Document Actions
Thursday: Say What?
posted at 2007-06-07 22:44 | Last modified 2007-11-14 10:38
Wright on (?)
The Joint Legislative Ethics Committee is apparently moving forward with an investigation of New Hanover Dem Thomas Wright. Co-chair Rep Rick Glazier (D-Cumberland) released the following statement today:
We have received the referral of the Wright complaint from the Speaker of the House, and the Joint Ethics Committee has begun consideration of the investigation of the allegations, in accordance with the statutes and rules of procedure of the Joint Ethics Committee.
Beyond that, we cannot comment on the particulars of any investigation at this time.
When I asked Glazier what that meant, he said, "It means what it says."
You can hear what passed for an explanation today here, or listen to the whole Q&A with Glazier, me, NCNN's Matt Willoughby, and Wilmington's Mark Schreiner.
The Star Chamber
Essentially, what Glazier said (as far as I can parse it) is that the Joint Ethics committee isn't dismissing the Wright complaint outright. But that's about all we know.
They could investigate it themselves, hire an outside investigator, or hand it over to the SBI. The Committee's voluminous rules allow for all three options. But we won't know what they decide to do, because virtually all their meetings are closed under their rules.
The rules also say that, unless there's a penalty phase hearing, the public has no right to know about any complaint or investigation or even warning given to their elected lawmakers.
Want to see those rules? Good luck. You won't find them online...nor any indication of how you might get a copy. And you'll need an attorney or two to make sense of them. (If I can get my hands on a scanner, I'll post the hard copy I have in the next few days.)
Granted, there are good reasons to keep some ethics proceedings confidential - that's the only way some folks will come forward with complaints. But for the whole process to be super-secret from start to finish seems more like obfuscation than discretion. What happened to transparency and sunshine? (Maybe that only applies to lobbyists and campaign donations?)
I hear a lot from readers who say they don't have much faith in their elected officials' ability to police themselves. From where I sit, it's easy to see why. Even if the secrecy surrounding the ethics panel springs from the best of intentions, it looks a lot like a wagon circle from the outside.
Speaking of ethics...
One paper said a mouthful this week. The editorial board of the Wilmington Journal, an African-American weekly, published a scathing open letter to the Legislative Black Caucus about allegations of corruption swirling around several members. Here's an excerpt:
To be clear, African-American voters didn't elect you to public office so you can make out like a fat Black rat.
We didn't elect you to perpetuate the "Willie Lynch" slave's-mentality-crabs-in-a-barrel way of thinking.
Black people sent you there to work together on our issues, to ensure fairness and equity in public policy decision-making.
When the NCNAACP and other likeminded groups come together to devise a 14-point agenda for social change, it is a disgrace to see that the Black Caucus has to be pulled kicking and screaming on stage to even voice lukewarm support.
The rest of the letter is here. Ouch. I'd love to know the story behind that one.
Boyle order
The AP reported today that US District Judge Terrence Boyle will take over the sentencing of former House Speaker Jim Black after Judge James Dever recused himself this week. Boyle is, if anything, less predictable than Dever. He's best known, recently anyway, as the human monkey wrench in the Navy's plans for the OLF. (I wonder what Black's legislative record on waterfowl issues looks like?)
No date was set as of tonight, but the sentencing is expected to take place before the end of the month.
duh-DUMMMMM.....
"Law and Order" star and former TN Sen Fred Thompson is winning high ratings among NC Republicans.
The latest numbers from Public Policy Polling show Thompson gaining steam quickly. 37% of Republican voters polled say they'd pick Thompson in the 2008 GOP presidential primary - up 12 points from a month ago. Not too shabby for a guy who hasn't even formally declared his candidacy.
PPP pollster Dean Debham says part of Thompson's appeal is name recognition. Another reason is his novelty. As Debnam puts it,
You know, Thompson is sort of the “flavor of the month” right now, and he doesn’t have any of the negatives - or at least none have appeared yet - that the other three have. So he doesn’t have the morality problems of Giuliani, he doesn’t have the war problem of McCain, and he’s not a Mormon.
Overall, though, Debnam says Thompson's rapid rise shows that rank-and-file NC GOP voters just aren't excited about the three presumptive frontrunners. Giuliani is now in second, with 25 percent, followed by McCain and Romney, tied for a distant third at 14 points each.
Got Corrections?
House Milk-Chugging team captain Dewey Hill (D-Columbus) had to explain himself today after the News & Observer reported that the Senate, not the House, won yesterday's contest. It's an understandable mistake, given that the Senate has been the perpetual winner for as long as the contest has been held. But this year, it was the House, not the Senate, that took home the trophy.
Hill joked on the House floor today that when he called to complain about the error, the N&O staff assured him they'd call "every one" of the paper's tens of thousand of subscribers to clarify the error. I'm sure they'll jump right on that.
Comments? Drop me a line.
