Are NC legislators allowed to date staff members? Here’s what their rules say.

In a recent interview with The News & Observer, North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore defended his years-long relationship with a state official, noting that the employee in question doesn’t report to him.

But Moore also pointed out that rules do allow legislators to date members of their own staff.

“We, of course, have some staff members who work at the General Assembly who are married to legislators, they work as their legislative assistant,” Moore continued. “There have been folks who’ve met each other in a work environment, just like other places.”

So how accurate are Moore’s claims?

Moore is correct that the rules allow legislators to date staff members, and even other legislators. This doesn’t mean such conduct doesn’t come under scrutiny, however. Former state Sen. Rick Gunn, a Burlington Republican, was accused in court of breaking up a marriage by having a sexual affair with his legislative assistant, who had worked for him since 2011. He was sued in 2020 for “alienation of affection” — the same kind of lawsuit Moore faced this year alleging he used his position as speaker to “entice” the director of the N.C. Conference of Clerks of Superior Court into a relationship. That lawsuit was quickly resolved. Gunn, for his part, did not seek reelection, and eventually settled the lawsuit for an undisclosed sum.

Moore is also right that some legislators hire their spouses as legislative assistants. Legislators are normally prohibited from employing or appointing an extended family member, including spouses, to a state office. However, an exception gives the Legislative Services Commission authority in determining any rules regarding the employment of General Assembly staff, allowing extended family members to be employed by legislators.

Currently, at least nine state representatives and three state senators have their spouses employed as their legislative assistants. All of those legislators, except Democratic state Rep. Eric Ager, are Republicans. And all but one of those spouses are wives — Al Wheatley is both the husband and legislative assistant to state Rep. Diane Wheatley.

Rachel Ager, state Rep. Ager’s wife and legislative assistant, told The News & Observer that she was given the position because she was someone her husband could “completely trust” due to their experience working together overseas. She worked in the Embassy Housing office while Rep. Ager was the naval attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Turkey, and worked in Germany at the George C. Marshall Center’s publication office while Rep. Ager was a professor there.

“As a newly elected representative, he felt it would be best to have someone he knew well,” she said. “This position requires a high level of communication, and our close relationship allows for open dialogue.”

State Rep. Dennis Riddell, an Alamance County Republican, employs his wife, Polly Riddell, as his legislative assistant.

“It’s wonderful having her here,” Riddell told NC Insider in 2017. “She knows the people of the district, she knows the schools, the pastors, the business people. So when somebody calls from the district she’s likely to know who they are.”

In addition to spouses who are legislative assistants, Senate leader Phil Berger, an Eden Republican, employed his wife, Patricia Berger, as a research assistant and paralegal, as of the most recent available salary data from May 2022. House Speaker Pro Tempore Sarah Stevens, a Surry County Republican, employs her husband, Edwin Johnson, as a legislative staff assistant, according to the same data.

One state legislator, Democratic state Rep. Mary Belk, employs her son, Ralph Belk, as her legislative assistant.

Having spouses or other family members as legislative assistants is not a recent development, according to Gerry Cohen, a former director of legislative drafting at the General Assembly and a current member of the Wake County Board of Elections.

“That’s at least been true for decades, that members have hired their spouse as their legislative assistant. It’s nothing new,” he said. “I do recall it being fairly common when I was there, for almost 40 years.”

Legislative assistants are usually tasked with office work, like scheduling and responding to constituent calls and emails, but also advise their legislator on policy matters.

“In some ways, they’re the most powerful people in the building,” Jane Pinsky, director of the NC Coalition for Lobbying & Government Reform, told The N&O. “If an LA doesn’t want to give you access to the person (they) work for, then you are resigned to lurking in hallways to get to that person.”

Every legislator has a legislative assistant, though some may also have a research assistant or other staff, which can also be a spouse or an extended family member of the legislator.

“There are some reasons why a spouse might make sense, the first of which is they get to see each other,” Pinsky said. “Most weeks, the legislator would be gone from Monday night until sometime Thursday. Also, it’s the fact that the legislator’s spouse knows the district and those people in the district, and that’s a plus for any legislator.”

Pinsky also suggested that employing a spouse or extended family member could help ease the financial burden placed on the state’s legislators. North Carolina’s state lawmakers, who are not considered state employees, only make an annual salary of roughly $14,000, with additional per diem compensation for food and travel while the legislature is in session. They are among the lowest paid state lawmakers in the United States.

On the other hand, legislative assistants, also known as legislative clerks, are considered state government employees and therefore receive a state salary. As of May 2022, the minimum salary for a legislative assistant was $37,890. However, the salaries vary, and can reach as high as $70,018, which is what Democratic Senate leader Dan Blue’s legislative assistant, Bonnie McNeil, made last year. Most salaries, however, are below $42,000.

“The answer to all of this is a full-time, professional legislature with decent pay,” Pinsky said. “If they were paid a livable salary ... then they would not feel like they had to make sure their spouse had a job, and I think that would end it.”

In general, appointing relatives to certain positions, also known as nepotism, has a couple potential downsides, according to Pinsky. For instance, it may result in scenarios where the best person doesn’t get picked for the job, or it may be hard for the appointee to be held accountable.



Legislative staff assistants make less than legislative assistants. Johnson, Stevens’ husband, makes a salary of $30,914, as of May 2022. Patricia Berger makes a salary of $35,554, also as of May 2022.

Moore, himself, isn’t immune to this phenomenon. Moore’s son, Wilson, was a staff assistant to House Rules Committee Chair Destin Hall in 2022, according to his Linkedin page.

North Carolina is not alone in permitting the hiring of spouses and family members in the state legislature. In fact, some states have no specific rules against nepotism in the state legislature at all, like the neighboring state of Virginia. However, state legislature nepotism laws vary wildly between states, with North Carolina’s other neighboring states, Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee, banning the hiring of spouses or family members as legislators’ assistants in most or all cases.