Burlington city councilman Jeff Smythe has received a new advisory post from Governor Josh Stein in lieu of a cabinet-level appointment that the governor had originally offered him more than eight months ago.
Stein issued a formal announcement on Monday that he has tapped Smythe, who had once been Burlington’s chief of police, to serve as his senior advisor on homeland security. Stein added that he was making this appointment for want of the legislative confirmation he needed to install Smythe in his preferred slot as the state’s secretary of public safety.
The Democratic governor went on to excoriate the Republican-led state senate for refusing to even hear Smythe’s nomination for this cabinet-level position.
“By failing to consider his nomination or even hold a single public hearing, the senate abdicated its responsibility, disrespected Jeff and law enforcement, and undermined the safety of the people of North Carolina,” he declared in a brief announcement about Smythe’s new advisory role. “Their failure to do their jobs is unacceptable.”
Stein had initially named Smythe as his choice to head the department of public safety on December 1 – mere weeks after Smythe was elected to a seat on Burlington’s city council. At the time he received the governor’s nod, Smythe was already working in Raleigh as the state’s head of criminal justice education and training standards, although he insisted that his new role in the governor’s cabinet wouldn’t prevent him from fulfilling his responsibilities as a member of the city council.
In his announcement on Monday, Stein acknowledged that he has withdrawn Smythe’s nomination as the state’s secretary of public safety. He added that this post would be temporarily filled by the department’s chief of staff, Casandra Hoekstra, while a search is conducted for the agency’s permanent head.
In the meantime, Stein ripped into the state senate for turning his selection of Smythe, who isn’t affiliated with any political party, into something of a political football.
“The people of North Carolina are safer when proven and talented public servants like Jeff are empowered to lead,” he declared. “Politics should never get in the way of our work to create a safer, stronger North Carolina. I certainly won’t let it.”
