Ex-trial judge Baker succeeding Foley on NC elections board

RALEIGH, NC (AP) — Gov. Pat McCrory has filled a vacancy on the North Carolina State Board of Elections following the resignation last month of a member who faced scrutiny during a campaign finance probe.

McCrory announced Friday the appointment of James Baker of Madison County. McCrory’s office says Baker was a Superior Court judge for 16 years and a member of the Madison County commission.

Baker succeeds Republican member Paul Foley, who was pushed out of his position on the five-member board after reports he didn’t recuse himself for 17 months from the board’s investigation of donations by a sweepstakes company executive. Foley’s firm had represented the donor.

Terms on the elections board expire in spring 2017.

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