Ex-Auditor Wood pans incumbent Holmes, endorses GOP’s Boliek in NC auditor race

Beth Wood, the longtime Democratic state auditor who stepped down in December, is throwing her support behind Republican David Boliek in the upcoming auditor’s race. The stance is as much an endorsement of the first-time candidate as it is a rebuke of his opponent, Jessica Holmes, the sitting Democratic state auditor, who was appointed to replace Wood.

“He’s got the thinking and the philosophy to run that agency,” Wood told WRAL in an interview. “He knows what it should be doing.”

As for Holmes? “She doesn’t have a clue,” Wood said.

Wood’s backing of Boliek — and criticism of Holmes — is the latest chapter in an unusual and ongoing changing of the guard at what had been a relatively staid state agency. The broader story involves party politics, the peculiarities of governmental auditing, and a late-night hit-and-run that ultimately led to the resignation of Wood, who for almost 15 years was revered and feared as the state’s top government watchdog.

The endorsement stands out because Wood prided herself on separating the auditor’s office from party politics. She has long said success in the position is derived from independence, impartiality and auditing experience. Now out of office — and at a time when crossing party lines is considered a political taboo — the Democrat is favoring a Republican who has limited experience in governmental auditing and whose political statements have raised questions among rivals about whether he can produce unbiased audits.

Indeed, the candidates’ qualifications, or lack thereof, are pronounced with Wood now out of the race. Holmes has a background in labor law and Boliek has been a criminal lawyer. Holmes previously served as chairwoman of the Wake County Board of Commissioners, and Boliek is on the UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees. Neither entered the race with significant experience in auditing or accounting.

Governmental auditing is highly specialized, so much so that most of the 19 states that elect their state auditor require the officeholder to be a certified public accountant — a designation given only to those who meet experience and education requirements and pass a rigorous exam on accounting and auditing.

For the first time in at least three decades, not one of the candidates for North Carolina’s state auditor is a CPA.

So Wood, who is a CPA, naturally has opinions.

Holmes has the most experience in the job: By November, she will have spent almost a year in the role. But Wood says Holmes’s résumé isn’t strong enough to win her support.

“You can’t lead what you yourself don’t understand,” Wood said. “And I think there’s a difference in your candidates right now.”

‘No resentment’

Wood resigned in December following a guilty plea to misdemeanor charges that she used a state vehicle for personal errands — the kind of thing state auditors are elected to ferret out. Investigators started looking into Wood’s driving habits after she drove a state-owned vehicle onto the hood of a parked car following a 2022 holiday party in downtown Raleigh. She later took responsibility and apologized for the crash, albeit while questioning the enforcement of the rules governing personal use of state-owned cars.

Although Wood’s tenure ended under a cloud, her opinion about the auditor’s office carries weight in government circles. She was one of North Carolina’s longest-serving state auditors. And she developed a reputation for tackling tough audits — even if they ensnared people in her own party. While some targets of her investigations may have taken issue with her office’s investigations, by and large she was held in high regard by many Republicans and Democrats.

“She conducted the work of the Office of the Auditor with a high degree of professionalism,” said David McLennan, a political science professor at Meredith College in Raleigh.

Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper appointed Holmes to finish Wood’s term. Holmes was picked over candidates who were recommended by Wood, including Wood’s former deputy, a CPA who had spent years working in the auditor’s office.

Holmes says it’s been a smooth transition. “I was fortunate to inherit longtime staff with a lot of expertise,” she said in a brief interview following a recent meeting of the state’s top executive-branch officials. “And we have been able to hit the ground running and deliver impactful audits that have saved taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars just in the short amount of time I’ve been in office.”

Wood, however, says she has been unimpressed with the output of the auditor’s office under Holmes, adding that the public would be better served if the sitting auditor came from a strong accounting or auditing background — the kind of experience Wood had when she entered office in 2009. Lacking such a candidate, Wood picked Boliek in part because of his background in state government, business and criminal law.

It might sound like sour grapes from Wood, who had planned to seek reelection before she resigned. But Wood says it’s not bitterness toward Holmes. She just wishes Cooper would have heeded her advice on a replacement. “I have no resentment towards Jessica,” Wood said. “All I’ve ever wanted was the right person to sit in that seat.”

Cooper tops a long list of Democratic officials endorsing Holmes, who resigned as a deputy commissioner for the North Carolina Industrial Commission to accept the auditor position. When he announced her appointment last year, Cooper highlighted Holmes’s two terms on the Wake County Board of Commissioners, noting that she was twice elected chairwoman and that she helped manage the county’s $1.5 billion budget. He also praised her experience as a lawyer for the North Carolina Association of Educators and he spotlighted Holmes’s advocacy for affordable housing and child care.

“North Carolina is fortunate to have a dedicated, enthusiastic public servant in Jessica Holmes willing to take on the important role of state auditor, and I am confident that she will lead the department with determination and hard work,” Cooper said in his announcement at the time.

Morgan Jackson, Cooper’s chief political advisor, added in a statement on Friday: “She’ll be a bulldog when it comes to making sure taxpayer’s money is spent efficiently and effectively.”

Fewer published audits

The state auditor examines programs, municipalities, state agencies and universities, among others, to ensure resources are being used efficiently. It also seeks to ensure that all corners of state government are meeting performance expectations, using proper financial controls and complying with state and federal regulations. Most of the audits produced by the office are perfunctory, routine affairs.

It’s the discretionary audits — the elective, deep probes such as performance audits and investigative audits that measure an agency’s efficiency or uncover alleged wrongdoing — that make an auditor stand out. The office receives hundreds of tips each year, and the auditor has broad powers to examine records and summon people to answer questions under oath.

Under Holmes, the auditor’s office published one performance audit and two investigative audits during the first seven months of this year, according to a WRAL analysis. That’s down from the five performance audits and nine investigative audits the office published during the same period in 2023, when Wood was at the helm. Between 2015 and 2023, Wood’s office pumped out an average of at least one discretionary audit per month during the first seven months of the year.

It’s not unusual for a new agency head to take a little time getting up to speed. Wood’s first-term output was scrutinized as she sought to put her own stamp on the office.

Holmes says she has been busy vetting the audits she inherited when she took office.

During her brief tenure, Holmes’s office has conducted an audit of federal funds that found inadequate monitoring of certain block grants and funds for housing, foster care and opioid abuse treatment; incorrect usage of foster care funds; and deficiencies in the process to determine eligibility for adoptions and Medicaid. Most cases involved nominal amounts when compared with the state’s $30 billion budget.

One notable investigative audit yielded allegations of misused government funds at Fayetteville State University — $692,000 in spending on consulting, laptops, travel and gifts that either lacked proper documentation or violated university policies.

Holmes says she has also focused more on front-end management and collaboration with institutions’ and agencies’ internal auditors to prevent fraud and waste, “as opposed to the back end, which makes for less of an opportunity for a news story, but is in the best interest of North Carolinians.”

“That same philosophy applies with all of our state agencies in terms of working collaboratively with our secretaries, but also being fair and unbiased and following the money and wherever the money goes,” she said.

Such an approach could contribute to the decrease in published audits. But certain forms of collaboration with internal auditors could also go against independence provisions of government auditing standards set by the U.S. Government Accountability Office. Holmes didn’t respond to a request for more information about the nature of that collaboration or to comment on whether she thought the approach was in line with those standards.

When asked about the lower output, Holmes pointed to the fact that the office’s staff had thinned in recent years. In July 2022, there were 142 people in the auditor’s office, according to state human resources data. There were 128 when Wood left office at the end of 2023. Since Holmes took over, there has been more turnover: The office had a headcount of 120 at the end of June.

Holmes said it isn’t easy to compete for talent with the private sector, which often offers higher salaries and better benefits. Because of the staffing shortage, triage is the approach. “We have to prioritize and make sure that we’re conducting audits that have the most widespread impact across our state as possible,” she said.

‘Still ain’t me’

Auditing experience isn’t required to become North Carolina’s state auditor, but it can be a difference-maker, Wood said. Knowing intimately when and how to conduct a financial audit or performance audit or investigative audit can help the office more quickly spot inefficiency, vulnerabilities or wrongdoing.

Wood had significant training in accounting and governmental auditing before she ran for office in 2008. She had spent time working for the offices of the state treasurer and state auditor. And she had previously spent time at a public accounting firm and working as a finance chief for a furniture company.

The only candidate in the race who approaches having that level of private-sector experience is the race’s only third-party candidate, Libertarian Bob Drach, who plays up themes of independence and experience — the traits Wood favors.

His campaign website quotes the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, an association for CPAs, saying: “Accountants in public practice should be independent in fact and appearance when providing auditing and other attestation services.” He also touts his experience working for Deloitte, one of the world’s biggest accounting and auditing firms.

In an interview, Drach quickly underscored that he isn’t a CPA, he isn’t an auditor, and he didn’t work in the auditing division of Deloitte. Posing as a CPA, he acknowledged, is tantamount to stolen valor in the world of accounting.

Drach is, however, a management accountant — the kind of number-cruncher who focuses on things such as budgeting, forecasting and financial analysis. In those roles, he was often on the other side of the table from an auditor who reviewed his financial statements. Drach also says his third-party status makes him the only candidate who can conduct unbiased audits.

“I understand the audit well enough that I could do that,” he said. “And being a Libertarian is an advantage. It should almost be a requirement for being a state auditor, because, as you know, the state government is dominated by Republicans and Democrats. I feel that a Republican auditor or Democratic auditor will have a conflict in half of the audits they perform.”

It’s one thing to manage a budget, and quite another to audit spending, Wood says. “You do not want a divorce attorney taking on your case if you are on trial for murder,” she said.

Wood thinks Boliek can more capably manage audits than the other candidates — even though he, like the others, entered the race without intensive government auditing experience.

She says her endorsement comes from her own careful analysis of the candidates’ résumés, Holmes’s output and recent speeches, and conversations with Boliek. Wood also factored in criticism of Boliek from Republican and Democratic candidates who worry he’ll politicize the office. “Of the two [major-party] candidates,” she said, “Dave Bolick can take my work and run with it.”

While he may lack professional auditing experience, Boliek would bring some transferable skills to the office, Wood says. He’s a former prosecutor, which brings some investigative know-how. As a member of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees, he says he played a role in reforming the budget process. He often takes credit for uncovering millions of dollars in waste in the UNC budget.

“He recognizes the type of work that needs to be done,” Wood said, “and I believe that he’s got the wherewithal to surround him with the right people to get it done.”

But there’s no substitute for actual auditing experience, Wood said, adding: “He still ain’t me.”

Impartiality scrutinized

Boliek, who also has a master’s degree in business administration, narrowly won the Republican nomination in a runoff, despite a major funding advantage over GOP opponent Jack Clark, who ran on his professional experience as a CPA who works at the state legislature.

Boliek’s campaign raised $1 million as of June, the most recent available data. That’s significantly more than Holmes, who reported raising $177,000. Drach reported raising $3,200. Boliek has spent nearly all of the money he raised — including a large chunk on the competitive primary. He entered July with just $62,000 left in his campaign piggy bank, which is about half of the cash Holmes had on hand.

Boliek has spent the past few months reading state audits. He also has reached out to Wood to discuss her time in office and some of the high-profile audits her office produced, such as one that said Rocky Mount officials prevented city workers from trying to collect utility bills owed by a city council member.

He doesn’t see his limited auditing experience as a major hindrance. “I’m going to call on the best and brightest minds who are willing to reshape that office,” Boliek said.

His website boasts endorsement from “conservative groups,” “conservative sheriffs,” “conservative” lawmakers and “other leading conservatives.” So Wood’s endorsement stands out, considering her affiliation with the Democratic Party.

“I’m kind of humbled by the whole thing,” Boliek said. “Obviously, I’m running, so I feel like I can do a good job. But when you get endorsed by people that have done the job, and have been in the seat, and have had the authority and the responsibility of the job, I think that does mean something and should mean something to the voters of North Carolina.”

Boliek has been criticized by his general election opponents, as well as his Republican primary runoff opponent, for taking what they see as political stances in his effort to win a job that demands impartiality. Generally accepted government auditing standards dictate that auditors remain independent and work to avoid even an appearance of bias.

On the campaign trail, however, Boliek has vowed to audit the state Division of Motor Vehicles if elected, often criticizing top leadership. Opponents have said that’s a political position because the division is run by a Democratic appointee. But politics have nothing to do with it, Boliek says. He said his position comes from DMV horror stories he heard from constituents around the state.

“As part of the state auditors job, efficiency and economy audits are authorized by statute,” he said. “I feel like the DMV is a great place to start. We’re going to do a top-to-bottom audit of the DMV for efficiency and economy. I want to be able to give the folks that work every day at the DMV the right tools and the right leeway to help people out.”

As a member of the UNC Board of Trustees, he voted to defund diversity, equity and inclusion programs. At a May board meeting, Boliek said: “DEI is divisive. I don’t think it’s productive. I don’t think it gives a return on investment to taxpayers and to the institution itself.”

He’s also proposing an “office of election integrity” to audit the state’s voter rolls, election equipment and operations. Election integrity is a popular Republican talking point.

Elections officials conduct audits after every election in North Carolina. None have found widespread voter fraud, and isolated cases investigators do find can be referred to prosecutors. In the past, audits from the state have found that even if all allegations of voter fraud turned out to be true, no election results would’ve been affected — in part because the number is small, and in part because fraud allegations target Republicans and Democrats alike.

Clark, Boliek’s Republican primary runoff opponent, sought to distance his political beliefs from the duties of the auditor role. He also avoided making politically charged comments so as not to turn off Democrats and unaffiliated voters, telling WRAL earlier this year that his campaign “is not tailored to rile up the voters to get those rounds of applause.” Holmes praised Clark’s approach.

Ahead of the Republican primary runoff in May, Clark said he suspected Boliek was trying to establish his conservative bonafides. Boliek was registered as a Democrat until last year and voted in multiple Democratic primaries from 2002 to 2020, election records show. Boliek has said he’s been conservative his whole life and didn’t think about his party registration until deciding to run for office.

‘Needs to be about the facts’

Holmes says the best candidate is someone who can work for the public good and in the public interest, and who doesn’t have a target list of particular agencies. It should be someone who is making sure government works efficiently, “without the partisan rhetoric or influence,” she says. Holmes said she’s repositioning the office to focus on auditing funds for services that “impact our vulnerable communities,” such as children, people with disabilities and veterans.

“It’s important to have someone who understands that the state auditor is the state’s independent auditor, and the reality is that money is not red or blue — it’s green,” Holmes said. “And my focus, personally, is to focus on the work and to follow the money, regardless of who likes it or regardless of who doesn’t like it, without any influence from any party or any political platform or any government official.”

North Carolina primary candidates often campaign closer to the extreme ends of their parties’ leanings, a strategy aimed at winning the most loyal voters. Candidates often moderate their positions after they enter the general election, hoping to win over voters closer to the middle.

Wood hopes Boliek’s focus on election integrity and other conservative talking points was just a strategy to win his party’s nomination. “I hope it was just a primary thing,” she said, “because what really, really worked well between the auditor’s office and the General Assembly, particularly in these last years when we were of opposite parties, was that we were non-political.”

Taking politics out of the position reduces the opportunity for people to attack the office’s work as biased, Wood said. With a visibly partisan auditor’s office, “people are going to lose faith,” she said. “It needs to be about the facts, and people need to be able to trust that what’s in that report is facts.”

Boliek says it’s important for people to know where he stands politically. And he knows that not every voter will agree with the positions that he’s put forward in other roles. But he doesn’t think that will stop him from being an impartial examiner of the state’s finances, processes and compliance efforts.

“When you walk into the state auditor’s office, you’ve got to leave the political party at the door,” he said. “Who you’re working for is the people in North Carolina.”

Wood’s latest act

In the months since her resignation, Wood has put her experience to use in the private sector. But she’s still focused on government accounting and auditing, working with a firm that provides bookkeeping and financial services to small towns and poor counties that can’t afford a finance officer.

“I go out and assess the needs, and then I come back into the firm and put together a team to handle the bookkeeping,” she said. She’s also doing a little bit of public speaking, presenting on auditing and accounting topics at conferences for local government officials.

She says she thought she’d miss the state auditor’s office more after she resigned. “I thought that I would be looking every day on the website to see what they’re putting out or what they’re doing,” Wood said.

“I miss serving the citizens of North Carolina and making a difference in their lives,” she said. “That part I do miss. But, you know, I’m shocked at my ability to have just walked away and not look back.”

That she’s able to still support local governments from the private sector helps with the transition. She sees it as a continuation of what she was doing in the auditor’s office.

“Maybe that’s why it doesn’t feel like [I’m being carried] away from what I was doing,” she said. “Something that I truly loved.”

WRAL state government reporters Will Doran and Paul Specht contributed to this article.