Hagan announces recs for federal positions

Lots of familiar names on the list of Kay Hagan’s recommendations for federal appointments for NC including Jim Phillips and Hampton Dellinger. Here’s the release:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Kay R. Hagan (D-NC) today announced recommendations to President Obama for key federal appointments in North Carolina’s three federal districts. In a letter to the President, Hagan made recommendations for two federal district court judgeships, three U.S. Attorney and three U.S. Marshall positions. The full text of Senator Hagan’s letter is available here.

“In March, I convened a four-person, statewide panel, led by former North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Burley Mitchell, to screen candidates for these federal appointments,” Hagan said. “My primary objective has been to find the most qualified, competent and fair-minded candidates, of whom all North Carolinians will be proud. I am proud to make these recommendations to the President, and will be in close consultation with the White house as the confirmation process moves forward.”

Senator Hagan has also pledged to ensure that North Carolina receives appropriate representation on the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals.

In addition to Justice Mitchell, the screening panel included Janice McKenzie Cole, a former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District and founder of the Cole Immigration Law Center in Hertford; Anthony di Santi of western North Carolina, the vice-president of the North Carolina State Bar and founding partner at di Santi, Watson, Capua & Wilson in Boone; and Jim Phillips of central North Carolina, a partner at the law firm Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard in Greensboro.

“Our committee chose a group of exceptionally qualified North Carolinians, and Senator Hagan made excellent selections from this group,” Justice Mitchell said. “The President cannot go wrong. Senator Hagan’s careful method of choosing these appointments, relying on our committee to do the initial vetting and then making the final selections, should be a model to other Senators.”

”I am happy to have had the opportunity to serve and honored Senator Hagan asked me to participate,” McKenzie Cole said. “I support how she has opened the process to allow all individuals interested in these positions to be considered. As a result of the panel’s screening and Senator Hagan’s final review, I believe the White House has been provided an esteemed list of candidates from which to make their final decisions.”

“I commend Senator Hagan for deciding upon the process she used to select candidates to recommend to President Obama,” di Santi said. “The process was very fair and open to any candidate who was interested in a position. I was honored to serve on the committee and pleased that Senator Hagan considered our recommendations. I think she has done excellent work and the state of North Carolina can be proud of her efforts.”

“The manner with which Senator Hagan opened up the process made many more North Carolinians aware of and interested in these positions,” Phillips said. “I am confident that the White House will find Senator Hagan’s recommendations to be highly qualified and well suited to successfully represent North Carolina.”

Hagan recommended the following individuals to serve North Carolina. The President will make the final selection from Senator Hagan’s choices.

U.S. District Court Judge Eastern District: Allen Cobb, Senior Resident Superior Court Judge for Hanover and Pender counties; Jennifer May-Parker, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District handing criminal appellate cases; and Quentin Sumner, Senior Resident Superior Court Judge in Nash County.

U.S. District Court Judge Middle District: Catherine Eagles, Senior Resident Superior Court Judge in Guilford County; Anita Earls, executive director for the Southern Coalition for Social Justice in Durham, who this week was named to the North Carolina State Board of Elections; and Edwin Wilson, Senior Resident Superior Court Judge in Rockingham County.

As stated in Senator Hagan’s letter to the President: “As I have previously discussed with the Office of the White House Counsel, it is my belief that the current U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, George Holding, should be allowed to complete the ongoing investigations of public officials in the state. During my conversations with the Office of the White House Counsel, there was an interest expressed by the Counsel’s office to potentially appoint a separate individual to begin handling other matters not related to these investigations. Should you decide to do so, the following names are provided for your consideration.” Sen. Hagan made the following three U.S. Attorney selections for the Eastern District in the event the President chooses to select another U.S. attorney for all other matters not pertaining to Holding’s current investigations of former public officials.

U.S. Attorney Eastern District: Benjamin David, District Attorney for New Hanover and Pender counties; Hampton Dellinger, a partner in the law firm of Robinson Bradshaw & Hinson who has experience working with local, state and federal law enforcement; and Thomas Walker, a partner at Alston and Bird, LLP, concentrating on complex federal and state government investigations and white-collar defense.

U.S. Attorney Middle District: Lee Farmer, the Member-Manager for the law offices of R. Lee Farmer, who has an extensive background in civil litigation and the general practice of law; Ripley Rand, Special Superior Court Judge in Wake County; and Susan Taylor, Resident Superior Court Judge in District 20A and 20B.

U.S. Attorney Western District: Peter Anderson, a partner at Anderson Terpening, PLLC, who specializes in federal criminal defense, complex commercial litigation and corporate compliance counseling; Danny Davis, Chief District Court Judge for the 30th Judicial District; and Anne Tompkins, a partner at Alston and Bird, who served in 2004 and 2005 as one of four Assistant U.S. Attorneys in the initial Iraqi Regime Crimes Liaison Office in Baghdad, Iraq.

U.S. Marshal Eastern District: Richard Holden, who worked for the North Carolina Highway Patrol from 1969 to 2004, rising to become Colonel, Commander; Scott Parker, Commander of Nash County Sheriff’s Office of Narcotics; and Bronnie Quinn, Private Investigator specializing in civil cases for litigation at the law firm of Riddle & Brantley in Goldsboro.

U.S. Marshal Middle District: W.R. Stafford, who after 29 years of service, retired in 2004 as the Assistant Chief of Police of the Greensboro Police Department; Al Stewart, who as Contingent Commander of the U.S. Department of State in Beirut, Lebanon, helped establish a new Police Mission for the Lebanese Police in 2007 and 2008; and Becky Wallace, who served as U.S. Marshal for the Middle District from 1994 to 2003, overseeing 1,600 arrests in 1994 alone, and continues to serve as a Reserve Deputy Sheriff in Montgomery County.

U.S. Marshal Western District: John McDevitt, Sheriff of Burke County and 30-year law enforcement veteran; Kelly Nesbit, Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal in the Western District; and Charles Peeler, Deputy U.S. Marshal for the Middle District, a position he has served in for 19 years.

U.S. Department of Agriculture positions in North Carolina

Senator Hagan also today announced her selections for Department of Agriculture positions in North Carolina. Her letter to President Obama is available here.

“I am confident that these individuals would bring the same passion and commitment to these positions as they have brought to their many years of public service in my home state of North Carolina,” Hagan wrote to the President.

For the USDA Rural Development State Director, she recommended William Hobbs, who worked for 20 years for the USDA Farmers Home Administration and is now the Director of the Multi Family Housing Programs at the USDA Rural Development; and Randall Gore, who has been working in rural development in North Carolina for 20 years, currently serving as Area Director for USDA Rural Development.

For the USDA Farm Services Agency State Director, she recommended Philip Farland, a Marketing and Outreach Specialist with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture; and Walter Smith, who has served as a County Executive Director for the USDA Farm Services Agency since 1979.