Governor Roy Cooper has announced his first two nominees for his cabinet. They would run the Department of Transportation and the Department of Environmental Quality.
With the grand staircase of the governor’s mansion serving as a backdrop, Cooper acknowledged the process of picking his cabinet was a bit behind schedule, but he added, "I think we’ve moved pretty well considering that we’ve had four weeks of fighting to make sure that the election held. On top of that three special legislative sessions that I was involved in pretty directly."
One of those sessions stripped the governor’s ability to simply name his cabinet and now requires they receive confirmation by the North Carolina Senate.
That process could get heated.
Take Michael Regan, Cooper’s pick to run North Carolina’s Department of Environmental Quality. Regan spent eight years working with the Environmental Defense Fund. And another 10 years working with the EPA in Washington.
When asked if he was worried the Republican controlled senate would view Regan’s resume as a liability Cooper simply said, "You know I think it’s important for the governor to pick the very best people to serve in these positions."
Cooper’s pick for secretary of Transportation may be less contentious. Jim Trogdon had served as the NCDOT’s chief operating officer until he stepped down in 2013.
