Senate Republican leader Phil Berger said Thursday that Board of Transportation member and fundraiser Lanny Wilson should not participate in board activities while state and federal investigations continue.

Wilson was a fundraiser for former Gov. Mike Easley and Gov. Beverly Perdue, who reappointed Wilson to the transportation board.

Wilson testified this week that he wrote and solicited large checks for the N.C. Democratic Party that were intended for Easley's benefit.

Wilson also testified that he gave his fiance money to give to Easley, which would appear to violate a law prohibiting giving in the name of another person.

When she took office, Perdue demanded that her transportation board members adhere to the highest ethical standards.

"Mike Easley appointed campaign fundraisers and high dollar donors to powerful state positions including the Board of Transportation; so has Governor Perdue," Berger said.

"In order to avoid the appearance that the Perdue administration’s approach to ethics is a continuation of Easley policies, Governor Perdue should ask Mr. Wilson to step aside until the legal issues surrounding his fundraising activities are resolved. It is past time to break the cycle of corruption in state government."

Campaign finance records reveal varied political pedigrees for Gov. Beverly Perdue’s newest picks for the state Board of Transportation.

Perdue is reappointing one board member who was a major contributor in her run for governor, Bruce Siceloff and David Raynor report. She is naming four new members including one who supported her Democratic primary rival and never contributed to Perdue’s campaign.

J. Gary Ciccone of Fayetteville, to succeed Mac Campbell in Division 6. Ciccone, a commercial real estate developer, chairs a bank board and has been a political contributor to two of its members: Sen. Tony Rand of Fayetteville, the Senate majority leader ($1,000 in 2008), and former Sen. Oscar Harris, who was Perdue’s campaign treasurer ($500 in 2004).

Ciccone gave heavily to former Gov. Mike Easley and then backed Perdue’s Democratic primary rival, Richard Moore, before giving Perdue’s campaign $1,000 in late 2007.

David L. Burns of Laurinburg, an agribusiness executive, to succeed G.R. Kindley in Division 8. Burns supported Easley and gave Moore’s campaign $1,000 in 2007, but records show no contributions to Perdue.

Burlington Mayor Ronnie K. Wall, assistant superintendent for Burlington-Alamance schools, to succeed Tony Dennis of Norwood as at-large board member for government-related finance and accounting. Wall gave Perdue’s campaign $1,000.

Sam Halsey of Jefferson, to succeed Arnold Lakey in Division 11: Halsey, a Christmas tree farmer and retired auto dealer, was a major Easley backer. He gave Perdue $200 in 2000, when she ran for lieutenant governor, and $500 in March.

Stan White of Nag’s Head, reappointed to Division 1: White is a builder and Realtor, and his wife gave Perdue $6,000 in 2007 and 2008.

The House voted Wednesday require political appointees to report their fundraising activities.

The bill, which had sponsors from both parties, expands who must report fundraising and also closes a loophole that applied to the reporting required of the Board of Transportation. Members of that board were previously required to list their activities, but some appointees under former Gov. Mike Easley used a legal opinion to hide their fundraising activities.

Board members, including former member Louis Sewell of Jacksonville, had said he did no fundraising even though he was a big fundraiser in Easley's 2000 campaign.

Easley had obtained an attorney general's opinion that said fundraisers did not have to disclose their efforts unless they personally accepted contributions from individuals. That meant that typical fundraising activities such as holding receptions and soliciting people for contributions were not considered fundraising.

More after the jump.

   Comments (0)

Gov. Beverly Perdue has issued 11 executive orders so far:

1. Campaign endowment. Creates a task force to develop a public endowment for gubernatorial campaigns. Jan. 12.

2. Transportation board. Reforms the board of transportation by improving its ethics policy and requiring more professional approval. Jan. 12.

3. Accountability. Orders review of state government programs. Jan. 12.

4. N.C. OpenBook. Creates online database of state contracts and grants. Jan. 12.

5. Budget commission. Creates a panel to recommend ways to cut the state budget. Jan. 12.

6. Cut spending. Orders state to reduce spending and cut off capital projects in order to keep budget in the black. Jan. 13.

7. State of emergency. Declares state of emergency over winter storm. Jan. 20.

8. End emergency. Ends state of emergency. Jan. 21.

9. EMS Rules. Makes permanent rules about emergency medical and trauma services. March 3.

10. State health council. Requires members to disclose conflicts of interest. March 3.

11. Furloughs. Cuts teacher pay by a half percent for 2008 fiscal year in exchange for 10 hours of leave. April 28.

Much more planning and, maybe, less politics.

That’s Gov. Beverly Perdue’s new recipe for professional decision-making at the state Department of Transportation, reports Bruce Siceloff.

Perdue announced details today of her pledge to move the Board of Transportation — whose members are appointed by the governor to represent different parts of the state — away from its historic duty to decide which roads and bridges get built.

In the future, the board will set policy, she said. DOT employees, under Secretary Gene Conti, will decide where the money is spent "based on data and input from local government and planning groups," Perdue announced. Conti will brief board members on the details Wednesday.

More after the jump.

   Comments (0)

Last week, Pat McCrory argued that Beverly Perdue should return campaign donations raised by a Board of Transportation member who steered public money to road improvements near properties he or a son co-owned.

He ended the week by attending a fundraiser on Emerald Isle that pulled in more than $100,000 — half from Tommy Pollard, a former transportation board member from Jacksonville who did the same thing 20 years ago.

McCrory's campaign said they will not return the $50,000.

"It's a bogus story to compare someone who is -- as a volunteer citizen of the state of North Carolina with no power — out raising money, compared to someone who is sitting on the Board of Transportation and is using that position to raise money," Jack Hawke, McCrory's campaign strategist, said Wednesday.

He added, "What happened 25 years ago has nothing to do with what's happening today."

In 1989, the State Bureau of Investigation probed whether Pollard violated state law by pushing for the installation of 10 traffic lights at an intersection where he owned property. It found no violation, but the then attorney general said the law needed to be changed. (N&O)

Richard Moore is pressing Beverly Perdue on the Neuse River Bridge.

The Democratic gubernatorial candidate has questioned whether the lieutenant governor profited from a $120 million bridge in New Bern she lobbied for as a state senator.

The bridge replaced an unsafe span and helped fuel growth. A few months after it opened, a 150-acre housing development called Quail Woods five miles from the bridge became active. Perdue was a corporate officer and later co-owner.

"New Bern needed a bridge, but not a $120 million, four-lane Taj Mahal," said Jay Reiff, Moore's campaign manager. 

But Perdue's staff point out that the older bridge was rated less safe than the one that collapsed in Minnesota last year, the state Board of Transportation voted unanimously for it and 22 local governments passed resolutions in favor of it.

Bob Hall, research director for the watchdog group Democracy North Carolina, said that he has seen no evidence of corruption.

"There's no smoking gun here," he said. (Char-O)