Rep. Mitch Gillespie, whose legislative district includes McDowell, Mitchell and Avery counties, will join Governor-elect Pat McCrory's administration shortly after being sworn in to his eighth term in the N.C. House in January. He will resign his elected office to become assistant secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Gillespie, who spearheaded a number of regulatory reform bills in the 2011-12 legislative session, worked in the business sector before joining the Legislature.