NC Insurance Commissioner Josh Dobson seen here on an elevator Certificate of Operation placard. (Photo: Clayton Henkel)
North Carolina Labor Commissioner Josh Dobson didn’t waste much time stepping down from his post Wednesday after fellow Republican Luke Farley secured a win in his race against Democrat Braxton Winston to replace him.
Dobson did not seek reelection to the seat he won in 2020 following the retirement of long-serving commissioner Cherie Berry, a Republican who served in the office for 20 years and was known as the “elevator lady” because her picture was plastered on certificates hanging in every elevator in the state.
Here’s Dobson’s resignation statement:
Farley, a Raleigh attorney whose law practice focuses on construction law, won the race with 52.85% of the vote to Winston’s 47.15%, according to the State Board of Elections final but unofficial results. Winston is a former Charlotte city council member who works as a union stagehand and grip in the Queen City.
The labor commissioner is a constitutional officer elected statewide. The commissioner serves a four-year term that runs concurrently with governor and other members of the Council of State. The commissioner is head of the Department of Labor and is charged by statute to promote the “health, safety and general well-being” of the state’s more than four million workers. The laws and program administered by the department affects every worker in the state.