Inside the GOP Second Primary for NC Auditor: Dave Boliek vs. Jack Clark

Amanda Benbow Lunn: 0:10

Hello friends, thanks for joining me on the NC Deep Dive. I'm your host, Amanda Benbow Lunn, and we are delving into the 2024 second primary election happening May 14th. There will be three episodes to this segment and, depending on your precinct in Southern Wake County, you may have two or three races on your ballot. Since two of these are state races, they will apply to the entirety of eligible voters in North Carolina, so if you are listening from afar, they still might be useful. Please note that all three of these runoff races are on the Republican ballot because the top vote-getter in March's primary did not achieve more than 30% of the vote. When that happens, the runner-up can ask for a second primary runoff election. Those eligible to vote this go-round are as follows 1. All registered Republicans. Two, all those registered as unaffiliated, also known by some as independent, who did not cast a vote in March's primary. And. Three, all those registered as unaffiliated or independent who did vote in March's primary and they selected a Republican ballot. No races fit the criteria for a runoff election for the Democrats or Libertarians. All of those primary winners have moved on to November's general election, so there is not an opportunity to cast your vote this go-round For these segments.

Amanda Benbow Lunn: 1:37

I will be reading from each candidate's website, along with anything I feel may be of interest on a simple Google search. Sometimes it's easier for people to digest this stuff audibly, but if you are a visual learner or you are short on time, feel free to skip these episodes and search for yourself Without further ado. My friends, let's dive in. For the North Carolina auditor seat, we will have Dave Boliek versus Jack Clark. We're going to begin with Dave Boliek as he will show up first on your ballot. His website is auditordave. com. That's A-U-D-I-T-O-R-D-A-V-E. com. His website says Republican primary runoff is May 14th. Find your polling place at ncsbe. gov Auditor Dave Boliek looking after your money. There's a place where you can join his team. It has in the news with a few different articles Boliek time for state auditor to intervene on EC's late audits.

Amanda Benbow Lunn: 2:38

Unc Chapel Hill trustees could begin to defund DEI efforts. Unc Board of Trustees preparing for possible end of DEI. And there's a read more section. When you click that it takes you to further articles which I'm not going to read, but I will just read you the title and you can choose to go online if you would like to read more. Folliot calls for emergency audit of Durham schools.

Amanda Benbow Lunn: 3:03

Folliot column. North Carolina needs a tough, conservative state auditor. Unc forms school of civic life and leadership to provide equal opportunity for students. Dave Boliek, unc Chapel Hill board chair Boliek, considering running for state auditor. Meet Dave Conservative Republican, trusted leader, budget hawk, former prosecutor, small businessman, eagle Scout, father, husband and there is a video on YouTube.

Amanda Benbow Lunn: 3:29

Why Dave Boliek? For auditor Experience, courage, conservatism. As a former prosecutor, dave has the expertise to find and root out government corruption. Dave is the most experienced candidate. He is the only candidate who has run a small business. As chairman of the UNC Board of Trustees, dave created the university's first audit committee, balanced the budget and eliminated the university's operating deficit for the first time in years. While board chairman Dave led the fight at UNC to eliminate woke diversity in equity policies and create a new school of civic life and leadership to help bring ideological balance to the notoriously liberal campus. Dave is a committed Christian who serves as an elder in his church. He's an Eagle Scout and a former youth sports coach. He and his wife of 30 years, hayden, are the proud parents of four children. Vote early or on election day, may 14th. More about Dave.

Amanda Benbow Lunn: 4:21

David Luther Boliek Jr was born in Lincolnton, spent most of his adult life in Fayetteville and has lived in Durham, eden, greensboro, chapel Hill, thomasville, hickory, boone and Raleigh. His father, dave Sr, was from Hickory and worked as a radio newsman, a radio station manager, a TV news reporter, tv news anchor and later involved in a nonprofit that wired rural schools for early internet usage. His mother, joanne, was a news reporter and later a school teacher. Dave graduated from UNC Chapel Hill and earned both a law degree and master's in business administration degree in the same year from Campbell. He now serves on the UNC Board of Trustees, where he led reforms to the university's budget process and established an audit and risk management committee. After law school, dave worked helping to manage military family housing, logistics and service contracts on military bases across the country.

Amanda Benbow Lunn: 5:15

In late 1998, dave was an assistant district attorney in Cumberland County, where he prosecuted a wide range of crimes in both the district and superior courts. In the late fall of 2001, dave left the district attorney's office for private practice. Dave has worked primarily as a litigator, working in the courtroom on behalf of clients from all walks of life. His practice is in both state and federal courts and he has tried hundreds of cases before both judges and juries. Dave has also had a successful practice working with DMV regulations, abc regulations and consulting on healthcare matters.

Amanda Benbow Lunn: 5:50

His endorsements conservative groups Crystal Coast Tea Party, citizen Advocates for Accountable Government, conservative Coalition of North Carolina, liberty First Grassroots New Group of Patriots. Conservative Sheriffs. Donnie Harrison of Wake County. Jim McVicker of Bladen County. He is endorsed by conservative state senators Phil Berger from District 26, guilford-rockingham, danny Britt from District 24, robeson, scotland and Hoke.

Amanda Benbow Lunn: 6:18

Dave Craven from District 29, randolph, anson, montgomery, richmond and Union. Ralph Hyes from District 47 with Allegheny, ash, avery, caldwell, haywood, madison, mitchell, watauga, nyonce. Mike Lazara from District 6 from Onslow County. Brad Overcash of District 43 from Gaston. Bill Rabin from District 8 from Brunswick, columbus and New Hanover Thank you. District 70 from Randolph, dustin Hall. District 87 from Caldwell and Watauga. Neil Jackson from District 78, moore and Randolph. Brendan Jones from District 46, columbus and Robeson. Reese Purtle from District 65 in Rockingham. Jason Sane from District 67 in Lincoln, chris Humphrey from District 12 from Green Jones and Lenore. And other leading conservatives have Chad Brown, the Republican nominee for Secretary of State, and Jim Key, former Republican candidate for state auditor. And then there is a donate button if you would like to give to his campaign. I do not see any links for social media on his website, but I will try to look that up and include them in the show notes.

Amanda Benbow Lunn: 7:38

Moving on to Ballotpedia, his biography states that Dave Boliek was born in Lincolnton, north Carolina. He graduated from Northern High School. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1990 and a law degree and graduate degree from Campbell University in 1997. His career experience includes working as an attorney at law. Boliek has been affiliated with the following organizations Southeast Regional Area Health Education Center. Unc Chapel Hill Board of Clark. Both Republicans are running in the Republican primary runoff for North Carolina State Auditor on May 14, 2024. Clark and Boliek were the top two finishers in the March 5 Republican primary, with 23.2% and 22.1% of the vote respectively. State law permitted Boliek to request a runoff because Clark did not receive more than 30% of the vote. Both Boliek and Clark completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection Survey.

Amanda Benbow Lunn: 8:44

Boliek is an attorney and a member of the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Board of Trustees. Boliek says his experience managing the university's investments and as a prosecuting attorney make him the best qualified candidate. Boliek says the auditor's core responsibilities include leading a highly effective team to accomplish work on behalf of the taxpayers and implementing a strategic plan to achieve accountability for the spending of taxpayer dollars. Clark is a staffer working on budget policy in the General Assembly. Clark is a former auditor in the private sector. Clark says he is the most qualified candidate because he is the only candidate with a master's in accounting, a CPA and a recent audit experience. Clark says the auditor's core responsibility is to find the objective truth. Whoever is elected to this office must provide the proper tone at the top to inspire the auditors working under them to approach every audit with the right mindset. The winner will face incumbent Jessica Holmes, the Democrat, and Bob Druch, the Libertarian, in the general election. The last Republican elected as North Carolina auditor was Leslie Merritt in 2004.

Amanda Benbow Lunn: 9:48

And again, the first Republican primary for the 2024 election. For this race, jack Clark received 23.2% of the vote, which was 197,976 votes. Dave Boliek received 22.1% of the vote with 188,398 votes, with a difference of just under 10,000 votes. Again, there were four other candidates running in the first primary and it looks to be around 400,000 votes. That can now be split between Jack and Dave.

Amanda Benbow Lunn: 10:22

The election campaign finance information that's on Ballotpedia. It's reported from January 1st 2023 through December 31st of 2023. So it does not have any of the information for any of 2024, of 2024. But it says Dave Boliek has had a total of $347,109 in total contributions. He has a $100,000 loan, which generally the loans come from the candidates themselves, and his total expenditures have been $49,844. Jack Clark, saying his total contributions were $9,336. His total loans were $5,000 and his total expenditures were $4,916. But again, that is just through December 31st of 2023. That's $347,109 from 243 unique contributors, one of which is himself. He did loan himself that $100,000. His expenditures through the end of last year were $49,844, with 45 unique payees. He did fill out the 2024 Ballotpedia survey.

Amanda Benbow Lunn: 11:41

So there are a good 15 to 20 questions here, ranging from who are you tell us about yourself? List the three key messages of your campaign, what areas of public policy are you personally passionate about? Who do you look up to? What legacy would you like to leave, and so forth. So you can learn more about him by going to Ballotpedia. He also does have the same YouTube video that was on his website on this page, because his information did not include anything from 2024, I did look that up.

Amanda Benbow Lunn: 12:11

It looks like everything this year has just been a 48-hour report and you can click on the image and it will tell you who gave what money money and how much. So he has received quite a few donations since then, but it's just not all spelled out in an easy to understand format. In one form he looks like he did give himself another $35,000 worth of a loan. In one of them it looks like quite a number of them. There are $1,000 loans. Some of them are for $6,400, which is the most an individual can give in an election. But if you're interested in who has contributed to his campaign, you can check out our show notes and you can see exactly who has. I didn't find anything of super interest or of concern doing a Google search of Dave. Primarily it was just all of the news coverage about Dave and Jack's race altogether.

Amanda Benbow Lunn: 13:04

Moving on to Jack Clark's website, it's jackclarknc. com J-A-C-K-C-L-A-R-K-N-C. com. It says Jack Clark, north Carolina auditor. The bottom line Jack is the only candidate running for state auditor who is educated, trained and experienced in auditing. He is the only candidate with a master's in accounting, a CPA and audit experience. Jack understands the mindset and approach of the state auditor must bring. Jack understands the mindset and approach the state auditor must bring to the position. Legal experience does not prepare someone for auditing. Do not be misled Jack is the only truly qualified candidate.

Amanda Benbow Lunn: 13:44

About the state auditor election what is state auditor? North Carolina's state auditor is in charge of reviewing the finances of local governments and state agencies to ensure that your tax dollars are used for their intended purpose. Why do we elect this position? A state auditor elected by the people is accountable to the people whose tax dollars are being used. What is at stake in this election? This role requires someone who understands the audit process and will lead the department with the highest standards of integrity, without any bias or personal agenda.

Amanda Benbow Lunn: 14:15

Why should you elect Jack? Jack Clark is the only candidate with a CPA and a career in auditing. He has the passion, integrity and experience needed to be state auditor. Important questions and answers. Why is having a CPA important? A CPA Certified Public Accountant license is the premier certification for accountants. Obtaining a CPA requires passing four exams, one of which is audit. The audit exam was Jack's highest score, his focus in his master's in accounting program and the career path he took within accounting as opposed to tax, financial reporting or business. In addition, a CPA has run the audit department since 2004, with an experienced auditor in charge since 1992. This department has strong audit skills which Jack will harness to good use. Jack's CPA certificate number is 41753, listed under his legal name.

Amanda Benbow Lunn: 15:06

Who will Jack audit? First, making a campaign promise to go after certain areas is bad audit policy for various reasons. It biases the auditor to find things that may not exist. It biases those audited to be combative rather than collaborative, and it biases the public to find things that may not exist. It biases those audited to be combative rather than collaborative. And it biases the public to see you as pursuing political ends rather than true, unbiased accountability. Any candidate who tells you specifically who they are going to audit does not understand the mindset it takes to be state auditor. How will Jack decide who to audit? Jack will review factors such as recency of last audit, amount of state funds involved, importance to the functioning of the state and other risk factors Over the last 15 years. The previous auditor will have had blind spots and Jack's first goal after being elected will be to find those areas.

Amanda Benbow Lunn: 15:52

Check your voting status. There is a link where you can check your voting status. There is a campaign news section. It lists Jack Clark announces candidacy. Jack Clark responds to the incumbent's departure Hall. Welcomes statewide candidates to Stokes County. Stay tuned for more. It lists upcoming events, all of which have happened prior to now, and then there's a Get Connected section where you can subscribe for updates. Follow his Facebook page, his Twitter or x account and Instagram.

Amanda Benbow Lunn: 16:22

Meet Jack, an auditor running for state auditor Jack Clark, cpa is both educated in accounting and experienced in auditing. As the only CPA certification number 41753, seeking the auditor nomination from any party, jack is uniquely qualified to start on day one ensuring North Carolina tax dollars are used efficiently and effectively. Jack earned a Bachelor of Science in Economics with minors in Statistics and Political Science from Duke University. He earned a Master of Accounting in the Audit track from UNC Chapel Hill. After obtaining his Master's, jack worked as an external auditor for Grant Thornton, working with multi-billion dollar corporations and small startups alike. This role prepares Jack to work with the largest agencies to the smallest municipalities. Jack then transitioned into an internal audit role for a large multinational company, where he helped prepare the company for SOX readiness. This role prepares Jack to help everywhere. His team audits set up controls and processes to maintain their finances more effectively. Feeling God calling him into public service, jack now works on budget policy in the General Assembly. He has witnessed the budget being crafted and knows where the money is supposed to go, which gives him a leg up on auditing where it does go.

Amanda Benbow Lunn: 17:33

Jack resides in Wake County with his wife, nicole. They attend and serve at King's Table Church in Raleigh. They enjoy spending time trying new restaurants and watching Duke and NC State games. They are expecting the birth of their first child this summer. Vision for Office A leader for a changing world.

Amanda Benbow Lunn: 17:49

As a former auditor, jack has a strong understanding of how auditors can help organizations run their financial departments more effectively. While bringing wrongdoers to justice is one priority, jack recognizes that most public sector employees simply want to perform their jobs to the best of their abilities. Jack's goal is to ensure that these citizens have the tools they need to properly serve North Carolina. Jack would like to remove the historically negative connotation of the word audit and instead show everyone how this role can benefit everyday people. Jack also believes that the state auditor should be agile and responsive to the changes happening in the audit profession. Jack will modernize the methods and tools used, such as utilizing more data analytics. Jack will also welcome the next generation of accountants with novel ideas to keep North Carolina at the forefront of the audit profession. Jack truly wants to serve all North Carolinians His vision and there are pictures of him and his wife and there's also a let's Chat button and a button where you can donate to his campaign if you so choose.

Amanda Benbow Lunn: 18:52

Looking at Ballotpedia, again, it goes over their battleground election information, their battleground election information and again he did win the primary in March with 23.2% of the vote, compared to Dave Boliak's 22.1% of the vote. But since Jack did not achieve 30%, dave was able to ask for a runoff election Again. His spending here is listed January 1st 2023 through December 31st of 2023. Like Dave, he's had a bunch of 48-hour additions to his campaign finance page and I'll put that link on the show notes so that you can look into that more if you are interested. But again, dave's had the $347,109 in total contributions with $49,844 in total expenditures. Jack Clark has had $9,336 in contributions through December 31st of 2023. He's taken out a $5,000 loan, which again, typically is the candidate taking a loan from themselves, and his total expenditures have been $4,916, again through December 31st of last year, with his contributions totaling $9,336,. He had 22 unique contributors. His expenditures of the $4,916, he's had 35 unique payees.

Amanda Benbow Lunn: 20:12

Like Dave Boliek, he did complete the 2024 Ballotpedia survey responses. There are definitely a number of questions here, a few less than what David answered, but again there are basic questions like who are you? What are your three key messages of your campaign? What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about? What qualities does this office possess that makes it unique and important part of the state government and legal system? Who do you look up to? What legacy would you like to have? What's your favorite book? What kind of skills or expertise do you believe would be helpful for holders of this office to possess? What organizations or individuals endorsed your campaign? It does say Representative Kyle Hall of the NC Appropriations Committee co-chair. I did not see endorsements on their pages. So, going back to Dave Boliek's Ballapedia page, the answer to his last survey question does say he has been endorsed by Speaker of the NC House, tim Moore Through the first quarter of 2024, it's showing that he's raised $235 in aggregated contributions from individuals, which means I believe they gave either $25 or $50 or less.

Amanda Benbow Lunn: 21:21

He's had just over $11,000 in other contributions from individuals, $22.50 from other political committees. His loan of $5,000 totaling $18,736 in total receipts. His expenditures totaling $8,709.72. His cash on hand at the end of the first quarter was $10,026.28. He's only had one other report that again is a 48-hour report Within 48 hours of the donation. He sent this in and it came from Elmore4NC donated $1,000. And Robert Luddy donated $5,000. So he has a total of $6,000 more in contributions. And again, doing a basic Google search, I did not find anything of concern beyond just the typical election info that can be found between Jack and Dave.

Amanda Benbow Lunn: 22:18

Again on the ballot, this will be for the North Carolina auditor seat. It is a statewide race between Dave Boliek and Jack Clark. You will have the option to vote for one of these candidates in the second primary for the 2024 election. The winner of this election will move on to November's general election to face Democrat Rachel Hunt and Libertarian Bob Druch. The second primary election will be held on Tuesday May 14th. Early voting begins Thursday April 25th and will extend through Saturday May 11th. There are only three early voting sites for Wake County this election cycle. They will be at the Northern Regional Center in Wake Forest, the Wake County Board of Elections on North New Hope Road in Raleigh and at Wake Tech's Southern Campus on Fayetteville Road in Raleigh. If you plan to vote via an absentee ballot. You may request one through 5 pm on Tuesday, may 7th, and it has to be received by the County Board of Elections office no later than 7.30 pm on Election Day, may 14th.

Amanda Benbow Lunn: 23:28

I will include general voting information, as well as the candidates' websites, campaign finance information and social media handles, for your convenience, in this episode's show notes. With that we will conclude this installment of the NC Deep Dive. I hope you have found this information useful. If you did, I'd love for you to rate it, review it and share it with your friends, family and any who you think might find it useful. Make sure you keep a lookout for other relevant 2024 second primary election episodes at wwwncdeepdive. com, apple Podcasts, audible, spotify or wherever you currently listen to your podcasts. As always, if you have any questions or topics you'd like to share, you can connect with us on social media or via email at ncdeepdive@ gmail. com. Thank you for taking the time to listen and become a more informed voter and taking an active part in our democracy. Your efforts really do make a difference and are very much appreciated. Until next time, my friends namaste the love and light in me sees and honors the love and light in you.