Greene cites low salary, job demands

BY MILES LAYTON

After reading an article about Perquimans Elections Director Jackie Greene’s resignation, several red flags were raised because the mainstream media just glossed over the issue, as is common.

Because I sensed that there is more to the story than meets the eye, I decided to ask questions and investigate the matter more thoroughly.  

Being an election director is a big job that matters a great deal to the county. Screw it up, folks will be talking about “hanging chads” and dead people voting for a long time. 

That’s why this story is important, particularly given that whoever is hired will be the county’s fourth Election Director within about four years – Holly Hunter, Kathryn Treiber, Greene and whoever is next.    

Greene cites money as her reason for leaving — “The salary range for Director of Elections does not meet the job expectations or responsibilities of this role, nor align with the value this department brings to Perquimans County and its residents.” — she said in her official letter of resignation to the county’s Board of Elections.

Interesting… Greene was about to receive a merit pay increase coupled with a cost-of-living increase. That said, Greene was still among the lowest paid election directors in the state due to antiquated state law setting minimum pay — more on that in a minute.

Elections matter. Why? Because if you don’t run an open, honest, free from bias and transparent election, then the whole system comes into question as it did in 2020.

Two Letters of Resignation

Appears as if Greene not only penned an official letter to the county’s Board of Elections (BOE) announcing her intention to resign, but she also wrote another letter to residents that was submitted to the local media. Though the two letters are similar, there are differences that paint a broader picture about her departure.

Albemarle Observer reached out to Greene via email, but got this response:

I am currently out of the office. If you have any questions, concerns or matters that need to addressed please email Deputy Director robbinscherry@perquimanscountync.gov or call the office at 252-426-5598 or the NCSBE at 919-814-0700.    

Red flag – since I don’t trust the media, especially since Greene wrote two different letters – one for the public and another to the County – I confirmed Greene’s resignation with the County and the BOE.  

Dated June 18, Greene’s letter to the BOE said her last day of employment would be July 18 — letter was obtained through a public records request. 

Greene’s letter to the County and Board of Elections is published below for download.  

Notice the redacted part in black – to whom the letter was sent. This letter was not addressed to the community – it is an internal document, which is why the recipient information is redacted, according to County officials.  

As to the other letter of resignation, the Daily Advance published a story online Monday that says Greene’s last day was Friday, June 27. The Daily Advance manages the Perquimans Weekly, the county seat weekly that does not have an office in Hertford, but instead in Edenton or Elizabeth City, depending on who you ask.      

Greene’s letter to the local media is different than the one sent to County officials. 

Greene’s letter from the Daily Advance’s story says she had grown professionally and personally in her role as elections director.  

“However, the current salary range for the Director of Elections does not reflect the increasing demands, responsibilities and expectations of this position, especially in light of the heightened volatility and scrutiny surrounding elections at both the state and national levels,” Green said. (Emphasis added) 

She said the compensation does not align with the value that the elections department provides the county and its residents, as reported by the local media.    

“It is for these reasons that I have made the difficult decision to step down from my position,” Greene said.

However, the Greene’s letter to the BOE says this – “While my three years as Elections Director have allowed me to grow professionally as an administrator and department head, the salary range for Director of Elections does not meet the job expectations or responsibilities of this role, nor align with the value this department brings to Perquimans County and its residents. It is for these reasons that I can no longer do my duties here.” (Emphasis added) 

Worth noting, I checked to see if mention of Greene’s resignation appeared within the agenda from the last meeting of the County Commission – June 17 – after all, she announced her plan to resign a day later on June 18. Commission’s agenda for June 17 does not mention Greene’s resignation. Maybe June 17’s agenda was published before that item could be added or maybe she made her decision to resign on June 18, a day after the Commission meeting.

Based on what I’ve seen at past commission meetings, county employees tend to announce their plans to resign in advance – notes that are added to the agenda for approval by the Commission. July’s meeting agenda has not been set yet.   

A short story published June 9 by the Daily Advance about the county’s Board of Elections honoring outgoing board members Vera Murrill and Victoria Butler did not mention anything about Greene resigning either. BOE’s May and June agendas don’t mention any resignation, although May’s agenda says — “Change of Evaluation date for Director and Deputy Director; Change to line up with all other county employees” but that’s standard procedure.

Money, Money, Money

Both resignation letters gave a middle finger to county leaders by citing low salary with growing job responsibilities as the reasons Greene decided to resign.

Hired as Election Director in 2022, Greene’s annual salary at the time of resignation was $46,662, according to the County.  

A county’s board of elections makes recommendations for director pay, but ultimately county commissioners make the final decision in accordance with state law.

Greene was scheduled to receive a merit increase on July 1, which would have increased her salary to $47,797 according to County Manager Frank Heath. Also, County employees will receive a 2% COLA effective 1-1-26, which would have increased her salary to $48,753.

Hmmm… cites poor pay…about to get a raise… but resigns… OK…

Thus, Greene’s letter of resignation kicks the Commission in the nuts after the annual budget was approved in June that would’ve raised her salary.   

While I get that everyone wants more money, Greene’s salary is within the salary range of election directors working in comparably sized counties in our region, not the highest nor the lowest. However, that’s not saying much.

To be fair, Greene was one of the lowest paid Election Directors in the state, according to a story published in June of 2024 by Carolina Public Press. Survey mentioned Hyde — second least populous county in the state — as being the lowest paid of 11 responding counties paying elections directors $50,000 annually or less, including Graham, Madison, Perquimans, Chowan, Washington, Vance, Alleghany, Anson, Greene, Swain and Richmond counties. As such, small counties experience a lot of turnover from election officials, but that’s true with a lot of government jobs in small counties, be it law enforcement to teachers who can always move to greener pastures in Wake or Mecklenburg counties that have the tax base to support larger salaries.

Regardless of the size of a county, every single county elections director and staff have the same responsibilities.

“When we’re in the smaller counties, one elections director is often having to be the one who does all the work, versus a larger county,” Brinson Bell, executive director of the N.C. State Board of Elections, said in the Carolina Public Press story. “Larger counties have larger staff who carry out the processes instead of one or two individuals like we see in the smaller counties.”

Chowan County’s population of around 13,900 people is roughly comparable in size to Perquimans County’s 13,400 people — Chowan County’s Elections Director is paid $49,192, according to the County.  

For that matter, though Gates County’s population is not much smaller — around 10,300 people. Gates County recently hired an Elections Director in April, whose annual salary is $42,230, according to the County.

Washington County has a population of around 10,700 people, so it’s in the ballpark too. Election Director’s base pay is $51,944 (which will soon be increased by the 2.5% COLA on 7/16/25 to $53,243), according to County Manager/Attorney Curtis Potter. That said, Election Director Dora Bell has been working for the County in elections for close to 20 years — she also earns additional overtime pay during election periods, Potter said.   

Bertie County has a population of around 17,000 people and that Elections Director’s salary is $57,633, according to the County. And Bertie County has a beach!

Who Will Be The Chosen One?

Back to Perquimans County – who will be appointed as Interim Elections Director until the position can be filled permanently? 

“That will be a decision made by the county’s Board of Elections, once it comes back together in July,” Heath said.  

In Greene’s letter to residents, as reported by the Daily Advance, she endorsed Deputy Director Cherry Robbins, who was hired in February. 

“I am confident in Robbins’ ability to maintain continuity and uphold the integrity of our operations during this transitional period,” Greene said.

There is no mention of Robbins in Greene’s letter of resignation to the BOE.  

Prior to Perquimans County, Robbins served four years as a poll worker, chief judge and judge for the Bertie County Board of Elections.  

Robbins was hired after Lisa Edwards, who served as deputy elections director role from Sept. 1 until Nov. 1, was fired, according to the Daily Advance. 

Disclosure — Several months ago when there was a vacancy as deputy director of elections, I applied for the job because gun running has it’s limitations and prostitution doesn’t pay as much as it once did. I was one of the finalists for the position – interviewed and everything — but because I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die, I didn’t get the job — or rather the county hired Robbins, who was by far the best candidate for the position.

I’m glad they hired Robbins for the job as deputy director, and if hired, I think she will make a fine Election Director.  

Quiet Part Out Loud

To be fair to Greene, she served about three years as Elections Director, so I’m sure she has stories to tell.

I’m going to say the “quiet part out loud” about being elections director – it’s not an easy job so I wonder if Greene had a “Take this job and shove it” moment like Senator Thom Tillis.

Election directors in rural counties are paid less but have to work harder than officials with more staff in big counties, just to tread water because they don’t have same resources for game day.

Election officials have to keep ahead of constant updates that need to be learned from Raleigh, particularly in the aftermath of the 2020 Presidential election, so as to stay up-to-date with the latest software and reporting methods. This is because things have changed from the days when people gathered at the county courthouse to learn the latest results. These days, election officials must work with software, computers, and coordinate with the state Board of Elections to post the results online in real time. 

Related note – there is a constant need to update the voter rolls, as people move to Hertford, move away, perhaps become inactive for a few election cycles. Some folks die, but sometimes that doesn’t stop them from registering to vote in Perquimans County.

Then there is the constant battle to recruit and retain volunteers to work the polls on Election Day. Unlike those dads fired up to call the plays as a youth league football coach when their kid is on the team, there are not a lot of people jumping to work a long shift on Election Day, so that’s why it’s important to recruit constantly.  

And then there’s dealing with the public – some people like it, some don’t. From time to time, election administrators are asked numerous questions by the community about registration and other matters. These inquiries can range from common questions to lunatic fringe conspiracy requests for more information because Bob saw something, that he can’t find, that was posted to Facebook.

And while the media can get the latest numbers from the state BOE website, there are a lot of questions with answers that don’t always fall into neat little blanks.   

Then there’s this – the pressure of making everything come together for an election or facing the consequences. Elections are game day for election officials and their staff — everything has to run like clockwork and that requires intense planning and preparation.

In the election run-up to November of 2020, Perquimans County Board of Elections voiced its ongoing concerns about whether the county would be ready for what was to become the biggest election turnout in, well, probably forever. On the ballot was President Trump versus soon-to-be President Biden. If you want to learn more about what the BOE was thinking, click this link to stories from Oct. 1, 2020 — an online record of North Carolina’s archive of newspapers. That story package includes a letter from Janice Cole, a former District Court Judge.

Anyway on Election night, folks had a long, a very long wait, for Perquimans County’s election results. So long in fact that political commentator, aka former President George W. Bush’s “turd blossom”, Karl Rove, commented nationally on Fox News about how Perquimans County was the last county in the state to file its election results, although by then it was pretty clear that Trump had carried the Old North State, albeit by a narrow margin which made the county’s numbers a little more important. 

During that election cycle, I remember how tough it was to get statements, numbers and a lot of general information from Perquimans County’s BOE’ office that was and is common to provide the media and the general public.  

For various reasons — election directors moved on, got better jobs or whatever — so there were changes in the staffing at the county’s Board of Elections since the election of 2020. 

Whoever the BOE hires as deputy director, since Robbins may be the next director, will “need to be in it to win it” as they say, because this is not a cushy government job where you get to surf the web for cute videos of dachshunds barking. You’d better be there to work.   

Elections are a critical cornerstone of our democracy — much like a free press. That’s why it’s important to pay attention to local matters because that means a lot more than crap flowing downstream from Raleigh or DC.

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