On the face of it, Gov. Bev Perdue's decision to appoint Jim O'Neill to fill the remaining term of District Attorney Tom Keith looked to be a bit of a shocker.
Perdue is a lifelong Democrat. She didn't win a contentious primary over state Treasurer Richard Moore and the subsequent governor's race on the force of her winning personality. Perdue won because she learned well how to swim the brutal waters that are North Carolina party politics.
It seems a bit odd for Perdue to suddenly drink deeply from the well of bipartisanship and appoint O'Neill, a centrist but unabashed Republican. Why wouldn't she pick someone from her own party?
The short answer is that the office has been held by a Republican for nearly 20 years, and O'Neill had a huge head start (he announced for Keith's job back in 2007, soon after Keith said that his fifth term would be his last), and he's got a formidable bipartisan roster behind him.
Behind the scenes
"Frankly, I'm a Democrat and certainly a supporter of the governor," said Tom Comerford, a well-known (and well-connected) trial lawyer. "The appointment indicates to me that Jim's far and away the best person for the job right now."
Keith's decision to walk away from his job was a long time in the making, and O'Neill has been working hard behind the scenes to position himself as Keith's successor. Long ago, O'Neill formed a campaign committee to target the 2010 election, and he has raised more than $36,000 to scare off potential challengers.
A large fundraiser that he has scheduled for Friday night has taken on the feel of a victory party.
Contrary to popular belief, many elected offices in the judicial system aren't decided at the ballot box. A lot of the campaigning takes places in offices and the hallways of the courthouse.
Members of the local bar association mostly hash out among themselves who is going to run and whom they will support. It's that way for a lot of judicial races and frequently that way for some others -- clerk of court and district attorney, to name two.
What? You thought that it was an accident that many candidates for those offices either run unopposed or against token opposition?
Certainly, Keith wanted a say in who might succeed him, and he did as much as he could to help O'Neill. Keith made no secret of the fact -- here or in Raleigh -- that he was going to retire before the end of his term.
Weeks ago, Perdue and her people quietly began making calls about potential successors. Naturally, they checked in with Comerford and other Forsyth County Democratic heavy hitters and criminal-defense lawyers before Perdue grilled O'Neill herself.
The answer was resounding: Republican or not, O'Neill is the guy.
Well-respected
O'Neill didn't want to say much about his promotion yesterday. He wanted the spotlight to be on Keith until the district attorney's last official day, Nov. 30.
I can tell you a few things about O'Neill and offer educated guesses about how he'll do the job. (Full disclosure: O'Neill has been a friend of mine for several years. Whether that helps or hurts him, I don't know.)
The background: He's 43, married to an obstetrician, and became a father for the first time this summer. He grew up on Long Island and graduated from Duke University -- where he played lacrosse in the mid-1980s -- and New York Law School.
He coaches the lacrosse team at Reynolds High School and gives the $2,394 stipend that he receives for that job back to the school to buy equipment so that every kid who wants to play an expensive sport has the chance.
Within the Hall of Justice, O'Neill is known as a fair-minded prosecutor. He operates on a more even keel than the mercurial Keith, and as the top dog, will most likely allow his assistants more leeway in decision-making.
Keith is more of a micromanager, an administrator and a lobbyist. O'Neill will continue to try murder cases and spend time in the courtroom.
"When I found out Jim was going to be the choice, I thought how good it was to see that they were doing the right thing to pick the best person despite obvious political differences," Comerford said.
ssexton@wsjournal.com
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