Gov.-elect Josh Stein’s transition team will include at least one Republican, former Wake County state Sen. Richard Stevens.
He joins a group that also includes Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer, Department of Justice Chief of Staff Seth Dearmin, former gubernatorial Chief of Staff Kristi Jones and UNC Wilmington trustee Malcomb Coley.
The transition’s executive director is Christie McNeill, until recently a partner in McKinsey & Co.
“I am honored that these talented folks have agreed to lead our transition team,” said Stein, who’s moving up after eight years as attorney general. “We have the opportunity to make a real difference in North Carolina, and I am looking forward to working closely with them to hire hard-working, public-spirited people who will move our state forward.”
Stevens, now a lawyer with Smith Anderson, served five terms in the Senate and was Wake County manager. He had a similar transition role for former Gov. Mike Easley, who served from 2001-09.
Dearmin has been chief of staff at the Department of Justice for the entirety of Stein’s tenure in that office, and before that managed his campaign for the office.
Jones served as Gov. Roy Cooper’s chief of staff for the bulk of his tenure She left in August to become vice president for public affairs and sustainability at NiSource, an Indiana-headquartered natural-gas company that operate in six states.
Coley is the Charlotte managing partner of EY, the accounting, audit and consulting firm formerly known as Ernst & Young. He is also on the board of the N.C. Railroad.
Manheimer is a principal at the Asheville-based Van Winkle Law Firm, in additon to her mayoral post.
At McKinsey, McNeill specialized on advising the consultancy’s clients about climate change and its associated risks.
Stein stressed that the incoming administration has the help-wanted sign out not just for administrative jobs, but for service on various state boards and commissions. Interviews will begin the week of Nov. 18, his transition website says.
