North Carolina – Democrats

There is talk around the legislature that some veteran Democratic Senators will not run for reelection again – and that Marc Basnight may be serving his last term as President Pro Tem. Republicans certainly would welcome that. Some restive Democrats might even say good riddance. But the Democrats need to ponder their chances of keeping…

It’s probably not another blockbuster scandal. But a tiny black cloud just floated over the Lottery Commission’s horizon. The Charlotte Observer (5-19-07) reports that the firm hired to conduct one of the lottery audits is not registered to do business in the state and was not investigated by state officials before beginning the work. It…

North Carolinians need look no further than Wednesday’s action by a state House Committee to confirm that the representatives are clueless about public dissatisfaction with the legislature. – Winston-Salem Journal May 21, 2007 Last week the State Board of Elections said Representative Thomas Wright had failed to report $220,000 in campaign donations. And that he…

The stables badly need cleaning in the North Carolina House of Representatives. And Speaker Joe Hackney needs to step up to the job. So far, he hasn’t. It’s past time he did. In a way, the situation is unfair to Hackney. He spent decades building a reputation as a clean, hard-working legislator. He finally achieved…

First, State Treasurer Richard Moore hired Quellos money management to help him invest state pension funds, then he paid them hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees, then he solicited their executives for contributions to his campaigns. Now the Charlotte Observer reports Quellos has some problems of its own. It has been sued for violating…

Whenever a Democrat asks me about beating Liddy Dole next year, I ask this trivia question: Who was the last Democrat from North Carolina to win a U.S. Senate seat in a presidential election year? The answer: Sam Ervin. 1968. Almost 40 years ago. And Ervin won not as the Watergate folk hero – that…

Democratic State Representative Linda Coleman has sponsored legislation to take control of the State Pension Fund away from Treasurer Richard Moore and give it to a fourteen member Board of Trustees. Democratic Representative Bill Faison of Hillsborough and two Republicans – including Rep. Nelson Dollar of Cary – have joined Coleman has co-sponsors of the…

Are the Republicans in Raleigh intent on ending the corruption in state government? It’s impossible to say. Because by and large they have been silent. The latest scandal involving Richard Moore is an example. Just as Jim Black was leaving office and Democrats were praying they would never hear the words ‘pay to play’ again,…