors were the best in the State and the departments they audited had respect for them. When the State Auditors came, you knew you had been audited by the experts. That is no longer the case.

The Auditor's Office cannot produce a Performance Audit as all of the auditors left that group due to Les' assignment of his buddies to high salaried positions and who, by the way, didn't know how to do a performance audit. So now we see that the Legislature is creating its own program audit section.

As for Beth's abilities, she is a CPA but so are many others--little fish in a big pond. As to whether she could do an audit, probably not. She never was an Auditor. She went to the Auditor's Office from some where else in State Government and before that, she worked for a CPA firm which is true of most of the auditors.

So all you democrats--the field is gonna be wide open. Beth really is not a contender. And if she is the only Dem running, Les can beat her.

Good to know all the characters in a race for State Auditor.

Why would Beth Wood announce she was running against her boss and expect to be retained? That doesn't even make sense, unless she was going to use that as her first attack against Les. I sure wouldn't say I was running for office and expect my boss to keep me.

The Auditor's Office obviously needs some changes, but Beth Wood is not the one who could bring about that change.

Ralph Campbell started the process of bringing in auditors off the street who were not qualified, but he kept them in low paid positions or on his immediate staff and generally left the real auditors alone to do the work. Many were disgusted at having to double and triple their workloads to accommodate the "unqualifieds" and the good one's left and went elsewhere.

Les Merritt is even worse and has almost emptied the office by bringing in his political cronies as top paid staff with salaries much higher than the auditors who have been there for years. Check out the number of auditors who have left since he has been State Auditor, and how many years they had worked in that office.

So now we have Beth Wood who probably has no friends at the Auditor's Office and spends more time stirring up trouble than anyone there. Truly, the woman overrates herself.

When Ed Renfrow was State Auditor, all of the staff were accountants and graduated high in their classes. The Auditors were the best in the State and the departments they audited had respect for them. When the State Auditors came, you knew you had been audited by the experts. That is no longer the case.

The Auditor's Office cannot produce a Performance Audit as all of the auditors left that group due to Les' assignment of his buddies to high salaried positions and who, by the way, didn't know how to do a performance audit. So now we see that the Legislature is creating its own program audit section.

As for Beth's abilities, she is a CPA but so are many others--little fish in a big pond. As to whether she could do an audit, probably not. She never was an Auditor. She went to the Auditor's Office from some where else in State Government and before that, she worked for a CPA firm which is true of most of the auditors.

So all you democrats--the field is gonna be wide open. Beth really is not a contender. And if she is the only Dem running, Les can beat her.

First let me say that the Auditors office has more issues than just this one here....Les Merritt wouldn't have all the problems he has if he ran the office him self. Instead he lets his glorified secretary Pat Stussie run it all. I wouldn't be surprised if it were her who made the choice to let Wood go early. There are racist issues in that office where employees are being passed up for promotions. These jobs are given to friends and alumni of certain ethnicities before they are given to qualified employees. Wood is a very unsatisfied woman and would make a horrible state auditor. She has had so many people work with her but she always finds a way to call them incompetent. Beth it really can't be every one else.....when do you take the Incompetence blame. The office will be a battle field if she takes office or if Merritt stays. I hope neither of them win.....I say bring on some one better than the both of them.

First let me say that the Auditors office has more issues than just this one here....Les Merritt wouldn't have all the problems he has if he ran the office him self. Instead he lets his glorified secretary Pat Stussie run it all. I wouldn't be surprised if it were her who made the choice to let Wood go early. There are racist issues in that office where employees are being passed up for promotions. These jobs are given to friends and alumni of certain ethnicities before they are given to qualified employees. Wood is a very unsatisfied woman and would make a horrible state auditor. She has had so many people work with her but she always finds a way to call them incompetent. Beth it really can't be every one else.....when do you take the Incompetence blame. The office will be a battle field if she takes office or if Merritt stays. I hope neither of them win.....I say bring on some one better than the both of them.

I used to be in the retail business and while it was customary to give a notice, it was very rarely accepted. The thought was that the employee could do much more harm than good as their loyalty no longer was with the company

Wow, where does one start with all the new postings. To "Whataboutit" I doubt that you are an ex employee, but are one that is in fear of her job when Wood wins the race in 2008. Unfortunately, there are many employees still left in your office that are nothing more than dead weight and Wood will make better use of those positions if those that are not in them do not shape up and do their jobs. The agency must set the standard of giving the taxpayers what they paid for them to do.

As far as your assessment of Wood's abilities, I believe you need to do your homework. She has completed more audits than a person named Linker that still works in your office. It is my understanding that he is seen as the most knowledgeable auditor left in the office.

And what about the AICPA seeking Ms. Wood continuously to conduct as many training conferences as possible that educates hundreds of CPA's all across the states. But even if this doesn't impress upon you that she is very skilled, let me share this. I had an opportunity to speak with one of the training coordinators at AICPA that manages the scheduling of these training events. When I asked about Ms. Wood's contributions to their training program, she stated that Ms. Wood's course evaluations consistently rates higher than that of her peers teaching the same course. This compliment comes from an individual that is unbiased and has paper to prove Wood's abilities. Just thought the you and the rest of the North Carolina should know what they will be getting when Wood comes into office. A VERY SKILLED EXPERT AUDITOR.

Ummm, how many training sessions has Merritt conducted and what is his auditing background? Someone said he came from a small town 2-person CPA firm that has very limited or no real exposure to the type of audits that are conducted by OSA. It doesn't take an engineer to figure out whether LESS or Wood is more qualified for the OAS seat.

To Biddie Hamm,

I am glad you see Merritt using his office for political and personal gain. Don't forget that his Chief Deputy is doing the same. Les has surrounded himself with his posse. But remember, a less skilled boss will most assuredly surround himself with less skill. That removes the competition, gives him a cheer leading section and "yes" employees, and gives him a list of excuses as to why he failed at his job. If Mr. Bailey, Stussie, or any of his other cronies don't think for one moment that Merritt would throw them up to save himself, then they have completely missed the political patterns of their boss. I hope Bailey can see that his days are numbered.

To anonymous/exemployee,

You must be one of the individuals that did not make the cut under Ms. Wood. I bet you were hoping that your pouting out here would give you vengeance. However, can you speak about the last person that went to work for Wood before she resigned? How was their relationship? My understanding is that this person received nothing but praise from Wood and the same has been conveyed by Bailey and Merritt, not to mention from the audit supervisors and managers. Or let's just say that is the gossip on the street. I wonder if anyone has thought to talk to this person and get the real scoop.

And to Dear Fred,

I would agree that there are times when it is necessary to let people go without allowing them to work their notice. However, there must be consistency or you open yourself up for allegations of discrimination or political motivation. Oh yeah, that is what Less is being accused of doing.

Let's see, I heard that there were at least two other individuals that gave their notices around the same time as Wood. But she was the only person that was not allowed to stay. The comments from Mears on behalf of Merritt that Wood was going to use Comp time during her notice period I believe is unfounded. Has anyone read her official resignation letter that she personally delivered to Less?

You know what, I spoke to someone that has read the original resignation letter and it mentions nothing about comp time. Actually, the entire last paragraph outlines all that Wood planned to accomplish during her resignation period such as ensuring her new person was fully trained and able to run the department in her absence and to tie up many loose ends. I do not see anything threatening about that, do you? There is no other way to interpret Less' direction than it being politically motivated.

Now, one last thing. I caution Bailey and Merritt, if they attempt to use any process, procedure, the condition of training or the new person as a political avenue to smear Wood or create a conspiracy to go after Wood's CPA license as I believe it would be political suicide. But then I am sure these guys are smarter than that or at least the party advisers are when they know that:

(a) I believe Wood just received an EE
(Excellent)on her evaluation.

(b) Wood gave a 5 week notice and her resignation letter outlined her plans to
leave the department in optimum operating condition.

(c) Her new employee was promised, by Kris Bailey personally, to received a promotion with a significant pay increase the very first week of employment. However, after some research it has been determined that delivery of this promise has been put on hold several times by Bailey himself and has yet materialized.

If you want some advice Bailey, leave training alone and promote that employee as promised. I was told that you were the one that made the final decision to hire him. Is that true?

SO, Stop micro-managing the transition of training and allow the person you selected to do the job he was hired to do. It has been almost a month and one must ask if training has fallen apart? I hear it is doing fine. So that would mean that Wood's must have achieved her goal by enabling this new person with adequate resources to be successful.

It is this author's opinion that if this promise does not occur, then it is due to political reasons. Because keeping your word and promoting this employee to do the job,(and through more than one source, I was able to confirm that you and Merritt still acknowledge the skills of this person), would mean that Wood did indeed leave training in good hands and you cannot use anything in that department against her. Maybe someone, like me perhaps, should try and contact this new employee and get the real scoop. I think that would make some entertaining news in my next post.

To Black Angel: You know, you have some nerve personally attacking people without knowledge of what's been going on within the state auditor's office. Just let me say...and I speak for many of those who WILL NOT be voting for Ms. Wood, that you're either one of her cronies, or Ms. Wood herself, using an alias. But I will tell you this, it makes absolutely NO SENSE for someone who is supposedly so knowledgeable of her stats, to think that everyone is incompetent with the exception of Ms. Wood! And as for state employees being dead weight, you should know that were it not for state employees, this state COULD NOT run, and further more, elected officials should not use their position(s) as a breeding ground for people who don't work, don't take responsibility for their screw-ups, spend the better parts of their workdays stirring up trouble, stealing from state government, and coming in to work late because they had to get their eyebrows implanted and their nails done! Now stick that in your pipe and smoke it!

ok so Im going to assume that Black Angel is Beth Wood herself....she is the only one that would give herself this much praise. Well Beth let me say this....I know for a fact that the last person that worked for you, you called her the same names as every one else. you are a very unhappy woman and will never be the State Audditor. You are playing with peoples lives when you are threatening to take their jobs away. Why does the AICPA always use you.....it's because you are the only one that has no real work to do.....if you were so good at being an auditor why are you not already the HEAD of that office....instead they have you tucked away in a class all the time out of other peoples hair. I really don't see how you think you will really win this election....lol that is the funniest thing i have read all day....Take this advice.....pick a new profession....Im starting to wonder if the butt pads you wear are due to the sex change operations you had.....maybe that is the reason you are so evil. HAVE A GREAT DAY BETH OH I MEAN BLACK ANGEL!!

OK...lets set the record straight here. Anyone who knows Beth Wood or has worked with her knows her style. It is obvious to anyone that she is representing herself as "Black Angel". The writing style is there, the venom is there, even the misspelled words are there.

What kind of sick personality does it take to call yourself Black Angel and misrepresent yourself lavishing praise on your abilities. Much of the information no one other than Beth Wood herself would know.

The truth is that if Ms. Wood had put as much time into her work as she did causing trumoil and backstabbing she might have actually been a marginally good employee.

Just for the record, during the administration of former State Auditor Ralph Campbell, Ms. Wood had the run of the office with his full support and everyone knew not to cross her. She gained this authority by, lets say, the "additional duties" which she performed for Mr. Campbell and I'm not talking about the ones listed on her performance evaluation.
(Yes, Beth. Everyone knows.)

This woman has a serious personality disorder, is vengeful, and is totally unscrupulous in the way she conducts her relationships with co-workers and others.

If anyone reading this, which I am sure is few, the fact that Beth Wood would misrepresent herself as Black Angel should tell you anything and everything you need to know about the quality of the person who is seeking to be the next State Auditor.

This type of behavior and that which she exibitibed in the State Auditor's office for the years she worked there should be all anyone needs to know about Beth Wood. She is certainly not the caliber of individual, both personally or professionally, that is needed to watch out for the best interests of North Carolina's taxpayers. We can, and simply must do better.

Beth Wood rocks- she's the hardest working gal I know! You people are just plain crazy and jealous- that's obvious!

Beth Wood rocks- she's the hardest working gal I know! You people are just plain crazy and jealous- that's obvious!

I'm upset with the State Auditor's Office because they have just spent six months in one location checking out gossip. Our tax dollars paid for this! They found absolutely no wrongdoing, but they made recommendations on how to run the organization. By the way, their gossip tips were lies. I am definitely for someone who will change the way tips are called into their office.

There should be more people like Gina speaking up. Les Merritt and his staff are traveling across the state at taxpayers expense investigating so-called hot line tips based on absolutely no evidence. The fact is he and his staff are spending taxpayer money to investigate matters that have nothing to do with fiscal accountability of agencies in the state is enough to oust him. Why would anyone with any common sense and sound judgment in the OSA spend money on such matters? It makes no sense. Make a note of this Ms. Wood.