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Is the Alliance for North Carolina breaking the law?

Republican gubernatorial nominee Pat McCrory and the state Republican Party sent almost simultaneous press releases today arguing that the Democratic 527 had not disclosed its donors on time.

Under state law, third-party groups must submit a list of donors within 24 hours of running an ad. The Alliance' began running an anti-McCrory TV ad yesterday, David Ingram reports.

"This secret 527 group has launched over $300,000 worth of negative television ads without disclosing any information whatsoever," said McCrory spokeswoman Amy Auth in a statement.

But Kim Westbrook Strach, deputy director of campaign reporting for the State Board of Elections, said that they received a "timely" report today.

The report only stated that the Alliance received money from two other 527s run by the Democratic Governors Association and the National Education Association. It did not say where those donations ultimately came from.

But Strach said that met the state's legal requirements.

"I don't think the law requires the disclosure of what made up those organizations' funds, so I think this complies what the statute says they're required to disclose," she said.

A new breed of political action committee may soon come to North Carolina.

Under a change in elections law being discussed at the legislature, PACs that do not work directly with candidates would be allowed to skirt the usual limits on individual contributions. 

At the same time, they could advertise for or against specific candidates. 

The omnibus elections bill, currently in a conference committee, includes a provision that would allow PACs that do not give to candidates or coordinate their efforts with political campaigns to receive unlimited funds.

Kim Westbrook Strach, deputy director of campaign reporting at the State Board of Elections, said the measure was designed to comply with a U.S. Court of Appeals decision in a long-running case filed by the N.C. Right to Life Committee Fund for Independent Political Expenditures.

Currently, Strach said it is the only PAC she is aware of that has not worked with candidates, although she said other PACs could start up by filling out a simple form if the bill passes. 

Hat Tip: Francis De Luca

The Carolina Stompers have been cleared by the State Board of Elections.

An investigation into the group's finances found it had not gone afoul of state laws on political fundraising, the Asheville Citizen-Times reports.

Chad Nesbitt, the leader of the group, said he is "seriously considering" following the state board's recommendation that the group become an official political committee, however.

After state Democrats complained, the board investigated whether the Stompers, officially a for-profit corporation, was raising money for political causes without disclosing contributions.

But investigator Kim Westbrook Strach said they have not "crossed the line." 

U.S. Rep. Walter Jones would seem an odd choice to be the keynote speaker to a Common Cause North Carolina luncheon this week.

The Farmville Republican, a longtime favorite of the Christian right, was chosen, in part, because he has a long history of pushing for lobbying and ethics reform, dating back to his days as a Democratic state legislator in Raleigh, according to Bob Phillips, executive director of the state Common Cause, Rob Christensen reports.

Common Cause will honor Kim Westbrook Strach, the lead investigator for the State Board of Elections for her role in uncovering the Jim Black scandals.

Also getting a nod will be Republican state Rep. George Cleveland of Onslow and Democratic Rep. Pricey Harrison of Greensboro—this week's ideological odd couple. They will receive the Plott Hound award for sponsoring a bill that would have ended in-state tuition benefits for out-of-state athletes.

The event will be held Saturday, Nov. 17, at noon at the N.C. State University Club in Raleigh.

The state's top elections detective wanted to be a dancer.

As top investigator for the State Board of Elections, Kim Westbrook Strach has helped uncover misdeeds by former Agriculture Secretary Meg Scott Phipps, former House Speaker Jim Black and former top lobbyist Don Beason.

After running a small dance studio, the former Miss Kinston 1993 decided to make a career in law enforcement. She and a staff of 12 monitor nearly 3,000 political action committees statewide and 5,000 locally from a tiny windowless office. 

She said she was excited when she first saw the ad for her position. 

"I'm a kind of law-and-order girl, and here was something interesting," Strach said. (N&O)