State lawmakers want to give political parties a bigger role in filling vacancies in the office of district attorney. Currently, if a district attorney resigns before their term is up, the governor chooses a replacement to finish the term. A bill moving in the state House this week would require the governor to pick someone nominated by the departing D-A's political party. Republicans say the person appointed to a vacancy should match the political party that won the last election. But House Democratic Leader Robert Reives said the change would politicize the role of the top prosecutor.
"According to that bill, the governor has to choose the most political lawyer from the party to be the district attorney. You know who the district attorney shouldn't be? The most political lawyer in the entire county, Democrat or Republican," he said.
The bill passed its first committee vote Tuesday. The legislation comes as Johnston County DA Susan Doyle, a Republican, is set to step down, and Democratic Governor Josh Stein will choose her interim replacement.