Statement from Commissioner Luke Farley denouncing Stein v. Hall ruling

“The people of North Carolina did not elect a king. They elected a Governor — and they also elected an independent State Auditor, an independent Commissioner of Labor, and other executive officers, each with their own constitutional executive authority and accountability directly to the people.

That’s the design of our state constitution — to prevent tyranny, executive authority is shared among the Council of State, not concentrated in the hands of one individual.

Yesterday’s court ruling in Stein v. Hall, Berger, & Boliek would hand the Governor exclusive control over the executive branch and demote the rest of the Council of State to second-class status. If this decision is allowed to stand, it will centralize power in a way the framers of our state constitution deliberately rejected.

As Commissioner of Labor, I was elected by nearly 3 million North Carolinians. I swore an oath, not to serve a Governor, but to uphold our constitution and serve the working people of this state.

Our state constitution entrusts real responsibilities to independently elected executives like me — and it does not allow those powers to be stripped by judicial fiat.

Having practiced law for 14 years, I know a bad decision when I see one — and as far as constitutional law goes, this one is abysmal.

This decision is wrong and should be reversed — not just for its impact on boards of elections, but for the dangerous precedent it sets in undermining the independence of every Council of State office.

I will continue to defend the constitutional role of North Carolina’s elected executive officers — and stand against an unprecedented consolidation of power.”