My white hanky moment

Here's the deal:   It is a sad but proud time for me.  My partner, compadre and political confidant Jimmy Broughton is leaving Womble Carlyle’s Government Relations to serve as Deputy Chief of Staff to Governor Pat McCrory.

Our history:   Jimmy and I arrived in Womble’s Raleigh office in January of 2011 to provide state government lobbying to Womble Carlyle clients.  Sharing the trenches the past four years I have treasured our renewed friendship from a long ago time in Washington, DC when I was a federal liaison on Governor Hunt’s Washington, DC staff and Jimmy was Senator Helms’ chief of staff.  He and I (famously only in our own minds) orchestrated and staged a leadership coup of the North Carolina Society of Washington in its centennial year.  To be fair, there was no opposition to our takeover but that ruins the perfectly good story of our bipartisan fight for power in DC.  Regardless, book clubs and supper clubs trembled and retreated to the shadows....

Superstar:   What will make Jimmy a valued advisor and confidant to Governor McCrory now is what made him critical to Senator Helms for more than a decade -- and will keep him my friend always.  Wherever Jimmy goes he exudes calm; he is rational; he is cautious, and at the right time he is decisive; he is absolutely trustworthy.  When Jimmy enters a frenzy-whipped room the volume and the temperature drop - this is a rare quality to which I will miss having regular access.  But I am grateful Jimmy is again sharing his talents with those we have elected to make important decisions with far-reaching impacts for all North Carolinians.  Governor McCrory is a lucky man - lucky, indeed.

So now:   Please join me in wishing Jimmy the best of luck.  His future success means success for us all.