Rep. Thomas Wright's woes have extended back to 1898.
The Wilmington Democrat's campaign finance problems have hurt plans to acknowledge the race riots and provide ways to compensate the heirs of its victims.
Wright filed 10 bills on the issue this session, but only one has been voted on. That was the bill simply acknowledging the riots happened, and it's not been approved by the Senate yet.
After the State Board of Elections said Wright failed to report more than $220,000 in campaign contributions in recent years, the fate of the bills became uncertain.
Since 2000, Wright had headed a 13-member commission that looked into the riots.
"I had left it up to Rep. Wright to guide us," said Irving Joyner, a law professor at N.C. Central University and the commission's vice chairman. "Now the viability of that strategy is in question." (N&O)
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