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A House bill would allow Chapel Hill to experiment with publicly financed campaigns.

The bill would allow the Town Council to run a pilot project and turn in a report on the results to the legislature.

Rep. Verla Insko, a Chapel Hill Democrat and one of the bill's sponsors, said it would help the town recruit a more diverse pool of candidates for Town Hall.

The town of Cary began a public financing campaign in 2001 but it was later declared illegal by the State Board of Elections.

Rep. Paul Stam, an Apex Republican and the House minority leader, said he would vote against the bill and any other public campaign financing on principle.

"Practically speaking, it means taxpayer money someday will be going to highly offensive advertising," he said.

The bill passed 65-51 and now heads to the Senate.

Gov. Mike Easley called for Rep. Thomas Wright to resign.

At a press conference this morning, the governor said that the Wilmington Democrat's case was more straightforward than former House Speaker Jim Black's.

Here's the quote, courtesy of Laura Leslie at Hunter's Tavern:

"Here, you've got bank records and a campaign account, and ether they match up or they don't, and they don't. And then you have the Board of Elections finding pages and pages of what they consider to be criminal violations that they're turning over to the District Attorney. So it's a different circumstance. And I think it's one where the representative needs to move on."

She's also got audio of the press conference.

A full list of those who have called for Wright to resign after the jump.

How much can you give a candidate before it becomes a public record?

In July, the legislature voted to lower the threshold for candidates to report the name, occupation and address of a donor from $100 to $50.

A House bill would now push the threshold back to $100.

It's a debatable change, but the first half of the bill's title does seem a tad, well, defensive:

An act to restore the law on disclosing the identity of political contributors...

The bill is co-sponsored by Reps. Paul Luebke and Bill Faison, both Durham Democrats, and Rep. Edgar Starnes, a Hickory Republican.

House Speaker Joe Hackney called for Rep. Thomas Wright to resign.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Hackney said Wright failed to explain campaign finance irregularities revealed last week by the State Board of Elections:

"I think the members by and large feel that he should not be here and that's the way I feel," Hackney said. "He should not be here. It's time for him to resign."

Previously, the Wilmington Journal, Democratic consultant Gary Pearce, Democratic blogger James Protzman a.k.a. Anglico, state Sen. Julia Boseman, the N.C. Public Interest Research Group, the editorial boards of the Wilmington Star-News and the Charlotte Observer, campaign finance reformer Joe Sinsheimer and the N.C. Republican Party called for Wright's resignation.

The editorial board of the Charlotte Observer says Rep. Thomas Wright should resign.

In an unsigned editorial this morning, the newspaper says the Wilmington Democrat's "appalling disregard" for campaign finance laws has made him ineffective.

The editorial says that Wright is "entitled to a legal presumption of innocence," but it's clear he can no longer be a good lawmaker:

He should resign his House seat and make room for a successor who deserves the public's confidence and who'll obey the law requiring full disclosure of campaign fund raising and expenditures.

In addition, state Sen. Julia Boseman, a Wilmington Democrat, has called for Wright to step down.

Previously, the Wilmington Star-News editorial board, campaign finance reform advocate Joe Sinsheimer, the top advocate for the N.C. Public Interest Research Group and the head of the state Republican Party have called for Wright to step down.

A national report on state Supreme Court races praised North Carolina.

The report looked at campaign finances of 2005-06 elections for top state judicial posts. It found that 99 percent of money for North Carolina's candidates came from state residents.

That compares favorably to Georgia, where 50 percent came from out of state.

The report also found that 53 percent of North Carolina's judicial campaign money came either from the public financing or from contributions of less than $100.

The report was done jointly by the Justice at Stake campaign and the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law and the National Institute for Money in State Politics.

A legislative ethics committee will look into Rep. Thomas Wright's dealings.

House Speaker Joe Hackney said he will recommend the Joint Legislative Committee on Ethics investigate whether Wright broke House rules.

But because many of the allegations concern events that took place before stricter ethics rules were instituted last year, it may be hard to prove misconduct.

In a blistering editorial, the Wilmington Star-News called on Wright to resign. (WS-N) But House Democrats were not willing to go that far.

Rep. Hugh Holliman, the House majority leader, said there are "serious charges," but Wright will have to "judge for himself" if he is still effective. (AP)

Asked by reporters if he would resign, Wright said, "Why should I?" (N&O)

Investigators said Tuesday that Rep. Thomas Wright spent campaign money on personal items.

Among the stores he was alleged to have spent the money, one stood out: Victoria's Secret.

Elections officials were reluctant to release more details, but they did say that records show at least three payments from accounts with campaign money in them at the lingerie retailer.

In August 2001, Wright spent $413.91. In January 2002, there was a $28 bill. And then, two days before Christmas in 2002, Wright spent $105.44 in campaign money.

No details were released on what was purchased or at which store he shopped.

A top advocate for the N.C. Public Interest Research Group has called for Rep. Thomas Wright to step down.

In a short post on the NCPIRG blog, Rob Thompson told Wright to "quit your job, plead guilty, and go to jail" after yesterday's campaign finance hearings:

Anyone who was involved in North Carolina politics knew that former Speaker Jim Black was corrupt and deserved to go to jail well before he plead guilty to corruption charges. However, many of us patiently waited to pass judgement (publicly) until he entered his plea. Sorry Rep. Wright, I'm not ignoring the obvious this time - you should step down.

Earlier today, former Democratic operative Joe Sinsheimer called for the House to consider expelling Wright.