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Re: Annexation bill sent off the floor

SouthsideJohnny — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 09:29:38 -0400

The league leads my representative around on a pound puppy leash. I hope they wake him up so he will vote to keep annexation. They are real impressed with him.

Against their will..........

domewatcher — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 06:50:46 -0400

"The bill was drafted in response to long-festering anger over municipalities' ability to annex property owners against their will."

We need to get off this business......worrying about the will of the people! "The will of the people" is an outdated concept in modern governance. The "people" don't have any lobbyists so they obviously have no "right" to be heard in matters of government. If the "people" were truly interested in what government was doing then they would hire lobbyists.

Annex them, tax them, kick them around. They probably won't even notice.

"The will of the people".......give me a break!

Re: Moore: Pension fund down, but solid? Oh?

htkirbys — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 11:25:54 -0500

If anyone can find out what the year-end value of the pension fund is, that would be an interesting piece of news. Things have changed a lot since September. Even by the end of September, however, the fund had lost its status as completely funded for future claims, a status that it achieved over many years of careful management by Moore's predecessor, Harlan Boyles.

Re: Cowell campaign blurring the lines?

jjsmith2 — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 11:38:57 -0400

You might want to disclose who you are RalResident

Re: Cowell campaign blurring the lines?

RalResident — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 08:21:20 -0400

I think a little enlightenment might be in order here, but where to start? “Wasting blog space on the Treasurer’s race. . .” Well, let’s see billsfan, here in North Carolina the State Treasurer is an elected official who has the second most constitutional powers behind the governor. No need to be interested in that race. The Treasure is the sole fiduciary (that means has individual control of and responsibility for) over $75 billion in state funds, to include about $66 billion in pension funds for our retired state employees and teachers. The Treasurer chairs the State Banking Commission and has executive oversight of our banking system. The Treasurer Chairs the Local Government Commission which approves city and county debt for infrastructure projects and works with local governments to maintain their fiscal health. The Treasurer is THE ONE elected official we have who is specifically tasked to watch our state’s debt position and hence our bond rating through the Debt Affordability Report . The list goes on, but I guess you’re right billsfan, nothing to be concerned about here. Yawn.
Now how might an ethics issue in this race effect you bellaparola? Well, first you should know that despite what Ms. Cowell would like for you to believe, this is not a gray area. The new ethics laws have been a point of emphasis in the legislature for a year or so. All members and staff received extensive training and the rules are clear. Using legislative staff to work on a campaign is a clear no no unless the work is voluntary, after hours and out of the office. The essence of this allegation is that an elected official used government resources for personal gain. Let’s add this up: there’s a possibility that a candidate for an office that has autonomous control over $75 billion may have used government resources to advance a personal agenda, e.g. get elected to a higher office, and we don’t need to be concerned about getting to the bottom of that?
For those of you who aren’t concerned about the ethics of all this. As Ms. Cowell admits, the operation of her campaign was “inappropriate” and that “mistakes were made,” so we might need to wonder: if Ms. Cowell can’t lead a twenty-something campaign manager and manage a 2 or 3 person staff AND stay on the right side of the ethics lines, how on earth is she going to be able to lead a 350-employee professional staff?
One final thought, and according to the email cited in the article this is not in dispute; that twenty-something campaign manager was also running Cowell’s legislation to support the “brand.” That’s beyond troubling. And here I thought we sent legislators to Raleigh to craft legislation that is first and foremost in the peoples’ interest. Silly me.
Yep, just another “petty issue” let’s all go back to talking about the Godless ad. That’s way more fun.

Talk about petty issues ...

bellaparola — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 19:51:11 -0400

This really takes the cake. From reading all of the above I don't have any idea what's going on, but I can say for sure that it is absolutely irrelevant to anything in my world. Ethics are important. The story above doesn't threaten my ethical equilibrium at all.

Re: Cowell campaign blurring the lines?

billsfan — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 17:06:38 -0400

First off, I have to be honest, wasting blog space on the Treasurer's race at this point is a little ridiculous, especially considering the circumstance here. Is this a soap opera or a credible story?

Let me understand this situation, Senator Cowell announced her candidacy in mid-2007. Ms. Johnson left employment under Senator Cowell in March 2008. Is Ms. Johnson even a credible source of information? She wasn't even there for the primary, let alone the general election campaign.

As soon as Senator Cowell seemed to become aware of a situation that blurred the Senate office and Treasurer campaign separation, she counseled the campaign manager regarding standard of separation. This area of the law leaves some room for interpretation and case-by-case evaluation. Several candidates seem to struggle mightily with this separation. Senator Cowell’s counsel of "firewalling" the campaign and the Senate office seems to set a clear standard. Unless there are more specifics here like other documented incidents that were ignored by the candidate--this was a real waste of space and effort.

I am assuming that unless Ms. Johnson has more facts, this is a disgruntled former employee making accusations. Hard to believe she would be in the know without having been involved for the last 8 months. Let's try to elevate the conversation here.

This closes this episode of "As The Treasurer's Race Turns." Yawwnnnnn!

Cowell is one of our best

Isaac136 — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 14:56:44 -0400

Janet Cowell is one of the best legislators we've ever had - with a stellar record for decency, fairness and integrity that is richly deserved.

I would imagine that the horror stories over at the General Assembly regarding clashes between enthusiastic campaign staffers with the General Assembly staff would make for interesting reading, but this is clearly an effort by an angry former staffer to hurt Cowell at the tail end of the campaign. It's misunderstanding turned into an item that gets attention solely because of the timing and the determination of a former friend to draw some blood. It's pure spite and a definite misrepresentation of the kind of public servant Cowell was at city council, while in the NC senate and will be after November 4th.

Janet Cowell is one of the cleanest candidates running and deserves far better than this.

Not surprising - Cowell is NOT a friend to state employees

wwf165 — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 14:45:36 -0400

Senator Cowell tried to take away all of the assigned parking spaces of state employees who work in downtown Raleigh, while protecting her own legislative parking space.

Re: Cowell campaign blurring the lines?

PoliticalJunkie — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 13:36:03 -0400

She voted for dell incentives, coincidence?

Re: Fed can borrow from us, Moore says

bellaparola — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 11:40:55 -0400

I have admired Richard Moore and agree that he is smarter and understands the economy and most other things better than many of our "leaders." But this little boasting joke apparently made in his incessant quest for national media attention isn't even a little funny to me.

Questions for the Treasurer:
Shall we get ready to add the capital H to hubris?
Are you familiar with the frequent payoff to those who display it, especially in such a gloating fashion?
"I'll loan them the money" - oh really, will you? All by yourself? Do you remember whose money that actually is?

Re: Only idiots loan other idiots who believe in Paper Currency

dahedgehog — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 21:19:27 -0400

ConMax, let me know next time you have a kid. When it happens, I'll make sure to invest in Reynolds Wrap...something tells me that tin foil sales will be going up.

The deficit, as measured by % of GDP, is nowhere near record levels. Chill.

Only idiots loan other idiots who believe in Paper Currency

ConMax — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 19:51:44 -0400

Fed can borrow from us, Moore says

Paper Currency BS! Moore should be moving all of the state funds into Bullion Gold and Silver and stashing it with the State National Guard under a Secure unused Bank Vault with orders to shoot the first government idiot that even comes close to it. The last place one wants to do is invest in failed government that is totaly out control......Mr Moore, take your Tin Foil Fabin school of economics and shove it up Lord Mayard Keynes worthless toilet paper rear.......

Well said.

James_Protzman — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 17:59:42 -0400

I also wish we had him in the US Senate right now. Richard has more knowledge about the nation's financial situation in his little finger than Liddy Dole and Dick Burr have in both their brains.

Re: Fed can borrow from us, Moore says

captsfufp — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 14:10:42 -0400

I know someone was taping the event, so I wish I could have the video, but Treasurer Moore gave a great extemporaneous speech on Tues night about the current economic crisis at the Campbell Law Professionalism Dinner in Raleigh. He not only methodically explained how the crisis occurred, but managed to pinpoint the individual events which led to it, and how he ensured NC would not be in the same boat.

He also advised the audience, comprised of judges, lawyers, professors, and students, about what they could do in their own financial lives to ensure their success/survival (Basic, but good advice: 1) Keep good credit and 2) Diversify).

I voted for Bev Perdue in the primary, and I know she'll make a great governor, but Mr. Moore showed he is the right man in the right job at the right time for North Carolina. I hope he continues to share his thoughts with all North Carolinians about the current financial crisis.