Paul Coble’s new gig shouldn’t be partisan

Now, this is going to be interesting. As a Raleigh City Council member, as mayor and as a Wake County commissioner, Paul Coble has been a hard partisan Republican. He has bristled at criticism, has been cantankerous with those who disagreed with him and has reliably stuck by a conservative agenda.

But his new job, as legislative services officer in charge of operations from bill drafting to maintenance to the cafeteria for the N.C. General Assembly, ought to have nothing to do with partisan politics. Still, in appointing Coble to a $185,000-per-year job, the Republicans in charge on Jones Street – House Speaker Tim Moore and Sen. Phil Berger, president pro tem of the upper chamber – surely know they’re wagging a finger in the faces of Democratic lawmakers. The job had been held in a low-profile way by career officer George Hall, who had the position dating to the 1970s.

Coble’s successful professional career in insurance wouldn’t seem an ideal background for running a fairly large operation, but the proof will be in his performance. Let’s hope he seeks a collegial relationship with Democrats as well as Republicans.

Perhaps Paul Coble has at last had it with politics, after losing his commissioner’s seat in a Democratic sweep in the last election. In this post, he’s at least had it for now.

This story was originally published August 20, 2015 at 5:21 PM with the headline "Paul Coble’s new gig shouldn’t be partisan."