Trump-backed UNC Board of Trustees member David Boliek runs for state auditor

Current UNC Board of Trustees member David Boliek is running for state auditor in November’s election.

If he wins, he must resign from his BOT position, which he was elected to in 2019 and re-elected in 2023, with his term set to end in 2027. He was chair of the board from 2022-23, and has never run for public office.

Boliek was endorsed by former President Donald Trump during an August rally in Asheville. 

Trump said that Boliek told him, "I'm only in politics for you, sir."

"I mean it," Boliek responded from the audience.

Boliek said being a member of the BOT is usually something people do after a career.

“This is a little bit of a flip, and I understand that maybe some people might not be all that enthusiastic about it, but you know what? I think I’ve got a lot of things to give to the state of North Carolina,” Boliek said. 

Boliek's auditor campaign website discussed his BOT experience, saying that while he was board chair, "Dave led the fight at UNC to eliminate woke diversity and equity policies and create a new School of Civic Life and Leadership to help bring ideological balance to the notoriously liberal campus."

N.C. Rep. Allen Buansi (D-Orange) said the state auditor can examine how state funds are spent at universities. 

“If there were, for example, discrepancies in the way that a university may be spending funds that have been allocated to them from the state, then the auditor can go in and do an audit, or do an investigation, to investigate whatever alleged discrepancies might be,” Buansi said. 

If elected, Boliek will be able to audit how funding is allocated to different sectors of UNC, including diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. Boliek, an outspoken opponent of the former UNC System DEI policy, made the motion during a May 2024 BOT meeting to reallocate $2.3 million in DEI funding to public safety. 

Impact on University governance

Brad Briner, another first-time candidate and fellow BOT member, is running for statewide treasurer. 

John Preyer, chair of the BOT, said he supports Boliek and Briner in their campaigns for auditor and treasurer, respectively. 

“Dave and Brad are both excellent trustees who are committed to serving the students, faculty and staff of our great university,” Preyer said in a UNC Media Relations email statement. “Should they win their respective elections in November we will miss their servant leadership.”

If Boliek and Briner win their individual races, a different individual will be elected to the BOT by either the UNC System Board of Governors or the North Carolina General Assembly, depending on who appointed the former member. 

Four BOT members are appointed by the N.C. General Assembly and eight are elected by the BOG, who are also elected by the General Assembly.

Boliek was elected to the BOT by the BOG, while Briner was elected by the N.C. Senate.

If Briner is elected as treasurer, the makeup of the N.C. Senate after the November election may impact who is elected to his vacant BOT seat. The General Assembly is currently comprised of a Republican supermajority.

Buansi said that voters should think about what they want out of the education system when voting. He also said the person they vote for should reflect their own philosophies about what UNC should be. 

“I think it’s important that voters have an understanding about the role the General Assembly has in this election of both of these boards that exercise a brief degree of governance and decision-making on University policy,” Buansi said. 

Boliek said he believes running for auditor hasn’t impacted the BOT at all so far, saying it’s been easy for him to separate being on the board and his campaign for auditor. 

“I think our board, over the last five or six years, has shown a lot of strength in leadership,” Boliek said. “People don’t always agree with what we do, and that’s okay.”

Campus responses

UNC College Republicans President Matthew Trott said he doesn’t believe the board is pushing a partisan agenda, saying that members vote the way they feel is best for the University, which may end up aligning with one political party more than another. 

The president of UNC Young Democrats, Sloan Duvall, said she believes the board has become more partisan. 

“These are people who are looking to give our Republican supermajority in Raleigh even more power, that are looking to fight the culture wars that North Carolinians have no interest in and just continue to really divide our state,” Duvall said. 

Art Pope, a conservative donor and a member of the BOG, donated multiple times to Boliek’s campaign — once on Feb. 16 and again on April 24, both for $6,400. 

Boliek said there is no conflict of interest pertaining to his candidacy for auditor and concurrent role on the BOT. He also said that people only bring up issues when discussing Republican candidates. 

“The ethics commission has cleared it, it’s perfectly fine,” Boliek said. “And there is no conflict because it is a volunteer position at the University, looking after the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill when I’m in that board role.”

Trott also said he doesn’t see a problem with this so long as the candidate can differentiate between their role on the board and their candidacy.

“If I’m elected state auditor as a Republican, I fully intend to leave my party label at the door,” Boliek said. “I’ve got to represent every North Carolinian. I do that when I’m in my role at UNC-Chapel Hill."

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