Sinsheimer applauds Hackney's actions

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:39:39 -0500

Joe Sinsheimer applauded House Speaker Joe Hackney today.

The campaign finance activist said that the Chapel Hill Democrat "stood silently" for 18 months during the investigation of disgraced former Speaker Jim Black.

But he said that Hackney's decision to have an ethics committee consider expelling Rep. Thomas Wright showed that lawmakers were not going to "hide behind state and federal prosecutors" any more.

"Today, for the first time, Speaker Hackney said we're going to step up and do the tough work ourselves," he said. "I think that's really important and I think it sends a strong vote of confidence to the public."

Sinsheimer was asked about criticism that legislators are being harder on Wright, who is black, than they were on Black, who is white.

"They are going to have to live with that hypocrisy," he said. "But I don't think the (answer) is to go back and do two wrongs."

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Sinsheimer applauds Hackney's actions