Beth Wood

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Beth Wood
17th Auditor of North Carolina
Assumed office
January 10, 2009
GovernorBev Perdue
Pat McCrory
Roy Cooper
Preceded byLes Merritt
Personal details
Born (1954-04-22) April 22, 1954 (age 68)
New Bern, North Carolina, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic Party
EducationWayne Community College (AAS)
East Carolina University (BA)

Beth A. Wood (born April 22, 1954) is an American politician and accountant serving as the Auditor of North Carolina since 2009. A Democrat, she is the first woman to hold the office. Born in New Bern, she initially worked as a dental hygienist before getting a degree in accounting in 1984. In the mid-1990s Wood took a job in the Office of the North Carolina State Treasurer, where she was responsible for approving audits of local governments. She later took a job in the office of the Auditor of North Carolina, and was promoted to head of the training division.

Wood successfully challenged incumbent State Auditor Les Merritt in the 2008 election and was sworn-in the following January. She was re-elected in 2012, 2016, and 2020.

Early life[edit]

Beth A. Wood was born on April 22, 1954 to Darrel Wood and Betty Wood in New Bern, North Carolina.[1] She grew up in Cove City, North Carolina.[2] She graduated from West Craven High School in 1972.[3] She graduated from Wayne Community College with an Associate's Degree and worked initially as a dental hygienist.[1][4] After deciding she wanted to make more money, she enrolled at East Carolina University in 1982 to study accounting[2] and earned her Bachelor's of Science degree two years later.[1] She became a certified public accountant in 1987. She worked at the Rayovac Corporation, as a CPA for McGladrey & Pullen, and as the chief financial officer for a furniture company.[4]

In the mid-1990s Wood took a job in the Office of the North Carolina State Treasurer, where she was responsible for approving audits of local governments. In 1997, she applied for a position in the Office of the Auditor of North Carolina. She was not hired for the job, but State Auditor Ralph Campbell Jr. placed her in the office's training division. He later promoted her to head of the training division. She continued to hold the post until she resigned in 2007 to challenge incumbent State Auditor Les Merritt in the 2008 election.[2]

Political career[edit]

Wood, a member of the Democratic Party, announced her intention to seek the office of State Auditor in December 2007.[3] Endorsed by Campbell, she defeated Fred Aikens in the May Democratic primary and faced Merritt in the general election.[5] She split her time between campaigning and working as an investigator for the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.[6] During the 2008 campaign Wood accused Merritt of making partisan investigations,[2] particularly his decision to release a critical audit shortly before the election of trips to Europe in which state officials and First Lady of North Carolina Mary P. Easley spent $110,000.[7] Wood defeated Merritt in November by over 290,000 votes.[4] Political observers were surprised by her victory.[8]

Wood was sworn-in on January 10, 2009,[9] becoming North Carolina's first female state auditor.[10] She slowed the office's pace of investigative auditing in her first term, citing her desire to produce stronger findings. She was widely criticized for not expeditiously releasing an audit of Easley's salary from North Carolina State University, with her critics accusing her of protecting a fellow Democrat from scrutiny.[11]

In May 2020 the auditor's office released a critical review of the financial management of the city of Rocky Mount.[12] In response, a state senator filed a bill meant to address local government corruption concerns. The NAACP and a city councilman named in the report denounced the audit and the legislation as racist attempts to thwart the political power of black citizens in the city. Wood defended the audit, saying, "Everything we have in our reports is backed by evidence [...] I am going to do my job. I don't care about the age, the race, the color, or the political party. I don't care."[13] The bill was passed into law in December 2021.[12]

Wood was re-elected in November 2012 by over 318,000 votes over Republican Debra Goldman. Wood was narrowly re-elected to a third term as state auditor in the 2016 general election over Republican Chuck Stuber by just 6,042 votes, margin of 0.14 percent.[4] She won another term in 2020.[14]

She was named one of the "most powerful women in accounting" for 2013 by CPA Practice Advisor.[15]

Electoral history[edit]

North Carolina Auditor Democratic primary election, 2008
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Beth Wood 801,308 64.48
Democratic Fred Aikens 441,411 35.52
North Carolina Auditor Election, 2008
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Beth Wood 2,175,242 53.57
Republican Leslie Merritt (inc.) 1,885,229 46.43
North Carolina Auditor Election, 2012
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Beth Wood (inc.) 2,299,541 53.71
Republican Debra Goldman 1,981,539 46.29
North Carolina Auditor Election, 2016[16]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Beth Wood (inc.) 2,259,436 50.07
Republican Chuck Stuber 2,253,394 49.93
North Carolina Auditor Election, 2020
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Beth Wood (inc.) 2,730,175 50.88
Republican Anthony Wayne Street 2,635,825 49.12

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c North Carolina Manual 2011, p. 173.
  2. ^ a b c d Niolet, Benjamin (December 30, 2008). "State auditor is sure of herself, her staff: Beth Wood is confident she can zealously guard the use of state taxpayers' dollars". The News & Observer.
  3. ^ a b Sawyer, Francine (December 5, 2007). "Cove City native to seek state auditor's job". Sun Journal.
  4. ^ a b c d Dillon, A.P. (February 20, 2020). "State Auditor faces primary challenger, former employees". The North State Journal. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  5. ^ Kane, Dan (May 7, 2008). "Brief : State Auditor". The News & Observer.
  6. ^ Niolet, Benjamin (February 17, 2010). "State auditor is behind on her property taxes". The News & Observer.
  7. ^ Niolet, Benjamin (November 5, 2008). "Looks like a win for Wood as auditor". The News & Observer.
  8. ^ Eamon 2014, pp. 294–295.
  9. ^ Bonner, Lynn; Niolet, Benjamin (January 10, 2009). "Council of State also sworn in today: These four among those who will help the new governor steer the ship of state". The News & Observer.
  10. ^ North Carolina Manual 2011, p. 174.
  11. ^ Niolet, Benjamin (March 17, 2010). "Wood slows pace of audits". The News & Observer.
  12. ^ a b West, William F. (January 21, 2022). "Small-Toney leaves post after tumultuous tenure". Rocky Mount Telegram. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  13. ^ Woodhouse, Dallas (June 30, 2021). "NAACP accuses auditor, senator of racism amid corruption probe". The Richmond Observer. Carolina Journal News Service. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  14. ^ "Wood wins re-election for State Auditor". The North State Journal. November 5, 2020. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  15. ^ CPA Practice Advisor. CPA Practice Advisor (November 5, 2013). Retrieved on 2016-01-22.
  16. ^ "11/08/2016 OFFICIAL GENERAL ELECTION RESULTS - STATEWIDE". North Carolina State Board of Elections & Ethics Enforcement. North Carolina State Board of Elections & Ethics Enforcement. Retrieved July 29, 2018.

Works cited[edit]

External links[edit]

Political offices
Preceded by Auditor of North Carolina
2009–present 		Incumbent
Flag of North CarolinaPolitician icon

This article about a North Carolina politician is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Beth_Wood&oldid=1083463859"