RALEIGH, N.C. AP — Josh Stein, who was elected as North Carolina’s new Democratic governor, announced most of his Cabinet picks on Monday. Two of the seven department leaders will be staying on from outgoing Governor Roy Cooper’s team.
Reid Wilson and Pamela Cashwell are the two holdovers, but they will take on new roles. Wilson, who currently heads the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, will lead the Department of Environmental Quality. Cashwell, the current Department of Administration secretary, will replace Wilson in his old position.
Stein also named some of his close allies. For example, Gabe Esparza, who is Latino, and Dr. Devdutta Sangvai, who is Indian American, will be the first to hold their respective positions in the Cabinet. Esparza will run the Department of Administration, and Sangvai will lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
Stein, who won against Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson last month, is getting his team ready for the new administration. A public ceremony for Stein’s inauguration and other newly elected officials is set for January 11 in Raleigh, but Stein is expected to be sworn in earlier in the year.
All of Stein’s Cabinet picks will need to be confirmed by the state Senate. In recent years, the Senate has only rejected one of the governor’s appointments, which was in 2021.
Other appointments include McKinley Wooten Jr., who will lead the Department of Revenue, and Jocelyn Mitnaul Mallette, who will head the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. Wooten has worked in state government for years, while Mallette is a former attorney and Air Force officer.
Stein still has to announce who will run the departments of commerce, public safety, information technology, and transportation.
