Sinsheimer: Expel Wright

Indefatigable Dem gadfly Joe Sinsheimer sent out this letter today, calling on House leaders to expel New Hanover Dem Thomas Wright after yesterday's allegations by Elections Board investigators that Wright may have committed an array of questionable acts ranging from the inadvisable to the federally actionable.  If you missed the rundown, it's here.

Wright says he won't resign over allegations. But Sinsheimer says it's the Legislature - not Wright - that should make the call on whether Wright can and should continue to serve.

Speaker Joe Hackney says expelling a member isn't that easy, though he said today his staff is researching that and other options.  Hackney reiterated his position that unless Wright comes up with a reasonable explanation for the allegations, he can no longer be an effective representative for his constituents. But he stopped short of using the "R" word, even when pressed.  You can hear his comments in their entirety here.

Hackney did send out this release tonight, saying he's referred the Wright case to the Legislative Ethics Commission. No word yet on when they'll meet to consider it.

Non-responsive?

Aside from Hackney, few on either side had much to say about Wright - on the record, anyway. Oddly enough, it seems most House lawmakers simply forgot to read the paper this morning, so they couldn't comment.

Pender Republican Carolyn Justice didn't get the memo.  You can hear her comments here.

Off-mike, of course, it's a different (if unattributable) story.  Unconfirmed rumors on the Dem side say Wright may be asked to step down at Monday night's caucus meeting, if he doesn't do so before then. On the other side of the aisle, I asked one Republican whether the GOP caucus was planning to call for Wright's resignation. Said lawmaker shrugged, "You'd think the majority would be handling that."  

The sound of No Comment

By the way, if you want to hear what it sounds like when folks don't want to talk to the press, it's here.  Attempt 1 was during a House recess today, when UNC-TV's Kelly McCullen and I tried to get a comment from Wright. When he saw the microphone, he asked the Speaker to end the House recess. (You can hear the gavel on the tape.)  During Attempt 2, Wright fled down the stairway after session. You can hear the microphone jostling as we're all running to catch up with Wright. The voices you hear are the AP's Gary Robertson and the N&O's Ryan Teague Beckwith.

Speaking of investigations

The House Election Law committee agreed today to two proposals that would make it harder, not easier, for the public to know what's going on with their elected officials.

The first proposal, H1662, would relax a reform from last year requiring legislators to report all contributions of $50 or more per election.  The change would return the reporting limit to the pre-Reform level of $100 per cycle.

Republican and Democrat supporters alike said the $50 limit is too much trouble for politicians, and moreover, it might discourage contributions by folks who don't want anyone to know whose campaign they're giving to. 

Pender Republican Carolyn Justice (see above) pointed out that today, of all days, was NOT the day to lessen transparency in campaign reporting. (Not to mention they're all supposed to be keeping records of all contributions, anyway.)  She was in the minority - the proposal passed.

Proposal #2, H1735, would, among other things, require the State Elections Board to keep all its investigations secret until the hearing, "if any."  Otherwise, no one is supposed to know whether someone's under investigation or for what.

If the bill were now in effect, we wouldn't even have known Thomas Wright was under investigation (or for what) till (if?) it happened.  Supporters say confidentiality helps persuade witnesses to come forward. But the State Elections Board already has the discretion to hide or publicize probes as needed. Democracy NC's Bob Hall says the proposal is "crazy." You can hear his comments here.

Committee Vice-Chair Deborah Ross pushed the bill through despite questions, assuring skeptical members that their concerns about the bill would get a more thorough vetting at its next stop, Judiciary I - which, if anything, has a longer "to-do" list than Election Law. But it still passed. 

Talk about your bad timing. This was SO not the day to pass either of these bills.  But hey, that's just my opinion.

The "Steve Daniels" bill

WTVD's Steve Daniels raised eyebrows recently when he showed up in a committee, not to report on it, but to testify in support of legislation that would ban school bus drivers from using cell phones. Daniels takes credit for the legislation, which he says was inspired by his investigative report on bus drivers using phones.

(For the uninitiated, let me clarify. Reporters are observers, not advocates. We cover committees. We do NOT testify before them on behalf of anything. Except maybe the First Amendment, *if* there's a gun to our collective head and no one from the ACLU can do it for us. In other words, just because it's a slow news day does NOT mean it's okay to make your own. Ever.  In fact, there was a lively discussion within the Capitol Press Corps about whether to yank WTVD's floor credentials for the stunt.)

I can't recall any recent NC bus accident in which the driver was alleged to be distracted by a cell phone.  But you'd never have known it from Daniels' testimony - captured for posterity (and ratings) on multiple WTVD cameras.  My scandalized friends in TV tell me Daniels even miked himself before testifying to get better sound for broadcast. 

Anyway, the bus-driver cell phone ban passed the House today. It was welcome news to Alamance Republican Cary Allred, who said on the floor he's looking forward to not having to hear anymore about the debt the state owes Steve Daniels.  You can hear Allred's comments here.

Thursday preview

The hottest ticket for tomorrow is a seat at the House Education committee, where they're returning to the controversial topic of whether it's morally permissible for the state to specify that gay and lesbian kids shouldn't be bullied at school.  The AP's Margaret Lillard has the background here. Stay tuned.

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