There has been some grumbling among lobbyists who thought it was inappropriate that they received a campaign solicitation from Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, whose office regulates lobbyists.
Marshall, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate race next year, sent out an e-mail solicitation on her birthday (Nov. 18) asking for an $18 campaign donation to mark the occasion, reports Rob Christensen.
"We didn't intentionally put any lobbyists on the list," said Thomas Mills, Marshall's campaign manager. "If they got a solicitation it is because they had some sort of relationship with Secretary Marshall in the past. We would be glad to remove their names."
Mills said the solicitation went out to a broad range of people, including people who had contributed to her past campaigns, friends and others. He said people can easily unsubscribe from Marshall's e-mail list.
Comments
Re: Money request rankles lobbyists
November 22, 2009 - 11:52pm — SaintPinehurstMinnie - You've chosen to ignore a fairly key component of the discussion.
The only thing the lobbyists in question apparently signed up for was their registration with Marshall's OFFICE. She REGULATES them. She determines whether or not they can do whatever it is they do. And now she's using that list, an official state resource, to send emails asking for money.
Oh well. Its not like she flew around the state with Governor Easley on campaign trips or anything, right?
Re: Money request rankles lobbyists
November 22, 2009 - 2:45pm — minnieLobbyists receive invitations to fundraisers from legislators all the time. Why doesn't this "rankle" them?
Re: Money request rankles lobbyists
November 21, 2009 - 7:05am — KingixolibCareer politicians breed corruption and lies. Vote them out or they and their cronies either die in or retire from public office.
Option one....you win
Option two....you lose
Marshall = Sleeze
November 21, 2009 - 12:19am — kttechwriterElaine Marshall, just another good old gal. She likes to think she's above all the dirt and sleeze, but here she is, being caught again, right back in the mud. We can do without another Democrat victory in 2010.
Re: Money request rankles lobbyists
November 20, 2009 - 11:17pm — SaintPinehurstMr. Mills says: "they had some sort of relationship with Secretary Marshall in the past."
Mr. Mills means: "they provided their email address to Secretary Marshall when they registered with the Secretary of State's Office."
How many other times has Secretary Marshall emailed those people? Is this really the first time its happened?
"We'd be glad to remove their names" doesn't address how they got on the list in the first place. We're talking about official state resources... her office regulates lobbyists... and the implication is pay-to-play...
Re: Money request rankles lobbyists
November 20, 2009 - 7:50pm — BitterEXdemocratHow old did she turn? Time for new photos?
Re: Money request rankles lobbyists
November 20, 2009 - 5:27pm — whatsnextNothing like Busch league campaigning to inspire the DSCC to come here and spend the $10MM it will take to beat Burr. Here’s hoping that the campaign can get it together before the end of the 4th Quarter.