The recent payment of roughly $13,000 each in public "rescue funds" to six state appellate court judicial candidates exposed a quirk in the public financing laws.

Spending by the N.C. Democratic Party for mailers and newspaper ads triggered the spending. The races are nonpartisan and nearly all the candidates have opted for public financing. That means outside spending triggers the rescue funds to prevent a competitive disadvantage, Dan Kane reports.

The quirk is that two of the judicial candidates who received the rescue funds — Kristin Ruth and Sam Ervin IV — benefited from the Democratic Party's spending. But since they face each other for an N.C. Court of Appeals seat, state law requires they each receive the rescue funds to make up for the party's spending on the opponent.

That means roughly $26,000 in public money is being spent to aid two candidates who had received the same benefit from the Democratic Party.

State election officials said they were only following the law in providing the funds, but they said lawmakers ought to give the provision a second look.

Rep. Deborah Ross, a Raleigh Democrat and vice chairwoman of the House Election Law and Campaign Finance Reform Committee, agreed.

"I think that the rescue provision was not written with the intent to provide additional money to candidates who are facing each other and who have both benefited by the positive, identical message paid for by the same third party," she said.

State judges may be nonpartisan in North Carolina.

But that doesn't mean a few aren't in the audience at the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner tonight.

After N.C. Democratic Party Chairman Jerry Meek recognized several U.S. representatives, Democratic members of the Council of State, House Speaker Joe Hackney and various legislators, he gave a shoutout to state Supreme Court Justices Robin Hudson, Sarah Parker and Patricia Timmons-Goodson and state Appeals Court judges John Arrowood, Linda Stephens and Jim Wynn.

Lawyer Bob Hunter urged a judge to help clarify a law that he says has allowed outside groups, such as Fairjudges.net, to wrongly influence elections by making excessive campaign contributions.

Using a lawsuit brought by Judge Ann Marie Calabria in 2006, Hunter reopened the issue of whether Fairjudges acted appropriately in their support of a candidate who beat Calabria in the 2006 election, reports Titan Barksdale.

Hunter told Judge James Spencer Jr. Thursday that a court ruling in Calabria's favor can help protect the electoral process in North Carolina.

"You can say the flood gates are wide open or you can say under these circumstances, this was an illegal contribution [by Fairjudges]," said Hunter, who is a candidate for the N.C. Court of Appeals. "We need a judge to tell us what the law is."

In 2006, Calabria wanted the State Board of Elections to investigate whether the state Democratic Party was working with Fairjudges to help her opponent, Associate Justice Robin Hudson. The board recently did not take any action against Fairjudges after a report of the investigation was finished.

The report said that the organizers of Fairjudges had an agenda and likely coordinated with an employee of the state Democratic Party to help push Fairjudges' agenda during the 2006 election. By law, groups such as Fairjudges are prohibited from coordinating with parties, but a state elections board member says the law has some loopholes.

Susan Nichols, special deputy attorney general representing the board, said the lawsuit is moot because Hudson has already been declared the winner of the election. And the State Board of Elections has decided against taking action against Fairjudges.

Spencer will rule on the case at a later date.

The N.C. Police Benevolent Association has made its primary endorsements.

The group, which represents law enforcement officers around the state, has endorsed Beverly Perdue for governor, Hampton Dellinger for lieutenant governor and Janet Cowell for state treasurer.

In judicial races, it endorsed Associate Justice Bob Edmunds for re-election to his Supreme Court seat, Cheri Beasley, Linda Stephens, Sam J. Ervin IV, Jim Wynn and John Arrowood for the state Court of Appeals.

In Congressional races, it endorsed U.S. Reps. Walter Jones and Brad Miller.

Endorsements were made after a recent screening of 25 candidates.

"The candidates were asked questions on issues vitally important to the law enforcement profession and public safety," the group wrote in a press release. "Many outstanding candidates were in attendance."

Suzanne Reynolds is working the crowd at the Young Democrats convention.

As a candidate for the nonpartisan state Supreme Court, Reynolds said there was nothing wrong with campaigning at a clearly partisan event.

"It's where excited voters are," she said.

Reynolds compared her Democratic voter registration to her specialty of law, saying both are facts about her that curious voters might want to know.

"I think it's relevant that I'm a registered Democrat," she said. "Where candidates cross the line is when they characterize themselves as Democratic or Republican judges."

Reynolds' opponent, Supreme Court Justice Bob Edmunds, has stressed his Republican ties at recent GOP events.

A law professor at Wake Forest University, Reynolds has been on the short list for judicial appointments before, but she said she never wanted to run until the position was made nonpartisan and the state created public financing for judicial candidates.

"I didn't have the stomach for that," she said.

N.C. Court of Appeals candidates Kristin Ruth and Linda Stephens are also at the event.

Bob Hunter introduced himself to Dome recently.

At the Wake County Republican Party's annual President's Day Dinner, the Greensboro attorney came over and shook Dome's hand. "Bob Hunter," he said.

We asked, facetiously, which Bob Hunter.

(The answer is obvious, since the sitting Appeals Court judge hangs more with a Democratic crowd.)

"The good-looking one," said the Republican Hunter. Then, after two seconds of indecision, he amended his response: "The bad-looking one," he said.

Just when we thought we'd found a way to tell them apart. 

Bob Hunter is running for a state judgeship.

But it's not who you might think. There is already a Bob Hunter on the state Appeals Court. (For clarity's sake, that one is Robert C. Hunter.)

This one is Robert N. Hunter Jr., a Greensboro attorney long active in Republican politics. He filed today for the seat on the N.C. Court of Appeals seat held by John Arrowood of Charlotte.

The subhead on his announcement said it all: "No, not that Bob Hunter, the other Bob Hunter."

Hunter, a former chairman of the State Board of Elections, is best known in political circles for handling GOP election-related cases. He has been in private practice for 35 years on a broad range of civil and criminal issues.

Arrowood was appointed to the state's second highest-ranking court last year by Democratic Gov. Mike Easley.

Cheri Beasley is running for the N.C. Court of Appeals.

Beasley has served as a District Court judge in Cumberland County for the last nine years. A Democrat, she was appointed by former Gov. Jim Hunt.

Previously, she worked in legal departments for several corporations in Research Triangle Park and briefly served in the Wake County District Attorney's office.

She also worked for five years in the Fayetteville Public Defender's office.

She attended Rutgers University and went to law school at the University of Tennessee. While in law school, Beasley studied comparative law at the University of Oxford in England.

She will be running against the incumbent Doug McCullough for the 12th Judicial District.

Judge Doug McCullough kicked off his re-election campaign Wednesday.

The N.C. Court of Appeals judge, a former federal prosecutor and a Republican, had some bipartisan support. He announced a steering committee that included Republicans such as I. Beverly Lake Jr. and Democrats such as Burley Mitchell, both former chief justices of the N.C. Supreme Court.

Among the other Democrats backing McCullough were former Judges Sid Eagles and Gerald Arnold, both former chief judges on the N.C.Court of Appeals, Rob Christensen reports.

The kick off was at the Raleigh law offices of Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice. A fundraiser was held after the news conference.