News-Record.com

So while I've been wandering about D.C., there have been happenings at home.

Governor-elect Bev Perdue completed her cabinet Tuesday.

(By the way: thanks to my colleague Gerald Witt for picking up my slack on Perdue's Commerce and cultural resources appointments.)

The head-scratching pick of the day might be Lanier Cansler as HHS secretary. There's two ways to view this appointment:

The guy is a consultant knowledgeable about the health care, has served in the agency so knows the lay of the land and is a Republican to boot - giving Perdue some bipartisan cred. (Lanier is a former legislator and gave advice to state Sen. Fred Smith during the campaign, according to a March 17 story in the Asheville Citizen Times.)

Then again ...

The guy was a consultant in the knowledgeable about the health care field: Specifically, Dome reports he is a registered lobbyist for a company that has sold the state a Medicaid bill-paying system. (Perdue told reporters in the state that Cansler is detached from his private industry dealings.)

He has served in the agency so knows the lay of the land: Specifically, he was deputy secretary from 2001 to 2005, right about when the mental health system started its rock-sled ride to perdition. And fixing mental health will be one of the DHHS secretary's most high profile tasks.

He is a Republican - okay, that's not a potential failing, is it?

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Both the North Carolina Democratic Party and North Carolina Republican Party will be looking for new leadership in the new year.

In a statement, GOP Chairman Linda Daves:

"Serving as the Chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party has been a great honor. The ability to serve the interests of the people of North Carolina has been one of the great privileges of my life. The best part of this job has been the ability to meet the many diverse people who make up the fabric of our state. I have spent many years working alongside dedicated, hardworking Republicans in North Carolina as a grassroots activist. It is these good people who make up the heart and soul of our party. Having the ability to see their commitment to making our state the best that it can be has given me renewed hope for our future each day.

There was also the small matter of the state GOP getting a butt-whoopin' last fall. A gain of one seat in the state senate is far outweighed by losing the state auditor's office, losing the state's presidential electors for the first time since 1976 and losing a senate seat held by a well-known incumbent.

One prominent North Carolina Republican told me this week "the party is in shambles," referring both to its national standing and its operations in state. Rebuilding it will fall to the next chairman.

There doesn't seem to be a line out the door for the job. State Sen. Fred Smith doesn't seem to be going hard at it.

Former Guilford County GOP Chairman Marcus Kindley has been stumping for the job. Four years ago, he drew a lot of support from rural areas of the state.

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On the Democratic side, many folks have seemingly expressed interest in the job - if not said they were running outright. The most widely known name being floated might be Jim Neal, who ran against Sen. Kay Hagan in the Democratic primaries. He wrote this in an e-mail Tuesday:

Many members of the State Executive Committee (NCDP SEC) have been urging me to run for Chair of the NCDP which Jerry is vacating. Some I got to know during the primary campaign; others I'm talking to for the first time. They've got my ear and I am considering in earnest.

Initially, I was approached over the summer about seeking the office at which time I passed. Six months later.....I'm willing to listen as my life has settled since the aftermath of the elections. I'm intrigued and have no doubt that I would be an effective representative and leader. The sheer cross-section of folks across the SEC who've been calling is telling and exciting. Whomever is elected as the next Chair will have to continue to build upon the impressive coalition of traditional and newer party activists whom Jerry did such an effective job of uniting during this past election cycle.

I have not declared my candidacy as such but I am seriously considering doing so. I simply have not made a decision as yet. I have not been in contact with legislative leaders; it is premature to do so and they've all got a lot on their plates at this time. I certainly will do so should I decide to run.

According to news reports: Luke Hyde, the 11th district Democratic chairman, is actively running for the job. There are at least three other names in the mix according to Dome.

Whoever inherits the State Party Chairman Jerry Meek's job will have the opposite problem of their Republican counterpart. Rather than rebuilding, they'll be at the reins of an organization that just won big - so the bar will be pretty high.