Les Merritt

Leslie Merritt Jr. (born November 19, 1951) is an American accountant and politician. A Republican, he served as the State Auditor of North Carolina from January 15, 2005 to January 10, 2009. Merrit was born in Sampson County. After graduating from college and marrying he moved to Zebulon and ran an accounting firm. He served on the Wake County Board of Commissioners from 1994 to 1998. He ran for the office of State Auditor of North Carolina in 2000 and lost, but was elected four years later. He lost a reelection bid four years later.

Early life

Leslie Merritt was born on November 19, 1951<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> in Sampson County, North Carolina, United States. He graduated from Union High School in 1970 and earned a Bachelor of Science in economics and accounting at North Carolina State University.Template:Sfn He married and had two children.Template:Sfn Following his marriage and the completion of his college degree, he and his wife moved to Zebulon.<ref name= shea>Template:Cite news Template:ProQuest</ref> In 1984 he became owner of an accounting firm, Merritt, Petway, Mills and Hockaday, managing it until 2004.Template:Sfn

Political career

Wake County Board of Commissioners

Merritt, a member of the Republican Party, ran for a seat on the Wake County Board of Commissioners in 1994, defeating Democrat Thurston Debnam.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He served on the commission from December 5, 1994<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> to 1998.Template:Sfn

State Auditor of North Carolina

Merrit challenged Democratic incumbent Ralph Campbell Jr. in the 2000 election for the office of North Carolina State Auditor. Campbell collected a significant amount of his campaign contributions from Atlanta-area donors, where his brother Bill was serving as mayor. Merritt, attempted to tie Ralph Campbell to a federal corruption investigation into Atlanta's city government and turned over his campaign financial disclosures to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Campbell won over Merritt in November with 51 percent of the vote.<ref>Template:Cite news Template:ProQuest</ref> Merritt ran again in 2004, receiving about 28,000 more votes Campbell and winning the election.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Merritt assumed the office of State Auditor of North Carolina on January 15, 2005.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He was the first Certified Public Accountant to serve as State Auditor of North Carolina.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Shortly after he took office, North Carolina Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand, fearing that Merrit would seek out legislators' emails, filed a bill that barred the auditor's office from accessing legislature computers. Two Democrats in the North Carolina House of Representatives subsequently introduced a bill which prohibited the office from accessing any state government computers and assigned their responsibility to the state chief technology officer. The Democratic legislators denied the move was politically-motivated, though some Republican members of the General Assembly believed such. Merritt attributed the proposals to misunderstandings, saying, "I've got to get to know them, and they've got to get to know me".<ref name= kane>Template:Cite news Template:ProQuest</ref> He opposed the latter measure, saying the technology officer could not conduct an independent audit of state computers since they were appointed by the governor. He also began an audit into the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles to investigate the strength of its driver's license application process, and declared his support for the adoption of the Taxpayer Bill of Rights and zero-based budgeting for all state agencies.<ref name= kane/>

In 2007 Merritt convinced the Senate to delay passage of a measure which would permit citizens to register to vote and cast a ballot immediately before an election, citing a risk of voter fraud. The State Board of Elections denounced his warnings as flawed and Merritt yielded.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He later said, "I think there was a better way to handle that. It wasn't partisan, but it sure did lead into some accusations."<ref>Template:Cite news Template:ProQuest</ref> He objected to the complete privatization of the state's mental health care network, saying "It should have been a pilot program. [...] We have to go back and build that safety net."<ref name= shea/> In 2008 Merritt began a public dispute with the North Carolina State Ethics Commission over its handling of investigations into Lieutenant Governor Bev Perdue and State Senator Martin Nesbitt, accusing the body of giving the two preferential treatment. The General Assembly ended the feud by passing legislation which limited the auditor's purview concerning ethics disclosures.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> His office later found that Perdue and State Treasurer Richard H. Moore had misused official resources to support their own political campaigns.<ref name= niolet2>Template:Cite news Template:ProQuest</ref>

On October 31, 2008, Merritt delivered an audit of various overseas trips First Lady of North Carolina Mary P. Easley. The trips cost $110,000 and were intended to secure art loans and promote cultural exchange. Merritt found that $45,000 of the overseas charges were "unreasonable" and of minimal benefit to the state.<ref name="news observer3">Template:Cite news</ref> The audit was released days before the 2008 state elections, leading Merritt's opponent, Democrat Beth Wood, to accuse him of politicizing his office.<ref>Template:Cite news Template:ProQuest</ref> She defeated him in November by over 290,000 votes.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Political observers were surprised by Merritt's defeat.Template:Sfn He left office on January 10, 2009.<ref name= binker>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news Template:ProQuest</ref>

Later activities

In February 2009, Merritt formed an investment consulting firm, Merritt Wealth Strategies, with his son.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> From May 2009 to April 2011, Merritt served as the executive director of the Foundation For Ethics in Public Service, a conservative organization that sought to promote ethical standards for public officials. On January 1, 2013, he was appointed to the North Carolina State Ethics Commission by Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger. On May 13, he was contracted by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services to serve as chief financial officer for the state Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Services. After journalists from WRAL-TV questioned whether this created a conflict of interest,<ref name= binker/> Merritt resigned from the ethics commission.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Works cited

• Template:Cite book - See profile at Google Books
• Template:Cite book