Gov. Roy Cooper is bringing back a Bev Perdue aide for a key role

Gov. Roy Cooper announced Monday his state budget director would be Charlie Perusse, who held the same job under the last Democratic governor, Bev Perdue.

Perusse is currently the chief operating officer for the UNC system. He also served as a fiscal analyst for the General Assembly for nearly a decade.

Cooper, a Democrat who took office Sunday, also appointed a legal counsel, human resources director and a member of his communications staff. All three are people who worked for him in similar roles when he was attorney general.

“We are putting together a deeply talented team and I’m excited that these experienced leaders with proven results will help me move our state forward,” Cooper said in a news release.

William McKinney, who was Cooper’s special counsel in the AG’s office, is transferring with Cooper to the governor’s office, where he will be legal counsel.

The new director of the state’s Office of State Human Resources will be Barbara Gibson. She was the head of human resources at the Department of Justice for all 16 years Cooper was the attorney general.

And Cooper’s public information officer from the Department of Justice, Noelle Talley, will join his press office as governor.

This story was originally published January 2, 2017 at 4:47 PM with the headline "Gov. Roy Cooper is bringing back a Bev Perdue aide for a key role."