Tangled web
Submitted by James Protzman on Wed, 12/06/2006 - 7:55am
I won't comment on the merits of this case, but simply point out the obvious: this is what life looks like when you have a big fat target on your back like Jim Black does.
This story on WRAL-TV this morning, reports on alleged campaign finance irregularities by Rep. Thomas Wright (D) of New Hanover County. The whole thing seems stinky to me, but that's not the point. The point is that the story leads with Jim Black who is only tangentially (if at all) involved in the case.
A frequent critic of state House Speaker Jim Black accused one of Black's allies Tuesday of breaking elections law by delaying the disclosure of more than $41,000 in campaign donations. Joe Sinsheimer filed a complaint with the State Board of Elections asking officials to investigate campaign finance reports of Rep. Thomas Wright, D-New Hanover, for the first three quarters of this year.
"This is more than just sloppy bookkeeping by the Wright Committee," Sinsheimer said at a news conference. "Representative Wright made a deliberate attempt to hide those contributions from the public as long as possible." Wright, re-elected last month to an eighth term in the House, denied he deliberately withheld information about donations from executives with a company that wants to build a landfill and recycling plant in Brunswick County.
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Sinsheimer operated a Web site for about a year that attempted to get Black, D-Mecklenburg, to resign as speaker of the House after legal problems and ethical questions surfaced around Black's office. Wright has been a close ally of Black and said he intends to support Black for another term as speaker when lawmakers reconvene in January.
That's what North Carolina can expect as long as Black tries to keep himself in the public spotlight. And that's the last thing the Democratic Party needs right now.
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crusader
now, this guy gets to be the crusader out to cleanse the NC legislature of corrupt Democrats. Way to go House.
visit this guy's art work site, it rocks
CountryCrats - my thoughts, my blog.
Also heard this on public radio
Their angle on the story was all about Black too.
How many Anti-Black Websites does it take
to clean up the NC House?
Wright
Thomas Wright is the highest ranking Africa American in the State House due primarily to his support for Jim Black. It started with Wright's orchestration of splitting the Black Caucus vote in 1999 to support Black for Speaker over Dan Blue and has continued to this day. Black has rewarded Wright with committee appointments, $50,000 to Wright's "New Hanover Community Health Center" from Black's discretionary fund and direct contributions including $8,000 in the 2000 Primary cycle, an excess contribution of $4,000.
Jim Black has drawn attention to those who support him. There would be no Thomas Wright story absent Jim Black. There would be no Jim Black story without Thomas Wright. There will be more stories as long as Jim Black remains Speaker and they will be about Democrats because the problem has been one of the abuse of incumbent power which has been under-used in the advancement of progressive issues.
It is pretty sad that the man Jim Black appointed to Chair the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Capital has such difficulty managing his own campaign finances.
Wright or Wrong?
You beat me to the punch on this one. Let me hijack and elaborate a little:
For the full text of Joe Sinsheimer's complaint:
SBOE Wright Complaint Page 1
SBOE Wright Complaint Page 2
SBOE Wright Complaint Page 3
SBOE Wright Complaint Page 4
SBOE Wright Complaint Page 5
SBOE Wright Complaint Page 6
SBOE Wright Complaint Page 7
SBOE Wright Complaint Page 8
The complaint asks the State Board of Elections to investigate what appear to be attempts to conceal and delay reporting contributions from developers of the proposed Hugo Neu mega-landfill in Brunswick County, lobbyists for a payday lending company, the sub-prime finance industry in general and, the apparent bundling of contributions from Certified Nurse Anesthetists.
Wright has a history over the past several years of campaign finance irregularities. In early 2001 he was one of three House members (Wright, Jim Black and David Miner) who were over three weeks late with campaign finance reports. One 2001 report was filed over a year late. In November 2002 the State Board of Elections refused to certify his re-election because he had not filed campaign finance reports since 2001. In a 2005 year end report contributions were under-reported by $2,000 due to a math error which has never been corrected. Wright also has a pattern of reporting multiple contributions as being received in a single month, without indicating a date, even when disbursements have been reported months and days apart and in different quarters. Not the best accounting practices from the Chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Capital
The complaint only focuses on 2006 contributions and related legislative actions. Regarding the Hugo Nue landfill it appears that contributions made before the Primary were reported, not in the 2nd Quarter but in the 3rd Quarter report and after Wright was appointed by Black to one of two landfill study committees (Environmental Justice). During the Primary the Hugo Nue landfill was a major issue about which Wright maintained a low profile and refused to take a public position even as he accepted contributions from agents of the landfill developer.
Regarding the consumer finance industry Wright sponsored sub-prime lending bill H621 championed by late reported contibutors and, was a co-sponsor of a bill introduced by Beverly Earle at the bequest of CompuCredit, some of whose agents were unattributed contibutors to Wright's campaign.
Not noted in the complaint, Wright received $250 from "Omega Protein" in November 2005 while Omega Protein was not registered as a PAC, having been inactive since 2004. Omega Protein subsequently filed a reactivation report that appears to be predated by 6 months though Omega Protein never reported the contribution to Wright or other contributions to Jim Black, Marc Basnight, William Wainwright and Beverly Earle. Omega Protein is the worlds largest menhaden processor providing fish oil for Omega-3 supplements. Menhaden is harvested using huge purse seine nets. Many on the coast consider menhaden to be essential to maintaining populations of predator fish.