|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Republican candidate Dave Boliek will be the next state auditor, defeating incumbent Jessica Holmes after a campaign in which he said he was “putting everybody on notice.”
With all precincts counted on Wednesday morning, Boliek had 49.5 percent to Holmes’ 47.5. Libertarian candidate Bob Drach got 3 percent of the vote.
Both Boliek and Holmes had pledged to take a harder tack on state funding for private organizations and so-called pork-barrel spending.
Boliek, who currently serves on the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees, said he would “fight waste, fraud, and abuse, regardless of where it comes from, and it’s going to be taken on without respect to party label.” He has said his first priority would be to audit the Department of Motor Vehicles but added that he’s “made auditing nongovernmental organizations a priority of the campaign from day one.”
“We’re gonna take a look at all those programs through the lens of what is the return on taxpayer dollars,” he said about money flowing to private organizations, as well as state agencies.
Holmes, who was appointed auditor by Gov. Roy Cooper, said she was considering creating a searchable, online database of grant recipients, as existed under former State Auditor Ralph Campbell. She also called for more transparency in the budget process, such as requiring legislators to attach their names to earmark requests, competitive bidding for all government contracts, and a process to evaluate conflicts of interest.
Beth Wood, the Democratic former state auditor who resigned over misuse of state resources, endorsed Boliek over Holmes.
Boliek and Holmes have similar backgrounds on paper. Neither is a certified public accountant. Both are attorneys, North Carolina natives, and UNC-Chapel Hill grads.
Holmes, 40, grew up in Maple Hill, a rural community in Pender County, the oldest of five kids. Her mother worked in meatpacking plants. Holmes leaned into her personal history—receiving food stamps as a child, living in affordable housing, and growing up in a flood-ravaged region—when she promised to put the state auditor’s spotlight on “services and programs impacting our most vulnerable residents.” And she embraced her role as the first Black woman on North Carolina’s Council of State.
Boliek, 56, grew up as the child of two journalists and practiced law in Fayetteville for 27 years. He has been a critic of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion policies and played a role in creating the School of Civic Life and Leadership at UNC-Chapel Hill.
Mathias Marchington works with the audience team at The Assembly.