Name Cherie Berry | ||
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Torch marauder cherie k berry
Cherie Killian Berry is the current North Carolina Commissioner of Labor, a member of the North Carolina Council of State and head of the North Carolina Department of Labor.
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Berry was born in Newton, North Carolina and owned LGM Ltd., a spark plug wire manufacturing business in Catawba County, North Carolina. A businesswoman, Berry served in the North Carolina House of Representatives from 1993 to 2000, where she chaired the welfare reform committee and co-chaired the commerce committee. In November 2000, she was elected state labor commissioner, the first woman to hold the post. A Republican, (the only Republican on the Council of State between 2001 and 2005), she bested Democrat Wayne Goodwin to win a second term in the 2004 statewide elections. Berry narrowly defeated Mary Fant Donnan to keep her seat in the 2008 election. Berry won a fourth four-year term in November 2012, defeating former Labor Commissioner John C. Brooks by more than 280,000 votes. Berry won a fifth four-year term in November 2016 , defeating former Raleigh mayor Charles Meeker by more than 476,000 votes, her largest percentage margin of victory.
Berry was criticized in a newspaper report on poultry plant oversight. Berry's fundraising has also been called into question by the Charlotte Observer.
Popular culture
Berry has received a small following among younger North Carolinians due to her catchy name (when mispronounced as CHAIR-ree Berry, like the fruit) and her picture inside elevators in North Carolina. Her picture and signature appear inside all elevators in North Carolina on the Certification of Operation leading to her receiving the unofficial title of "The Elevator Queen". There have been multiple comical songs written about her.