THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Wednesday, April 3, 1996               TAG: 9604030422
SECTION: LOCAL                    PAGE: B3   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS 
DATELINE: RALEIGH                            LENGTH: Short :   37 lines

FAULKNER SWORN IN AS N.C. SECRETARY OF STATE

Janice Faulkner was sworn in as secretary of state, replacing the embattled Rufus Edmisten and becoming the first woman to serve on the 10-member Council of State.

Faulkner, 64, the state's revenue secretary since January 1993, was appointed by Gov. James B. Hunt Jr. to the job 11 days ago.

``Janice Faulkner is good, and she's tough,'' Hunt said during the swearing-in ceremony Monday. ``She can make this department work, and she can restore the public's confidence in the secretary of state's office. That's what the taxpayers of this state deserve.''

Edmisten announced in December that he would not seek a third term. The announcement came just hours before the release of a state audit criticizing Edmisten's hiring and management practices.

The audit was turned over to the State Bureau of Investigation, which has been looking into possible criminal charges involving the use of state funds.

Six Democrats are running for the job in the May 7 primary. The winner will face Republican Richard Petty in November.

The Hunt administration, during the January filing period, tried to recruit Faulkner to leave the Revenue Department to seek the job, but she declined. ILLUSTRATION: ASSOCIATED PRESS photo

Janice Faulkner, North Carolina's new secretary of state, is the

first woman on the 10-member Council of State.

by CNB