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Archive for the 'Mike Easley' Category

Easley’s fine seems a bit dissatisfying

November 24th, 2010, 3:31 pm by

Most everybody, including myself, has something to say about former Gov. Mike Easley’s plea deal Tuesday. Easley, of course, took an Alford plea bargain, pleading guilty to one count of filing a false campaign finance report. For the felony charge, he got a $1,000 fine.

An Alford plea allows a defendant to plead guilty to a crime without having to admit guilt. Instead, the defendant admits that the prosecution has sufficient evidence to convict him.

News & Observer columnist Rob Christensen noted the irony of seeing Easley, who made his name as first a district attorney and then as an attorney general, sitting at the defendant’s table in a courtroom.

“How had Easley made the journey from the prosecutor’s table to the defense table – from Mr. Clean to felon?” Christensen asks. He goes on to note that it’s apparent that Easley has not come to grips with what has happened.

Bob Hall, executive director of Democracy North Carolina, found the punishment unsettling. “The puny punishment is neither a deterrent for the future nor an honest portrayal of the wrongdoing that happened,” Hall wrote.

Hall finds only one bright spot in the ordeal, Easley telling the judge, “I have to take responsibility for what the campaign does. The buck has to stop somewhere. It stops with me.”

Hall goes on to say that Easley should accept responsibility for paying the remaining $94,000 of the $100,000 fine that the State Board of Elections levied on Easley’s campaign committee last year. The committee paid only $6,000 and has a zero balance after paying attorney fees, Hall notes.

Posted in: Campaign Finance • Courts • Crime • Elections • Government Corruption • Mike Easley • Politics • State government | Post a Comment »

The former governor gets a slap on the wrist

November 23rd, 2010, 5:29 pm by

Count me among those who believe that former Democratic Gov. Mike Easley got off with just a slap on the wrist.

I’m not among those who are calling for his head, mind you. I’ve had a number of opportunities over the past two decades to interview Easley. My first opportunity was when he ran for U.S. Senate back in 1990, well before came to Raleigh to cover politics and state government. I found him to be quite personable. I met his family. On a personal level, it’s hard to dislike any of them.

I’m not big on giving heavy active sentences for people convicted of non-violent crimes. But I find the fine of $1,000 to be less than appropriate in this plea bargain, particularly since the former governor didn’t even admit that he did the crime for which he was convicted.

Last year, when Easley was testifying at the State Board of Elections hearing, he basically said that the information (or lack thereof) regarding airplane flights on his campaign finance reports were below his pay grade.

On Tuesday, he accepted responsibility for the campaign, but didn’t have to admit guilt. The fine levied by the judge was a mere 1 percent of the $100,000 fine imposed on his campaign committee by the State Board of Elections a year ago.

Certainly no one, much less a politician, wants to wear the label of a convicted felon. Now Easley must. He could lose his law license. And as a GOP loyalist pointed out earlier in the day in a tweet, he can’t run for sheriff.

Easley will have the assurance that his legal nightmare is over since the plea deal included an end to the federal investigation that began in 2009, must a few weeks after he left office. I’m sure that’s a relief.

Posted in: Campaign Finance • Elections • Government Corruption • Mike Easley • Politics • State government | Post a Comment »

Lanny Wilson resigns from DOT board

January 21st, 2010, 1:46 pm by

Lanny Wilson, who was called to testify into the State Board of Elections investigation into the campaign practices of former Gov. Mike Easley, has resigned his seat on the N.C. Board of Transportation.

 

Wilson, in a letter to Gov. Bev Perdue today, said he was resigning to “avoid any further unnecessary distractions” related to reform efforts in the Department of Transportation.

 

Back in October, Wilson, a Wilmington resident, told the elections board that he had “maxed out” on campaign contributions to Easley and that he contributed to the Democratic Party with the understanding that it would be used for Easley.

 

The State Board of Elections, while coming down hard on the Easley campaign, cleared the Democratic Party of any wrongdoing.

 

Perdue accepted Wilson’s resignation and thanked him for his service.

Posted in: Bev Perdue • Campaign Finance • Ethics • Mike Easley • State government • Transportation | Post a Comment »

Perdue orders more budget slicing

January 15th, 2009, 4:45 pm by

This really comes as no surprise, but Gov. Bev Perdue has ordered state departments to cut spending by 7 percent, which is 2 percentage points higher than what former Gov. Mike Easley had ordered.

 

The cuts come after a report showing that the budget gap could be as high as $2 billion. That figure isn’t out of line with what state officials have been suspecting for months. And Perdue said before her inauguration that departments in state government had been told to find the additional 2 percent in cuts.

 

In addition, Perdue has ordered the following budget-balancing measures:

– Stop the purchase of all goods or services, unless specifically approved by a department head. This does not apply to the purchase of supplies, equipment and materials schools require for classroom instruction. 

– All travel and training is suspended unless it involves public safety, public health, job requirements, economic development opportunities or emergency situations. Any exceptions to the directive must be approved by department heads.

– All pay-as-you-go appropriations for capital improvement and repair and renovation projects are to be placed on hold.

– A hold on hiring for vacant positions, unless a prior commitment has been made. Vacancies may only be filled if they are approved by a department head as an extraordinary exception to the directive.

Posted in: Bev Perdue • Economy • Government spending • Mike Easley • State government | 1 Comment »

Easley to join meeting with president-elect

December 1st, 2008, 4:42 pm by

Gov. Mike Easley’s office says the outgoing governor will join Governor-elect Bev Perdue and other governors in a meeting with President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden in Philadelphia on Tuesday.

 

Easley has been asked to discuss North Carolina’s foreclosure prevention program at the session, labeled as a discussion of the federal-state partnership on the economy.

Posted in: Barack Obama • Bev Perdue • Economy • Federal government • Mike Easley • State government | Post a Comment »

A historic veto override

August 27th, 2008, 10:41 am by

The General Assembly made history this morning. It voted to override Gov. Mike Easley’s veto of the bill that would loosen restrictions for towing large recreational votes.

The House vote was 93-7. The Senate vote was 39-0.

This is the first time in the state’s history that the General Assembly has overridden a governor’s veto.

Senate President Pro-tem Marc Basnight, D-Dare, told fellow senators that people towing these boats are “responsible people.” He said if there is no problem, he saw no reason for government to interfere.

Posted in: General Assembly • Mike Easley • Veto | Post a Comment »

They’re coming back

August 25th, 2008, 2:37 pm by

Lawmakers only got about a six-week vacation as a result of Gov. Mike Easley’s veto of a bill that would have loosened restrictions on recreational boat towing. As required by the N.C. Constitution, Easley has issued a proclamation reconvening the 2008 short session of the General Assembly to consider the veto. The reconvened session will begin at 11 a.m. on Wednesday.

If the General Assembly overrides the veto, it would be the first time in the state’s history that a bill became law despite a governor’s veto. Previously, the House voted to override a veto of a bill vetoed by Easley that would have required local governments to pay just compensation to billboard companies if they required the companies to tear down legally built billboards. The Senate did not override the bill, however, and a compromise bill later became law.

It takes a three-fifths majority of those present and voting in both chambers to override a veto. If all 120 members of the House are present and voting, that would mean 72 votes are required. In the Senate, it would require 30 of the 50 members to override.

Posted in: General Assembly • Mike Easley • Veto | Post a Comment »

To override or not to override

August 19th, 2008, 3:10 pm by

Legislators are mulling whether to come back to Raleigh to consider overriding Gov. Mike Easley’s veto of a bill easing restrictions on towing boats.

Schorr Johnson, a spokesman for Senate President Pro-tem Marc Basnight, D-Dare, said that Basnight wants to override the veto.

“Sen. Basnight has said he wants to override it,” Johnson said this afternoon. “I don’t know that there’s been a poll of the Senate taken.”

The bill, which would allow drivers to pull boats up to 10 feet wide on any day of the week without a special permit, received overwhelming, bipartisan support in the General Assembly. It passed the House by a 108-5 vote and the Senate by a 43-0 vote. If both votes held up, it would be well more than the three-fifths margin required to override a veto.

The House will have the first crack at deciding whether to override the veto. Bill Holmes, a spokesman for House Speaker Joe Hackney, D-Orange, said Hackney has been talking to House members to gather their opinions.

If the General Assembly does override Easley’s veto, it would be the first time in the state’s history that a bill became law despite the governor’s objections.

Posted in: Mike Easley • State government • Transportation • Veto | Post a Comment »

A few bills to go

August 12th, 2008, 1:48 pm by

I just returned from vacation. As I go through emails and check web pages, I find that 18 bills from the 2008 short session of the General Assembly remain on the desk of Gov. Mike Easley.

The N.C. Constitution gives the governor 30 days to sign a bill or veto at the conclusion of a legislative session. Easley has until midnight Sunday to decide what to do with the remaining bills.

If a bill isn’t signed or vetoed, it becomes law without his signature. The governor, unlike the president of the United States, has no pocket veto.

Among legislation awaiting a decision from the governor are bills addressing gang violence, allowing more towing of recreational boats, changing the law on children in the bed of a truck and preventing municipalities from restricting the sale of newspapers from streets.

Posted in: Mike Easley • State government | Post a Comment »

Signing bills left-handed?

July 29th, 2008, 4:46 pm by

Gov. Mike Easley’s press office reports that the governor underwent successful surgery on his right shoulder at Duke University Medical Center in Durham today. Dr. Bill Garrett and Dr. Dean Taylor performed the surgery. He’s expected to keep his right arm in a sling for several weeks.

Easley was not sedated, and his office reports that he even joked with the surgeon during the surgery. Garrett said things could change. “I expect the governor’s mood to change when the nerve block wears off,” Garrett said.

Earlier in the week, Garrett said he was advising Easley to curtail some of his activities, including driving racecars.

“We night suggest he sign bills left-handed as well,” Garrett said. “His signature will not be any worse.”

Eighty-seven bills from the 2008 short session remain on the governor’s desk, according to the General Assembly web page.

Posted in: Mike Easley • State government | Post a Comment »