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Friday: Rough Day
posted at 2007-09-07 23:45 | Last modified 2007-11-14 10:38
Holliman hospitalized
Word came out via the AP today that House Majority Leader Hugh Holliman (D-Davidson) is recuperating in intensive care after surgery to remove a lung tumor - a recurrence of the cancer he was first diagnosed with eight years ago. In 2005, Holliman thought he was clear. Here's hoping this time he really IS. Best wishes to him for a speedy recovery.
Meantime, Hackney's spokesman Bill Holmes confirmed the obvious - Holliman won't be able to attend Monday's veto session, either to push his own green button, or to convince his caucus members to push theirs. We'll have to wait to see the vote to know if it even mattered.
McAllister fined
Representative Mary McAllister (D-Cumberland) got word today she's been fined nearly $17,000 for her campaign finance problems. According to the AP, she's being charged $7K for the cost of the investigation, plus a fine of about $5700 for money she erroneously repaid herself, and another $3600 fine for illegal or incomplete donations. The fine is the culmination of the Election Board hearings that took place back in June - here's the recap.
Even though the SBOE found no evidence McAllister had intentionally defrauded anyone, today's announcement still spells trouble. Her new campaign treasurer, Willie Cooper, told the AP the fines amount to about four times the balance of McAllister's campaign account.
Rumor has it McAllister has decided not to run again, anyway, so maybe it isn't that big a deal. On the other hand, it probably isn't easy to hold a fundraiser to pay your fines for campaign finance violations.
Choosing sides
House and Senate leaders say they think they have the votes lined up to override Easley's veto of the Goodyear bill. Lawmakers have never pulled off a veto override before, but there's always a first time, right?
Some legislators in Cumberland and neighboring counties say they're being deluged with email form letters from Goodyear employees, asking them to override the veto and support the incentive plan. Over at the Locker Room, Chad Adams says Harnett Republican David Lewis is promising 31 House R votes in Goodyear's favor. (The birth of a House GOP coup? Paging Skip Stam...)
But more support is lining up on Easley's side. When Americans for Prosperity and the NC Justice Center are on the same side of a bill, it's a safe bet it's going to be an interesting ride. And there's plenty more where that unholy alliance came from.
Pretty much everyone who's running for any executive branch office is coming out in favor of the veto. And now even the alumni are weighing in. NC Commerce Secretary Jim Fain's office sent out this letter today from four guys who aren't even running - former Commerce secretaries Lauch Faircloth, Jim Broyhill, Norris Tolson, and Rick Carlisle - uniformly opposing the Goodyear bill. Fain didn't sign the letter - he already sent his own to the Fayetteville Observer.
More Sunday on your opinions on the Goodyear plan. So far, everyone I've heard from is against the bill and for the veto. Anyone out there with a different take?
Either way, drop me a line.
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