Former Gov. McCrory critical of GOP-led efforts to strip power from incoming Democratic leaders

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- The former Governor of North Carolina is speaking out against leaders of his own party over what he argues is an unconstitutional power grab by the Republican-led legislature ahead of North Carolina's newly elected Democratic Governor and Attorney General taking office.

GOP state lawmakers passed a bill that among other things would remove the power of the Governor to appoint members of the Board of Elections and instead give that power to the state auditor, a job which is now in Republican hands after Dave Boliek defeated Democrat Jessica Holmes for the auditor's role.

Former Governor Pat McCrory, a Republican, told ABC11 he believes the move is an unconstitutional power grab, and also believes it's a bad idea to try to play politics by attaching the legislation to a Helene relief package for western North Carolina.

"It kind of shows the monopoly of the two-party system caring more about the power of the party than the power of the people. And you know, I might also say, putting this in the hurricane bill, puts a lot of the current legislators on the spot; Republican legislators on the spot where you don't want to vote against the entire bill because this hurricane relief is extremely important at this point in time. But people feel pressure to do it. And it's just not the way government should work," McCrory said.

The former Governor is now part of a group called Right Count, an organization that aims to promote trust in the security and integrity of our elections.

He believes changing the Board of Elections appointment power away from the Governor to the state auditor instead would cause the public to lose faith in our election system and checks and balances in government.

He also warns it would set a precedent for the other party to do the same thing if they take power.

"It's not if, but when. And you got to think our Constitution must be protected and our elections board must be protected for the long term, not for short-term power struggles and I feel very strongly that as a former governor and also a former mayor and local government, it's checks and balances," McCrory said.

The bill would also strip power from incoming Democratic Attorney General Jeff Jackson, by prohibiting the Attorney General from being able to take positions in court that are contrary to the positions of legislative leaders.