RALEIGH— At a meeting today, Terri Lomax, vice chancellor for research and graduate studies at N.C. State University, announced a moratorium on the creation of new academic centers. This announcement will have a direct impact on the job of former first lady Mary Easley. When Easley was promoted and given a five-year contract and an 88-percent raise last year, her new duties included creating the Public Safety Leadership Center at N.C. State. That center will no longer be created, and therefore, one of the substantial portions of Mary Easley's $170,000 a year job will not be performed. It is uncertain how the change will affect Mary Easley's job status.The NCGOP has begun the "Perdue Watch" on its Seeing Red Again blog to mark the time that Governor has been watching instead of acting to end the Mary Easley scandal. You can view the blog here.
Chairman Linda Daves, North Carolina Republican Party, made the following statement:
"It has been more than nine days since this issue first came to a head and calls for Mary Easley's resignation began piling up. Governor Perdue has refused to do anything about the situation but watch from the sidelines while tolerating corruption and mismanagement of taxpayer money. It was outrageous to spend $850,000 to pay Mary Easley to create the center. It is incredulous that the state would pay Mary Easley $850,000 to not create the center while public school teachers are taking a pay cut and resources are being drained from our children's classrooms. For Governor Perdue and Democrats in the General Assembly to ask teachers and students to bear the burden of a $4 billion budget deficit while they continue to protect the Easleys proves just how out of touch they are with the challenges facing North Carolina's working families. Governor Perdue can act to end this scandal or she can continue to watch it happen. It's her choice."
