Former state Rep. Nathan Ramsey has landed a job with the N.C. Department of Commerce nine months after his defeat in a bid for re-election.
The Buncombe County Republican was hired as a business services representative for the department’s Division of Workforce Solutions, Ramsey confirmed. He started work this week.
Ramsey said he wasn’t authorized to discuss his new job.
“I don’t have the authority to speak to the press,” he said. “The difference when you’re self employed is you can say whatever you want to. When you work for an organization you have to follow the polices and procedures of that organization.”
Ramsey referred questions to Rick Elingburg, manager of the Asheville office of the Division of Workforce Solutions. Elingburg directed questions about the job position and the hiring process further up the chain of command to the “state personnel office,” saying only that the interviews for the position were conducted by a panel and not by himself alone.
Kim Genardo, Director of Strategic & Economic Development Communications, for the North Carolina Department of Commerce said that while “personnel files of state employees are not subject to inspection under the public records act” she could comment that “Mr. Ramsey was hired as an Employment Consultant II, also known as a Business Services Representative, with a starting date of August 3, 2015 and a beginning salary of $50,000.”
Ramsey was elected to the state House in 2012 in District 115 representing Fairview, Black Mountain, most of Swannanoa, Barnardsville, Weaverville and parts of Alexander and Leicester. He was defeated in November by Democrat John Ager.
He previously served eight years as chairman of the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners. Ramsey has worked as a dairy farmer in Fairview and as an attorney. He graduated from UNC Asheville and University of Tennessee School of Law.
Obviously, this was a “fair and balanced” selection process. I’m sure Ramsey’s vast experience as a dairy farmer made him the perfect candidate for the position. I’m also certain that when all of the applicants were reviewed, Ramsey had “an equivalent combination of education and experience” to make him the best candidate. Yeah, right. This corrupt outfit we currently have calling the shots in Raleigh is ABSOLUTELY SHAMELESS. Hey MTN. XPRESS, how about some real investigative journalism? Take a look into the “process” of securing employment with the State of North Carolina.
It’s hard to do any investigative journalism what with the 1400 food articles and endless supply of letters from self righteous vegans that fill up ever issue. Priorities, you know.