The question: Where's Libba Evans?

N.C. secretary of cultural eesources still on unpaid leave from job

North Carolina's secretary of cultural resources, Libba Evans, joined the exuberant crowd at a Barack Obama rally in Greensboro last month.

Normally, there's nothing surprising about a top Democratic state official attending a rally for her party's nominee for president.

But Evans has been on unpaid leave from her job as head of the state Department of Cultural Resources since May to attend to personal business. In other words, she's supposed to be so busy with personal matters that she can't fulfill her state job.

The prolonged vacancy has raised questions in some Republican circles about why Evans hasn't resigned and about the necessity of her job.

"Since we're facing tremendous budget problems and we have a secretary of cultural resources who hasn't been to work in six months and apparently wasn't missed, perhaps we could do away with that position," said Sen. Tom Apodaca, a Hendersonville Republican and deputy Republican Senate leader.

Evans, a former state Democratic Party chairwoman, did not return messages left on three phone lines listed in her name in North Carolina and Florida, as well as a request for an interview made through Staci Meyer, general counsel at the Department of Cultural Resources and acting secretary in Evans' absence.

"She's taking care of some personal business," Meyer said.

Meyer would not disclose the nature of the business, but said it was not a family medical matter.

"It was uncertain as to how long she would be dealing with this," Meyer said. "I don't think initially she thought it would be taking this long."

Evans' statement of economic interests filed with the state ethics commission lists her as an owner, officer or member of four corporations. The form also showed at least $10,000 in liabilities each for a corporation, loans on vacation and investment properties and lines of credit.

Evans took her leave on May 1 and is not being paid, but she did join first lady Mary Easley and a contingent of North Carolina officials later that month on a trip to Russia and Estonia. The cultural exchange trip cost taxpayers more than $56,000. Evans was already committed to the trip, and her visa and airline tickets were already paid for, Meyer said.

Last month, Evans reimbursed the state for $465 for alcoholic drinks for the North Carolina group after State Auditor Les Merritt's office reported the expenditure. Meyer said the department's staff normally separates out such expenses and asks Evans to reimburse the state, but it missed some of the spending because of a translation error.

Evans is nearly seven months away from the job, though Meyer said Evans has volunteered some of her time to the department.

Gov. Mike Easley, who appointed Evans, isn't going to make her relinquish her title.

"Secretary Evans has worked hard on the part of the department for seven and a half years," said Easley spokesman Seth Effron, "and the governor is not going to force her to resign in the last few months of the administration while she tends to important personal matters."

Effron said Evans' attendance at the Obama rally did not cast doubt on whether she was unable to perform her job. He said she would have attended on personal time regardless of whether she was serving as secretary or on unpaid leave.

"It's not like no one's in the job," said Meyer. "I don't want you to think we've been unattended to."