For years it’s been a North Carolina tradition for governors to appoint big contributors and fundraisers to the State Board of Transportation and, as a result, over the years more than a few roads have been paved for what looks a lot like political reasons.

But with corruption getting out of hand in Raleigh and highway dollars getting tighter, appointing contributors to the Highway Board has gotten riskier. After two of Beverly Perdue’s fundraisers were forced to resign from the Board – ironically, one resigned the same day he was to host a Perdue fundraiser at his home in Jacksonville – Perdue sat down with The News and Observer’s reporters and editors for an interview and they asked a blunt question: Would she pledge not to appoint any more of her political fundraisers to the Highway Board if she was elected?

Mrs. Perdue danced the two-step. She said the Board needed reforming and she had some dandy ideas about how to do it – but the bottom line was she wasn’t going to take that pledge.

Then she had an unexpected burst of candor.

Perdue told The News and Observer that before she could stop appointing her fundraisers to state boards, like the Highway Board, first she needed to issue an Executive Order to set up a new state fund (she called it an ‘endowment’) to pay for future campaigns for governor.

In other words, as soon as she has another way to pay for her next campaign – she’ll stop appointing her fundraisers.

I’m not kidding. That’s what she said. It’s right there in black and white in the News & Observer.

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