1. Les Merritt served on the Wake County Board of Commissioners from 1994 to 1998.
17 Facts About Les Merritt
1. 2.
Les Merritt ran for the office of State Auditor of North Carolina in 2000 and lost, but was elected four years later.
3.
Leslie Merritt was born on November 19,1951 in Sampson County, North Carolina, United States.
4.
Les Merritt graduated from Union High School in 1970 and earned a Bachelor of Science in economics and accounting at North Carolina State University.
5.
Les Merritt served on the commission from December 5,1994 to 1998.
6.
Les Merritt, attempted to tie Ralph Campbell to a federal corruption investigation into Atlanta's city government and turned over his campaign financial disclosures to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
7.
Les Merritt ran again in 2004, receiving about 28,000 more votes Campbell and winning the election.
8.
Les Merritt assumed the office of State Auditor of North Carolina on January 15,2005.
9.
Les Merritt was the first Certified Public Accountant to serve as State Auditor of North Carolina.
10.
Les Merritt attributed the proposals to misunderstandings, saying, "I've got to get to know them, and they've got to get to know me".
11.
Les Merritt opposed the latter measure, saying the technology officer could not conduct an independent audit of state computers since they were appointed by the governor.
12.
Les Merritt began an audit into the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles to investigate the strength of its driver's license application process, and declared his support for the adoption of the Taxpayer Bill of Rights and zero-based budgeting for all state agencies.
13.
In 2007 Les Merritt convinced the Senate to delay passage of a measure which would permit citizens to register to vote and cast a ballot immediately before an election, citing a risk of voter fraud.
14.
On October 31,2008, Merritt delivered an audit of various overseas trips First Lady of North Carolina Mary P Easley.
15.
Les Merritt found that $45,000 of the overseas charges were "unreasonable" and of minimal benefit to the state.
16.
In February 2009, Les Merritt formed an investment consulting firm, Les Merritt Wealth Strategies, with his son.
17.
From May 2009 to April 2011, Les Merritt served as the executive director of the Foundation For Ethics in Public Service, a conservative organization that sought to promote ethical standards for public officials.