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Jerry Meek, who for the past four years has presided over a resurgent state Democratic Party, said he plans to step down as party chairman at the end of his term in January.

"It's unlikely I could do anything in six years that I didn't do in four," Meek said.

The state Democratic Executive Committee will meet Jan. 31 to choose a new party chief, Meek said. Typically, the party chairman is chosen by the governor, in this case Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue.

But Meek, who was elected without the support of Gov. Mike Easley, said he thought it was likely that party leaders would want to choose their own leader.

"They feel more empowered than in the past," Meek said. "Even though Governor Perdue is well-liked among the party leadership, I doubt we will ever return to where one person handpicks the party chair."

Meek presided over a period of Democratic success, retaining the governorship, control of the state legislature and picking up a U.S. Senate seat, two congressional seats and the state auditor's office.

Meek said he was equally proud of the efforts of the party under his leadership to modernize in terms of finances, technology and grass-roots outreach. The e-mail list of supporters has grown from 5,000 to 400,000, for example.

Meek has become a partner in the law firm of Poyner and Spruill and plans to split his time between Charlotte and Raleigh. (more…)

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