RALEIGH, N.C. — The head of North Carolina's Republican Party said Monday that two top aides to Gov. Beverly Perdue should resign because of poor performance.

State GOP Chairman Tom Fetzer said Correction Department Secretary Alvin Keller should step down because the state still has too few parole officers a year after the Perdue administration promised to ease the shortage. He also said Crime Control Secretary Reuben Young should resign for failing to pursue claims that former Gov. Mike Easley ordered e-mail messages deleted to prevent them from becoming public.

Fetzer said Perdue can't claim to be a reform governor with the holdover from the Easley administration still in office.

A Perdue spokeswoman did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Fetzer also called on Perdue to convene a panel of journalists to determine barriers to access to public records and have those barriers lifted immediately.

“Bev Perdue has called herself the ‘Education Governor’ and then promptly signed a budget that slashed education. She called herself the ‘Jobs Governor’ when unemployment increased on her watch. It’s time ‘Business as Usual Bev’ started backing up her rhetoric when it comes to ethics and transparency,” he said.

Keller declined to respond to Fetzer's statements, but the Department of Correction issued a list of his accomplishments, including the hiring of 222 probation officers, improved communication with local law enforcement agencies and implementing new technology.

Young issued a statement saying that he has "always served the public with integrity and honor."

"From Day One, Gov. Perdue let it be known that she has high expectations and accountability to the public, and I have operated that way and will continue to do so," he said.