State Board of Elections chairman Larry Leake said the board would still like to talk to Ruffin Poole, a patronage boss, lawyer and aide to former Gov. Mike Easley.

The N.C. Court of Appeals was considering Friday a judge's order granting Poole the right to not testify to the board.

The Board of Elections members are, from left, Anita Earls, Bob Cordle, Larry Leake, Charles Winfree and Bill Peaslee.

Staff photo by Shawn Rocco.

Dave Horne, who was treasurer for former Gov. Mike Easley's gubernatorial campaign, struggled to understand or remember the answer a lot of questions during his testimony Tuesday.

Horne (at right studying a document with attorney David Long) testified that in his role as treasurer he over saw thousands and thousands of contributions and expenses and that he did not see it as his job to review the daily activities of the campaign.

Horne was asked by chairman Larry Leake about a memo that stated money could be funneled through the Democratic Governors Association by individuals who wouldn't necessarily want their names on a campaign finance report, "controversial" people as the memo explained it. Horne said he didn't understand the concept.

"I'm not sure what's meant by 'controversial individuals' and I don't recall any discussions about that," Horne said.

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Gov. Beverly Perdue appointed members to the State Board of Elections on Monday.

Perdue was required by law to appoint members from lists submitted by the state political parties. The board includes three Democrats and two Republicans who serve four year terms.

Perdue reappointed Democrats Larry Leake of Mars Hill and Robert Cordle of Charlotte, as well as Republican Charles Winfree of Greensboro. New appointees were Democrat Anita Earls of Durham and Republican William Peaslee of Raleigh.

They replace Democrat Genevieve Sims and Republican Lorraine Shinn.

Earls is executive director and founder of the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, a position she has held since September 2007. From 2003 to 2007, she was director of advocacy at the UNC Center for Civil Rights. Earls also served as deputy assistant attorney general for civil rights at the U.S. Department of Justice from 1998 to 2000.

She received a law degree from Yale University and an undergraduate degree from Williams College.

Peaslee runs a general practice law firm in Cary. He was political director, special legal counsel and chief of staff of the state Republican Party until 2006.

Peaslee received a law degree from Campbell University and an undergraduate degree from UNC-Chapel Hill.

The State Board of Elections supervises and regulates primary and general elections in North Carolina.