One
wonders: How much it will cost the taxpayers of North Carolina to elect a new
Commissioner of Labor this fall?
At
last count, there were some 28,000 elevators in the state that display the
photograph of the current Commissioner of Labor Cherie Berry on the safety
inspection certificate of operation; it’s a required posting in each elevator
car.
Berry,
a Republican from Catawba County, chose not to seek reelection this fall and is
retiring from public service after occupying the labor commissioner’s office
for 20 years. She was first elected to the post in 2000.
In
November, voters will choose between State Rep. Josh Dobson, a Republican from
McDowell County, and Jessica Holmes, a Democrat from Wake County. The new
commissioner will surely want to reprint and reinstall all the elevator
certificates.
The
outcome of the election may hinge on who vows to spend the least to put his or
her face out there to greet elevator passengers and tell them: “Have a nice
day.”
To
many citizens, including Caleb Pressley of Asheville, a 27-year-old humorist,
Cherie Berry, is a dagnabbit-it-all contemporary icon, “even a supermodel with
perfectly manicured hair, trendy glasses and a contagious smile.”
Pressley
contends: “Riding in an elevator can be a very stressful and terrifying
experience. It’s as if she is riding along to provide comfort and assurance
that everything is going to be OK.” (She also warns people that she’s watching
them to make sure they don’t do anything in an elevator that their mothers
would not approve of.)
Cherie’s
first name is officially pronounced as “sha REE,” taken from the French phrase “mon
chéri,” meaning “darling, dearest.”
Raven
McCorkle, a 2020 graduate of Wake Forest University, wrote: “When you see
Cherie Berry’s face in the elevator, and you think about how much you’d hate to
take the stairs, of course, you start to feel indebted to her. I mean, the
woman practically invented the elevator (well, not really, but she invented
putting her picture in all of them; that’s practically the same thing).”
“Commissioner
Berry has a cult following,” McCorkle said, “and she is loved all across North
Carolina. There are songs about her, T-shirts emblazoned with her image with
the words ‘She Lifts Me Up.’”
Cherie
Berry’s rise to fame began during her first term as commissioner; an aide suggested
there was space on the certificate poster to include a small photograph along
with the commissioner’s signature. He said: “People need to know there’s a real
person who is concerned for their health and safety.”
A
black-and-white portrait debuted on the certificate document in 2005. After
Berry’s fourth reelection in 2016, the Department of Labor upgraded the
equipment at its in-house print shop, reported Kate Elizabeth Queram of the Greensboro
News & Record.
“As
a result, the newest elevator photo (the third iteration) shows Berry in full
color, sporting a platinum bob and a red blazer.”
It’s
not just the face. Berry’s signature is not only readable, her penmanship is
beautiful, noted Corriher. She asked Berry: “How long did it take you to
perfect the signature we see in the elevators?”
Berry
replied: “About two seconds. Somebody said, ‘We need your signature here,’ and
I said, ‘OK, here it is!’”
Gary
D. Robertson of the Associated Press asked Berry about her decision not to run
for a sixth term. She cited Rita Coolidge’s song from 1979: “I’d Rather Leave
While I’m In Love.” “Yes, I believe it’s best to leave while I’m in love.”
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