If NC auditor can’t hold herself accountable, she should consider resigning | Opinion

Two and a half months after hitting a parked car in downtown Raleigh and fleeing the scene, State Auditor Beth Wood still isn’t talking.

She has issued few public statements and largely refused to speak to the media, other than to apologize and acknowledge her “serious mistake” — days after it was publicly reported. Since then, she has remained tight-lipped, attending a Council of State meeting remotely and dodging questions from the media.

“It never works to talk to you guys. No matter what I say. No matter how I try to tell it, it never comes out in the media the way I say it,” Wood told WRAL outside her office earlier this month. “So, I am not going to talk.”

Wood is facing a misdemeanor charge for the December hit-and-run incident that occurred while she was driving a state-owned vehicle. The public was not aware of the incident until more than a month later, when Axios Raleigh caught wind of it. Wood’s vehicle “overrode up onto the hood” of the parked car and was left at the scene with the engine running, according to a police report. Video from the scene shows Wood entering the law office of Rufus Edmisten, a former state attorney general and secretary of state, as her car was left outside.

There is much we do not know, including what caused Wood to crash her car, why she chose to flee the scene and why she didn’t publicly confess to it sooner. What we do know — and what Wood has acknowledged — is that she failed to take responsibility for the accident at the scene, failed to disclose the situation for more than a month and now refuses to discuss it.

Wood’s prolonged silence may be a good legal strategy, but it puts her interests ahead of the interests of the state and her constituents. As a public official, she has an obligation to say more. That she hasn’t is troubling, and her reticence has drained her office of credibility and undermined the scrutiny of state agencies people depend on her to provide.

Wood has been state auditor since 2009, and she’s done a commendable job. She’s been adept at holding other officials and agencies to account, especially regarding issues with the state’s distribution of unemployment benefits and the mismanagement of public dollars by local governments. That’s why it’s troubling to see her do damage to the office she has served so well — damage that may hinder her ability to do the job effectively.

It’s possible Wood may face some consequences in the near future. Wood’s hit-and-run case is still pending, with her next court date scheduled for March. Law enforcement has continued to “follow up on leads as they receive additional information,” Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman told the Editorial Board. The state’s motor fleet told Wood in a letter that it believes she may have misused a state-owned vehicle, which could result in the permanent revocation of her vehicle assignment.

But when it comes to her role as a public official, there are fewer consequences. Wood cannot simply be fired or removed from office by, say, the governor — she must either resign or answer to voters if she runs for re-election in 2024. Whatever ends up happening with Wood, the situation has exposed how little oversight we have of the overseers. It’s disappointing, too, that Gov. Roy Cooper and other Democrats have stayed out of the fray instead of publicly pressuring Wood to be accountable.

What’s clear is that Wood has lost the public’s trust. If she has any hope of regaining it, she needs to start now. She must fully answer questions about that night and her subsequent reluctance to own up to it. If she’s unable or unwilling to do that, she may keep her title but she will surrender her role. She’ll be an auditor who has given up on accountability.