Pat McCrory’s Oedipal relationship with Aldona Wos was on full display yesterday as the governor wept at her departure. It was quite a contrast with Tata’s lonely exit last week. No press conference and no tears.
Of the two, Tata was the better secretary. I imagine he just got fed up with the governor. Leaving to write more dime store novels is not much of a reason for walking out when the boss’s signature program is struggling in the legislature. The least he could have done was to wait for the legislative session to end. Surely another month wouldn’t have killed his book deal.
Wos tenure was fraught with personnel problems and no-bid contracts. She paid huge salaries to less than qualified GOP operatives. She offered sweetheart contracts to friends and political cronies. She was less than transparent with the legislature and butted heads with leaders in both the House and Senate. McCrory, though, stayed loyal and deferential.
Wos may have left to spend time with family as she said, but I imagine she’ll also be spending a lot of time with potential McCrory donors, too. Her departure comes right after finance reports revealed that Attorney General Roy Cooper out-raised the governor in the first half of 2015 by almost $1 million. Wos has a long history of raising big money for GOP candidates. Now that she’s free of DHHS duty, she can focus on helping McCrory regain his financial footing.
As several analysts have noted, the cabinet departures probably won’t have much impact on McCrory’s re-election. They do, though, offer insight into McCrory’s relationship with Raleigh. McCrory has struggled to find friends in the legislature. In Wos, he staunchly defended a Secretary who alienated much of the GOP political leadership but helped his campaign. He let Tata go with barely a word despite the former general’s good reviews from leaders in both parties.
Politics is really the art of building and maintaining the right relationships. McCrory has failed to do much of that in Raleigh. In his cabinet secretaries, he stood up for the one who frustrated the people he needed to groom. He seemed dismissive of the one who understood how to play the game. His choices have left him far less effective than he could have been.
Thomas Mills is the founder and publisher of PoliticsNC.com. Before beginning PoliticsNC, Thomas spent twenty years as a political and public affairs consultant. Learn more >
“huge salaries to GOP operatives?” Name names. And salary amounts.
Here you go: http://www.wral.com/hefty-raises-at-dhhs-raise-question-of-qualifications/12785941/
Perhaps the Gov felt she was the only person he could rely on in Raleigh.
It will be interesting to see how the new guy works out. I am a little uncomfortable that the only quotable comment (2 different news outlets) he gave at the press conference invoked God to help him do whatever it is that he plans to do. To his credit, he did acknowledge that primary population he serves is a vulnerable one. I do not hear much of this from the Senate clowns that want to destroy the excellent Medicaid managed care we already have in this state.
The main point, and the one that Thomas touches on in this blog, is that McCrory keeps demonstrating that he is not worthy nor savvy enough for the governor’s job. A record of making poor choices for key agency positions (which reflects on his leadership judgment), of failing to generate personal loyalty from those appointees, and of incompetence/poor judgment in the art of political interplay. He’s been a deer-in-the-headlights since his inauguration.
IMHO, “Oedipal” may be a little too accurate for comfort. The two of them were sitting together at the ACC Tournament. I’m not making that up…