How former NC Auditor Beth Wood made a return under successor Dave Boliek
Good morning and welcome to Under the Dome, your daily roundup of politics news. I’m democracy reporter Kyle Ingram, joined today by Capitol bureau chief Dawn Vaughan.
Tuesday’s Council of State meeting featured the unexpected return of a longtime member who resigned amid a series of scandals over two years ago: former State Auditor Beth Wood.
Wood, a Democrat who held the position from 2009 to 2023, arrived alongside current Auditor Dave Boliek, a Republican. During the meeting, Boliek announced that his agency would be creating a new internship named after Wood in the financial audit division.
“I asked her to come today, so that the public could be able to congratulate her and thank her for her work on behalf of the people of North Carolina,” Boliek said.
He also said that he would be awarding Wood the agency’s Cardinal Award, an honor Boliek created “to honor individuals who care for their home and community resources, much like the state bird vigilantly guards its nest.”
Wood’s scandals began in December 2022, when she was charged with a hit-and-run after leaving a holiday party. She later pleaded guilty to that charge. A grand jury also indicted Wood on a separate charge of misusing her state vehicle, alleging that she regularly used it for private purposes. She pleaded guilty to this charge as well.
Wood resigned in 2023, a year before her term ended. Despite being a Democrat, she endorsed Boliek in the 2024 auditor’s race, rather than her replacement, Jessica Holmes.
As Boliek ended his remarks at Tuesday’s Council of State meeting, he noted that Wood was now doing some contract work with the auditor’s office.
“I‘m very thankful to her and grateful for her experience in lending that experience continually to the people of North Carolina,” he said.
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