Cooper building diverse Cabinet

Gov. Roy Cooper has put in place what is likely the most diverse Cabinet of any North Carolina governor.

Cooper, who took office Jan. 1, has yet to make two of 10 Cabinet appointments, and he is in a legal standoff over whether the state Senate has the authority to approve his nominations.

But so far, four of the Democratic governor’s picks are African-American (Machelle Sanders at the Department of Administration, Michael Regan at the Department of Environmental Quality, Erik Hooks at the Department of Public Safety, and Larry Hall at the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs), meaning African-Americans will make up at least 40 percent of his Cabinet appointments. Women will comprise at least 30 percent of his Cabinet appointments.

The share of Republican Gov. Pat McCrory’s Cabinet members who were racial minorities ranged from zero to 10 percent during his four years in office. Twenty to 30 percent of his Cabinet secretaries were women.

Taking into account differing Cabinet structures over the years, Gov. Bev Perdue, a Democrat, had a Cabinet comprised of 25 to 30 percent racial minorities during her four years, and 20 percent women.

Minority representation in Democratic Gov. Mike Easley’s Cabinet ranged from 20 to 30 percent over his eight years in office. Ten to 30 percent were women.

The share of minorities in Democratic Gov. Jim Hunt’s Cabinet ranged from 11 to 22 percent during the last two of Hunt’s four terms in office. The share of his Cabinet secretaries who were women varied from 30 to 33 percent.

This story was originally published February 6, 2017 at 12:32 PM with the headline "Cooper building diverse Cabinet."