In the race for the state legislature, Republicans are leading Democrats in a generic ballot 49-41 percent, according to a new poll by Public Policy Polling.

PPP surveyed 724 likely North Carolina voters Aug. 27-29 and asked respondents which party they would pick if the election for legislature were held today.

According to the poll results, 49 percent chose Republicans, 41 percent chose Democrats and 10 percent were undecided. The margin was similar — 40 percent Republican, 41 percent Democrat — on a generic ballot for Congress.

The poll found that while Democrats don't appear to be abandoning the party, they may not be as likely to vote as Republicans. Among the respondents who said they were "very excited" about voting, 56 percent were Republican while 37 percent were Democrats.

The poll had a margin of error of 3.6 percentage points.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland will be the headliner at the Democrat's Vance-Aycock Dinner to be held Oct. 9th in Asheville.

Hoyer, a one-time rival of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, is credited with helping unite the House Democratic caucus, Rob Christensen reports. Hoyer is in the middle of a fierce political fight, with some experts predicting that the Republicans will take control of the House in November.

This will be the 50th Vance-Aycock fundraising dinner, which as always is held at the historic Grove Park Inn. But it will be the last one to go by that name, because the Democrats have decided to no longer honor former Democratic Gov. Charles Brantley Aycock because of his involvement in the white supremacy campaigns of 1898 and 1900.

FIRST STEPS: State troopers should live in the counties where they work and should inform dispatchers by radio anytime someone of the opposite sex is in their cruiser, an advisory panel recommended. (N&O)

OPENED BOOKS: Regulators defended their efforts to rescue Wachovia in fall 2008 on Wednesday, while newly revealed documents showed concerns about the Charlotte bank's management in the years leading to its near collapse. (Charlotte Observer)

EARL APPROACHES: Gov. Beverly Perdue urged people this morning to follow evacuation orders along the North Carolina coast as Hurricane Earl nears and assured citizens that the state was ready for whatever Earl delivers. (N&O)

The Office of Congressional Ethics has dismissed allegations against U.S. Rep. Mel Watt.

Watt, a Charlotte Democrat, was one of eight members of Congress who were under the microscope because of allegations involving contributions from financial interests received just before the vote on financial regulation reform.

The ethics board voted 5-0 to dismiss the allegations against Watt.

"There is not substantial reason to believe that Representative Watt solicited or accepted contributions in a manner which gave the appearance that special treatment or access was provided to donors or that contributions were linked to an official act," the board wrote.

Watt, a Charlotte Democrat, said Wednesday that he will have to work to restore his reputation.

“After practicing law for 22 years and serving in Congress for 18 years, it has been very humbling and emotionally draining to have been for the first time in my life the focus of a Review or investigation that implied or called into question my personal or professional honesty and integrity," Watt said in a statement. "The attached documents from the Office of Congressional Ethics confirm, as I said from the beginning of the Review, that I did nothing improper or unethical.  While the decision of the Office of Congressional Ethics cannot restore my reputation, I am thankful that the review has been completed and that it concluded that I did nothing improper or unethical.  I am thankful that, with this disposition by the Office of Congressional Ethics, I can again turn my full attention to serving the residents of the 12th District of North Carolina.”

Former top lobbyist Don Beason testified again today in the hearing where he's appealing the $110,000 fine the state wants him to pay for for allegedly violating lobbying laws. The hearing ended today. Senior Administrative Law Judge Fred G. Morrison Jr. will likely rule within 90 days.

The state is arguing that Beason failed to disclose lobbying clients in 2007 who wanted to change state law to allow them to sell iron imported from India to the state Department of Transportation. The $110,000 fine is said to be the largest in history.

Beason said he did not know that one of the companies was collecting money from others to pay him. Beason said he did not contact any legislators or DOT employees  on the issue, but enlisted two other lobbyists, his son Mark Beason and T. Jerry Williams, to work on it. Williams also testified today.

Beason was ranked the state's top lobbyist in 2007. He left the business that year, having been linked to the scandal that enveloped former House Speaker Jim Black.

An independent group associated with Raleigh businessman Art Pope has begun early mailings targeting Democratic legislators.

A group called Real Jobs NC has in recent days sent mailers into the House districts of Majority Leader Hugh Holliman of Lexington, Cullie Tarleton of Blowing Rock, Alice Underhill of New Bern, Chris Heagarty of Raleigh and senators Don Davis of Snow Hill, Tony Foriest of Graham, Steve Goss of Boone, John Snow of Murphy and Joe Sam Queen of Waynesville, according to the state Democratic Party, reports Rob Christensen.

The mailer accuses the lawmakers of having “voted to raise taxes over a billion dollars to pay for their pork spending projects.”  The flyer is illustrated with photographs of a table cloth, barbecue sauce and utensils.

The mailer missed its mark in the case of Heagarty, who was not in the legislature in 2009 when the tax increase passed.

Heagarty's campaign called the ad “dishonest and desperate” and said it was looking into legal action against the group.

“The voters need an explicit correction of the mistake, a real one and not just one more attack ad, and an apology from this special interest group for misleading them,” said Mike Radionchenko, Heagarty's campaign manager.

Roger Knight, an attorney for the Real Jobs NC, said the flyer sent into Heagerty's district had the wrong citation when it cited the 2009 vote.

“The citation was wrong,” Knight said. “Real Jobs NC will clarify the issue in future mailings.”

The group is a so-called 527 organization, named after a section of the federal tax code. Among its officers are Pope, a former state House member and Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, who has been active in funding a number of conservative organizations in Raleigh.

According to campaign records, the group has received donations from $100,000 from Variety Wholesalers, Pope's company; $300,000 from the Republican State Leadership Committee in Alexandria, Va., a group chaired by former national GOP chairman Ed Gillespie; and $100,000 from Rightchange.com, a website started by Wilmington businessman Fred Eshelman.
 

U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield has been contacted by the Office of Congressional Ethics over his handling of travel stipends.

On Tuesday the Wall Street Journal reported that the ethics office is investigating a half dozen lawmakers over how they handled left over travel money. Butterfield, a Wilson Democrat, had previously told the newspaper that he kept money that was left over.

House members are given per diems that are meant to cover travel expenses. In some cases, the costs are picked up by other people. The rules appear to be murky on how to handle the leftovers, according to the newspaper.

Butterfield's office issued a statement regarding the ethics inquiry.

The Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) contacted me seeking information related to per diem used on a Congressional delegation trip. I informed OCE that the funds were spent on legitimate travel expenses and that if any funds went unspent, they were nominal. I also informed OCE that I had received a per diem on the trip but did not maintain detailed records, because it is not required.

While State Department guidelines do not require detailed accounting, the OCE apparently does not share that opinion and has forwarded the matter to the Ethics Committee. I have complied with the requests of OCE and will comply with any other request from the Ethics Committee.

Butterfield's Republican challenger, Ashley Woolard, has previously called on Butterfield, a member of a House ethics committee, to return campaign contributions from embattled New York Democratic U.S. Rep. Charlie Rangel.

On Wednesday, Woolard called on Butterfield to resign.

"This is a disgrace. Citizens of the First District need honest leadership that will help our struggling economy, not another greedy politician feeding at the public trough as our economy burns,” Woolard said.

As a UNC system search committee zeroed in on Tom Ross as its top choice to run the state's public universities,  one influential member was faced with a conflict.

J. Bradley Wilson is the president and CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield North Carolina. He was also a member of the UNC search committee by virtue of his emeritus membership on the UNC system's Board of Governors, which he chaired several years ago.

Ross is also on the Blue Cross board, named to it earlier this year. As such, he would play a role in making employment and compensation decisions that could affect Wilson.

So when Ross's name popped up during the search committee's deliberations, Wilson said he stepped out of the room, reports Eric Ferreri. He declined to participate in Ross's interviews to avoid a conflict of interest.

Now, Ross must offer to resign from the Blue Cross board. The organization's bylaws require that members offer to step down if they change jobs; however, the board doesn't necessarily have to accept that resignation, so Ross may indeed remain on that board, Wilson said last week. The matter has yet to be addressed.

The insurance board is heavy with members familiar with the university system. A second member of the UNC presidential search committee, Walter Davenport, sits on the Blue Cross board as well, but did not sit out the Ross interviews, according to a UNC system spokeswoman. He is not a Blue Cross employee, as Wilson is, and thus didn't have the same conflict.

Harold Martin, the current chancellor at N.C. A&T University, is also on the Blue Cross board. Prior to taking the reins at N.C. A&T, he served as a UNC system vice president.

Other board members include Jeffrey Houpt, the former head of the UNC Health Care system, and Lloyd Hackley, a former chancellor at Fayetteville State University.

Blue Cross hasn't disclosed what it's paying Ross for board work. Other board members were paid $33,047 to $51,314 last year, Blue Cross reported in a filing with the N.C. Department of Insurance.

Ross was hired last week to head the 220,000-student system. He starts work Jan. 1 and will earn $525,000 annually.

Photo courtesy of cednc.org.

A panel convened to advise Gov. Bev Perdue on how to pick the next highway patrol commander has finished the first part of its report.

The panel of judicial, law enforcement, legal and political experts says in its report that it needs more time to consider whether any changes in law are needed to reform the patrol and to develop recommendations on how to rebuild the patrol's focus on integrity and honor.

The report recommends a set of steps Perdue's administration should follow to replace former Col. Randy Glover, who resigned after a series of embarrassing revelations about the misconduct of troopers.

Recommendations include:

* Requiring all troopers above the rank of lieutenant declare whether they intend to apply for the job.

* Any unsolicited calls or recommendations should be documented.

* Each candidate should have a background check that includes a review of the candidate's personnel file to assess his or her record of moral integrity.

* Any finalist should be of the highest ethical and moral character and expect a "zero tolerance" for "sexual misconduct, alcohol abuse, failure to conform to laws and untruthfulness."

On his last day as the commander of the State Highway Patrol on Tuesday, Col. Randy Glover sent an e-mail to staff and retirees saying that he would be a "Trooper for eternity" and taking a parting shot at "critics" who he said "can use their ink by the barrels to tear the organization down."

Glover, who was forced to resign by a series of embarrassing revelations about the misconduct of troopers under his command, blamed the media for his problems in a contentious media conference.

A report on recommendations from a committee appointed by Gov. Bev Perdue to help her reform the agency and select its next commander was released today.

Here is the full text of Glover's final message to his troops:

U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan again made The Hill's list of 50 wealthiest members of Congress.

Hagan, a Greensboro Democrat, checked in at number 39 on the Washington paper's annual list, which is based on financial disclosure forms. According to The Hill's analysis of Hagan's 2009 form, she was worth $6.9 million.

Her portfolio was mostly unchanged from 2008, although she paid a Tampa, Fla., mortgage down from $500,000 to $250,000. The bulk of her wealth was in large stock holdings and pricey real estate investments.

She has liabilities of nearly $3 million.

Before anyone gets too jealous of Hagan's worth, it's helpful to note that by the standards of Congress, Hagan is hardly big time.

Massachusetts Democratic Sen. John Kerry, number one on the list, is worth more than $188 million. Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain's worth is listed at $11.1 million putting him at 23rd place.
 

PICKED ON: An attorney for lobbyist Don Beason said the Secretary of State's office unfairly went after the lobbyist and eventually issued a record-$111,000 fine because Beason was a high-profile target. (N&O)

N.I.M.B.Y.: Speakers at a packed public hearing Tuesday night criticized the state Department of Transportation's ideas for routing high-speed passenger trains through downtown, and some of them urged the City Council to call for more study. (N&O)

HERE I GO: In a prime-time address to the nation, President Barack Obama said it was time to "turn the page" on Iraq and that he intended to focus on the U.S. economy. (NYT)

Talk about a crowded ballot.

Thirteen candidates have filed for the N.C. Court of Appeals, the Associated Press reports.

They'll be vying for the judgeship vacated recently by Judge Jim Wynn, who is headed to the Fourth Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals.

The filing period ended today for the election, which will trigger an instant runoff to choose the winner.

Among the candidates are Cressie Thigpen, whom Gov. Beverly Perdue chose to replace Wynn through December, former Court of Appeals Judge Doug McCullough and former state Labor Commissioner Harry Payne, the AP reports.

The fairy tale wars continue in North Carolina’s Senate race.

First the campaign of Elaine Marshall sent out a press release in the form of a fairy tale belittling the claims made in Republican Sen. Richard Burr’s first TV ad. The release called Burr’s ‘Main Street’ ad a “grim fairy tale,” and said “like many people who spend too much time in Washington, [Burr] lost his way."

On Tuesday, the Burr campaign responded with a web video of a storybook entitled “The Marshall Tales," reports Rob Christensen.

The video said, “Once upon time, atop her ivory tower in Raleigh...Elaine Marshall dreams of joining Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi to solve America’s problems.” The video ends with a black screen and a ticking national debt.