DOT chief stepping down

North Carolina Transportation Secretary Jim Trogdon will retire from state government at the end of the month, Gov. Roy Cooper said Tuesday, marking the first departure from the governor's cabinet more than three years into his administration.

Posted 7:50 p.m. Feb 4, 2020 — Updated 8:10 p.m. Feb 4, 2020

Matthew Burns

, WRAL.com senior producer/politics editor

RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina Transportation Secretary Jim Trogdon will retire from state government at the end of the month, Gov. Roy Cooper said Tuesday, marking the first departure from the governor's cabinet more than three years into his administration.

Trogdon worked at DOT for most of 1985 to 2013, beginning as a highway engineer and rising to the role of chief operating officer. He also spent some time during that period as director of Strategic Transportation Planning for the legislature. He worked in the private sector between 2013 and 2017, and Cooper said he plans to return to that work after leaving DOT.

DOT has faced financial challenges in recent months, with a string of natural disasters and legal settlements tied to a since-repealed state law draining its reserves. The shortage of operating funds forced DOT to lay off hundreds of temporary employees and contractors and put about 900 pending road projects on hold last fall.

State Treasurer Dale Folwell called for Trogdon's ouster, blaming mismanagement at DOT for the cash crunch.

Lawmakers in November approved shifting money to DOT to help pay for storm cleanup costs and provide the agency with some financial cushion. The legislation also called for more oversight of DOT spending.

"My calling for the governor to replace Secretary Trogdon was never personal. It was, however, about the need for change at the top of an organization that has lost its financial way," Folwell said in a statement Tuesday, noting that DOT asked for another $100 million from the Highway Trust Fund last week to help make up for a February shortfall.

Eric Boyette, who heads the state Department of Information Technology, will succeed Trogdon at DOT, and Tracy Doaks will move up from deputy chief information officer to secretary of IT.

Before heading the Department of Information Technology, Boyette served as DOT's chief information officer and inspector general, and he also served as commissioner of the Division of Motor Vehicles.

Doaks previously worked for the Duke University Health System and as chief information officer for the state Department of Revenue.

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