Don Beason

Biography

Don Beason is a former contract lobbyist for the North Carolina state legislature, often ranked among the three most effective. He resigned in August of 2007 after reports surfaced that he had once loaned disgraced former House Speaker Jim Black $500,000.

Early Life and Education 

Donald Ray Beason was born Oct. 10, 1938, in Surry County, N.C.

He graduated from Mount Airy High School in 1957. From 1959 to 1960, he studied business administration at the University of Connecticut.

He served in the U.S. Army from 1960 to 1962.

Political Career

In 1968, Beason served as campaign manager for Wilmer "Vinegar Bend" Mizell, a former Major League Baseball pitcher who won election as a Republican to the previously Democratic 5th Congressional District and went on to serve four terms.

In 1973, he began working for the state Department of Commerce as an assistant secretary. He was promoted to the top spot in 1976 by Gov. James E. Holshouser Jr., a Republican.

When Holshouser left office the following year, Beason became president of the N.C. Savings Guaranty Corp., which insured loans made by savings and loans and credit unions.

On Dec. 7, 1980, he was named Tar Heel of the Week by The News & Observer.

Lobbying Career

In 1989, Republican Gov. Jim Martin hired Beason to lobby lawmakers.

Later that year, Beason became head of Martin's research office, and the following year the governor named him head of the state Drug Cabinet, charged with developing legislation to fight drug crime. 

In 1991, Beason left the Martin administration to become a contract lobbyist, representing companies, nonprofits and municipalities before the legislature.

Among his earliest contracts was the N.C. Amusement Machine Association, which represents video poker operators. Beason lobbied for the group from 1993 to 2000, advocating for riverboat gambling in Wilmington, the creation of a state lottery and looser regulation of video poker.

Rise to the Top 

Beason's stock rose in 1994 when state voters elected the first Republican House in the 20th century. As a lobbyist who had worked for two former Republican governors, he had so many clients that he turned some offers down.

One lobbyist even wore this button to a fundraiser: "Don Beason was not the only Republican lobbyist before Nov. 8."

In the 1995-96 session, Beason had 28 clients, including Wachovia Bank and Progress Energy, compared to 10 the previous session.

That year, his ranking shot from 32nd to third on a biannual survey of legislators, lobbyists and journalists by the N.C. Center for Public Policy Research. For the next three surveys, he was in the top three, and in 2003, 2005 and 2007, he was named the most effective lobbyist.

Until the "goodwill lobbying" loophole was closed, Beason frequently bought legislators lunch or dinner, and he often paid for caucus meetings.

Though Beason rose to prominence as a Republican, he also established good relationships with both parties and remained a top lobbyist after Democrats retook the House in 1998. Long a registered Republican, he switched to unaffiliated in 2004. 

Beason's lobbying drew praise from some of the state's top leaders, including former House speakers Harold Brubaker and Dan Blue and Senate President Pro Tem Marc Basnight.

"Don Beason and his approach are always welcome in my office," Basnight was quoted as saying. 

Work Habits 

Beason worked out of an office in Hillsborough Place in downtown Raleigh, then a suite in Powerhouse Square. He later bought a condominium in the popular Bishops Ridge area of Raleigh from a retiring state representative.

In 2004, he served on a commission giving advice on regulating lobbyists. 

Black Loan and Resignation

On July 6, 2007, Beason got into a confrontation with another driver near Cameron Village. After the incident, he was charged with assault by pointing a gun, a misdemeanor.

Three days later, federal prosecutors filed paperwork noting that former House Speaker Jim Black admitted to receiving a $500,000 loan from a lobbyist in 2000. They did not name the lobbyist, leading to weeks of speculation in political circles. 

On July 31, Black testified at a state sentencing hearing that Beason was the lobbyist in question.

Black claimed the loan, which was not backed by any written contract, was to help him with a real estate deal that fell through. But questions were raised by the fact that Black transferred the money to a campaign account.

In the weeks following the revelation, Beason resigned from the N.C. Professional Lobbyists Association, which had said it might investigate the loan for a disciplinary action. With many of his top clients dropping him, he resigned from lobbying on Aug. 15, 2007.

Sources:

"'$500K lobbyist' works quietly," David Perlmutt, Charlotte Observer, Aug. 1, 2007.

"Lobbyist sets his own course," Dan Kane, N&O, July 18, 2005. 

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