NC Republicans will push for Campaign Finance Reform
Senate Republican Leader Phil Berger said NC Senate Republicans intend to advance a slate of legislation meant to curb Campaign Finance Corruption.
Berger said he was happy to hear a suggestion from State Board of Elections chairman Larry Leake that candidates be held personally liable for fines issued by the board.
I applaud the State Board of Elections for their service and investigation into the former Governor’s administration and campaigns. Their suggestions about campaign finance reform are welcome as Senate Republicans will soon offer comprehensive legislation to address corruption in campaigns. The $100,000 levied against the Mike Easley Committee and referral of evidence to the Wake County District Attorney were necessary and appropriate steps to take. The information uncovered in these hearings will undoubtedly be helpful as state and federal authorities continue their investigations. At some point the people of North Carolina will have the full truth about this sad episode.
Bob Hall: Dems were not exonerated
Bob Hall, the director of the nonprofit organization Democracy North Carolina, a watchdog over government in general and elections in particular, is one of the reasons the State Board of Elections held a series of hearings last week that wound up with the board penalizing former Gov. Mike Easley's campaign $100,000 (a $60,000 forfeiture for air flights that were not reported and a $40,000 fine for the cost of the board's investigation) and sending evidence it received to the Wake District Attorney's office to determine whether criminal charges should be pursued.
Hall had filed a complaint with the board arguing that a review of campaign finance disclosure reports showed evidence of a plan to raise contributions beyond the legal amount from individual contributors to Easley's campaign by channeling them through the state party.
The board also ordered the State Democratic Party to forfeit $9,000 in contributions that that the Easley campaign had sought. The contributions were to be sent to the party and earmarked for Easley's use, according to testimony. The State Democratic Party took note of the fact that the State Board of Elections did not single out the party for any wrongdoing, and said that amounted to the board's exoneration of the party.
Not so fast, says Hall. In a Saturday afternoon e-mail to reporters and editors at the News & Observer and the Observer, Hall said the evidence made it clear there was "sufficient evidence" to show that the scheme worked as planned -- and that the Easley committee, two contributors and the party had violated state law. He also took issue Monday with a line in an Observer editorial that said the board did not find the Democratic Party at fault.
Here’s what he said Saturday:
I don’t think it’s right to say the State Board of Elections cleared the Democratic Party of all wrongdoing. The unanimous vote to order the Party to forfeit $9,000 resulted from concluding that there was sufficient evidence to show that donations had been solicited for Easley’s benefit, made payable to the Party, and used to pay expenses for the Easley campaign – i.e., that the donor, Easley Committee, and Democratic Party were all involved in a type of earmarking that violates NCGS 163-278.14(a): “No individual, political committee, or other entity shall make any contribution anonymously or in the name of another. No candidate, political committee, referendum committee, political party, or treasurer shall knowingly accept any contribution made by any individual or person in the name of another individual or person or made anonymously.”
The statute of limitations has expired on misdemeanor charges, but not on a civil penalty. The Board decided that it had evidence regarding the donations from Lanny Wilson and Nick Garrett, but testimony did not support charges involving other donations. The penalty could not have been assessed unless there was evidence the Party participated in the earmarking scheme for the Wilson and Garrett donations. I’m not asking you to write more about all this, except that in your Correction section, I think it would be good to say that beyond two cases of illegal earmarking involving the Wilson and Garrett donations, the Party was cleared of any further wrongdoing.
That way, the clarification will appear when somebody retrieves the original story some months from now. What do you say?
BTW, here’s how Fayetteville Observer reports it: “The board ordered the state Democratic Party to forfeit $9,000 in campaign funds for two donations that were solicited by Easley's campaign committee. Easley supporters Nick Garrett and Lanny Wilson, both of Wilmington, testified that they gave the Democratic Party donations above the $4,000 individual campaign limit with the understanding that the money would be returned to Easley's committee. The board ruled that the party violated campaign finance laws because a $4,000 check from Garrett and a $5,000 check from Wilson had been earmarked for the Easley committee.”
And here’s what he said Monday:
Maybe quoting the Board’s adopted motion itself will be helpful, which I have below. I see CO’s weekend editorial also says “the board did not find the party at fault,” which I’m sure delights party’s spinners. Maybe a correction that will ride with that editorial into Google-land would be appropriate. Illegal earmarking includes the party spending the money for the earmarked candidate.
Leake motion, unanimously adopted, about the 2 cases of earmarking ended with him saying “. . . the sum of $9,000 and, as there has not been sufficient evidence shown of any OTHER violations of North Carolina law on the part of the North Carolina Democratic Party, that the remainder of the complaint as to that entity be dismissed.”
See 1:38 into video of his motion at: http://www.wral.com/news/video/6314210/
DSS hires politically-connected during "Freeze"
While Mecklenburg County is cutting some jobs, the county's Department of Social Services has been hiring.
The NewsChannel 36 I-Team discovered DSS has hired 30-40 positions, many of them managers and several filled with candidates who have political connections.
The DSS hiring freeze was in effect when Mary E. Wilson joined the department as director last July. But in the name of reorganizing the department, DSS has hired dozens of new employees, including the daughter of Charlotte's police chief, the daughter of a Superior Court judge and the wife of a city councilman who is running for mayor.
DSS hired Samara Foxx, the wife of at-large councilman and mayoral candidate Anthony Foxx, last July.
Her salary as Division Director II was $100,000 a year.
Foxx's hiring raised questions among some DSS staffers since the position was posted on July 17 and taken down the very next day.
For months, the I-Team has asked DSS in writing for public records showing when the job was posted. At first a department spokeswoman told us that legal counsel had advised her the records were confidential personnel records. After our repeated requests for only the public portion of the records, DSS sent us a two-page letter detailing the job posting.
The letter says in part, "The creation of Ms. Foxx's position was an initial step in the re-organization of DSS, which was approved by the county's executive team."
Charlotte-Meck. County Commissioners Chair Jennifer Roberts told us by phone from Washington, "I did not realize that opening was posted for such a short period of time. It's concerning. We pride ourselves on being open, transparent, equal and fair. I can't imagine why the posting period would not be available to reporters."
After DSS Director Mary E. Wilson gave Samara Foxx the job, Wilson's husband Cornell donated $4,000 -- the legal maximum -- to Anthony Foxx's mayoral campaign.
Foxx Campaign Manager Bruce Clark said Wilson and Foxx had worked together in the past but declined comment on the hiring, saying it was a county decision.
Foxx is not the only person with political connections to be hired by DSS since the "hiring freeze" went into effect.
Public records show DSS hired Hollye Monroe, the daughter of CMPD Police Chief Rodney Monroe, on Jan. 14 as a Management Analyst. Her salary: $46,613.60 per year. Our phone messages to Monroe's public information officer and chief of staff were not returned.
DSS also hired Tracey Evans, the daughter of Superior Court Judge Yvonne Mims-Evans, on Feb. 11 as a Social Services Manager at a salary of $57,380.95 per year. Judge Mims-Evans told us in a brief telephone interview that she had nothing to do with the hire.
County Manager Harry Jones e-mailed us a two-line response saying, "These individuals were hired within our policies and without regard to who their parents or spouses are."
Neither Jones nor DSS Director Mary E. Wilson responded to our requests for an on-camera interview.
But County Commissioner Bill James says the hiring smacks of political patronage and in his words "just smells bad." Commissioner James says the hiring should be investigated.
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Sources: McClatchy Newspapers, News & Observer, Under The Dome, Charlotte Observer, Charmeck.org, NCGOP, WCNC, Google Maps
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