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.

   Comments (1)

State Board of Elections chairman Larry Leake asked a series of questions Tuesday suggesting that the board believes Mike Easley's gubernatorial campaign had a strategy to funnel contributions through organizations in an effort to skirt contributions limits.

Dave Horne, a lawyer who served as campaign treasurer for Easley's first and second campaigns, testified that he was not aware of such a strategy. The board showed him several documents that suggested the campaign wanted contributions to go through political parties and organizations to get around the state's limit of $4,000 per individual for election cycle.

"This gives us the ability to raise money from entities thought prohibited such as corporations," Leake read from a document the board believes was prepared by a campaign official.

One of the organizations, according to testimony, was the Democratic Governors Association.

Update: Horne testified that Scott Falmlen, the former executive director of the N.C. Democratic Party, was clear that money in the possession of the party was the party's to spend in accordance with the law.

"He was aware of the law. We both knew the law and he was very clear about who controls funds in the possession of the Democratic Party," Horne said.

Gov. Beverly Perdue says there's a good reason why she didn't join most of the nation's other Democratic governors in signing a letter supporting health care reform.

Perdue says she was too busy with an economic development trip to consider the letter.

The letter was assembled by the Senate Majority Leader and the Democratic Governors Association, Talking Points Memo reports.

It's a standard letter addressed to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi and Minority Leader Boehner, telling them states "will only achieve the health care security and stability they need if we succeed in working together with the Congress and the President to achieve health care reform."

Perdue was one of six Democratic governors who did not sign the letter. Talking Points Memo and some bloggers have read the missing signatures as a sign of how tough the health care battle is.

In North Carolina's case, that may be overstating things. Perdue was given a copy of the letter Wednesday between meetings, Perdue spokeswoman Chrissy Pearson said.

"She didn't feel she had enough time to give it due consideration," Pearson said. "Her focus that day was the trip to New York City. It was a very grueling schedule."

Pearson said Perdue agrees with the points made in the letter.

   Comments (3)

Gov. Mike Easley is discussing foreclosure, education and the law this week.

According to a schedule provided by the governor's office today, Easley had several stops in Washington after going to an economic summit with President-elect Barack Obama in Philadelphia Tuesday.

During a three-hour stopover, he was interviewed by BBC America about the summit, met with state and federal education experts interested in the state's Learn and Earn and 21st Century Skills programs and met with 20 of his colleagues at the Democratic Governors Association.

Easley, a former North Carolina attorney general, is meeting today and tomorrow with the National Association of Attorneys General conference in Florida about the state's predatory lending laws and home foreclosure reduction laws, which other states are considering as a model.

He will make a formal speech in the morning.

"The National Association of Attorneys General winter conference is an all business, non-press event, which is why they asked the Governor not to publicize his speech," wrote spokeswoman Renee Hoffman in an e-mail to Dome.

She added that Easley reimburses the state for any trips "of a political nature."

Previously: Why is Easley stopping in D.C., Florida?

Labor unions last week gave $730,000 to the N.C. Democratic Party, which in turn gave large contributions to the party's nominee for governor.

Campaign finance reports show that the state Democratic Party received $730,000 from three union political action committees. The party then turned around and gave Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue's campaign an $875,000 contribution and spent $245,000 to send mailers on her behalf. That infusion of cash represents a quarter of the $4.6 million Perdue raised in the last three months.

Detailed campaign finance reports for the last three months are not yet publicly available. The donations were included in required 48-hour reports over the last week.

More after the jump.

   Comments (2)

DENVER – Who would've thunk it?

North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley seems to be enjoying politicking at the Democratic National Convention.

Easley, who normally eschews politics, has been busy working the convention.

He has been attending fundraising receptions for the Democratic Governors Association, has given more than 20 press interviews and is speaking to delegation breakfasts in such states as Kansas, North Carolina, Michigan Arizona and Virginia.

He also also been networking with law firms and companies hosting receptions.

More after the jump.

   Comments (2)

Republican gubernatorial candidate Pat McCrory is airing a TV ad touting his support for offshore drilling and attacking Democratic rival Beverly Perdue's position.

What it says: The ad shows McCrory speaking against a white background as images of a recent ad attacking him and high gas prices show nearby. "I'm Pat McCrory, candidate for governor, and I approve this ad. While my opponent's secret allies are running misleading negative ads, I'm seeking solutions to help create jobs and lower gas prices. I support conservation, deep-sea exploration for natural gas and oil. Beverly Perdue is 100 percent opposed and says it won't happen on her watch. I agree. It'll happen on my watch with your support. I'm Pat McCrory and the difference is leadership."

The background: In mid June, national Republicans began calling for a reconsideration of a federal moratorium on offshore drilling in the United States.

On June 18, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beverly Perdue issued a press release saying she was "100 percent opposed to oil drilling off the coast of North Carolina."

At an appearance before the N.C. Press Association that day, Perdue said that drilling would never occur during her administration.

"On my watch, we'll never solve the gas problem by drilling off the coast of North Carolina," she said. "That's politically popular. If you want somebody who looks at a poll and gets solutions, that's not me."

On Aug. 13 — the same day that McCrory unveiled his ad — Perdue announced that she had shifted positions in a letter previously sent to U.S. Rep. David Price but not made public until then.

She now says she would appoint an independent panel of scientists and engineers to study the issue before making a decision on whether to allow offshore drilling in North Carolina.

Spokesman Tim Crowley said that Perdue has "consistently supported" offshore drilling on federal land already under lease in other states and would support drilling in North Carolina only under certain conditions.

McCrory supports offshore drilling in North Carolina, promoting mass transit, requiring state-owned cars to use alternative fuels and providing tax incentives for homeowners and businesses to be more energy efficient.

A 2007 report from the U.S. Department of Energy found that offshore drilling would not lead to lower gas prices until 2017.

The Alliance for North Carolina, an independent group funded by the Service Employees International Union, the Democratic Governors Association and the National Education Association, has run ads critical of McCrory and released proposals that echo Perdue's plans.

A previous Claims Department by the N&O found the group's first ad overstated its case on two points.

Is the ad accurate? Mostly — at the time. Perdue said she was "100 percent opposed" and drilling would not happen on her watch. Now that she's changed positions, the ad is no longer true, however. The ad does not make a distinction between offshore drilling in North Carolina and other states, but the reality is that Perdue is running for governor here. Calling the Alliance for North Carolina Perdue's "secret allies" is a stretch.

Note: We have made a  change to our judgment of the ad after the Perdue campaign provided more information.

The Alliance for North Carolina, a Democratic group funded by the National Education Association, the Democratic Governors Association and the Service Employees International Union, is airing a TV ad attacking Republican gubernatorial nominee Pat McCrory's record.

What it says: The ad shows blue-collar workers, the Eiffel Tower and piles of cash alongside pictures of McCrory. "Will Pat McCrory’s policies move North Carolina forward? Pat McCrory opposes raising the minimum wage for North Carolina workers, but McCrory supports pay raises for politicians, including himself. And Pat McCrory supports more perks for politicians. He even accepted free travel to Paris for himself and his wife. Call Pat McCrory. Tell him North Carolina needs higher wages and more jobs, not perks for politicians. Go to alliancefornorthcarolina.com and read our economic plan to keep North Carolina on the move." At one point, the text on the screen reads: "Pat McCrory Opposes Raising the State Minimum Wage Without Conditions."

The background: Seeking to boost its trans-Atlantic business, U.S. Airways added nonstop flights from Charlotte Douglas International Airport to Paris in 2000.

Then-Gov. Jim Hunt used the occasion to lead an 11-day trade mission to France and Germany with 31 other state officials, including Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory and his wife, Ann.

The airline paid for Hunt, a state trooper and the McCrorys to fly first-class to Paris. The mayor and his wife then paid their own way to Italy for a vacation, and the airline flew them back from Rome to Charlotte for free.

At the time, McCrory noted that the return flight from Rome was the same value as the trip over to Paris, so his vacation did not add any additional cost.

The state paid for airfare, lodging and meals for state officials who accompanied Hunt and McCrory. The Carolinas Partnership, an economic development agency in Eastern North Carolina, paid for members of the business community on the trade mission. Two state legislators on the trip paid their own way.

McCrory has made broad statements of opposition to the minimum wage as recently as May, but he has recently said that he would support an increase if coupled with tax breaks for small businesses or tied to increases in the cost of living.

The Charlotte mayor does not typically vote on the city budget, which includes pay raises, but he can veto it. If he does, it takes seven out of 11 votes from the City Council to override his veto.

In 1998, McCrory broke a tie, voting with the City Council's Republicans to overturn a pay raise for city leaders that would have boosted his own salary by several thousand dollars.

This year, the City Council narrowly approved a pay raise for members and the mayor. McCrory did not make any public statements on the raise and did not veto the budget, but his campaign staff said recently that he opposed it.

Is the ad accurate? Mostly. The narration overstates McCrory's current position on the minimum wage, although the text on the screen correctly notes he would add conditions. The ad overstates McCrory's support for pay raises for city officials. McCrory did accept free tickets to Paris.

Pat McCrory planned to go on the air after Labor Day.

The Republican gubernatorial candidate said today that he was forced to begin airing his own ad today because of an ad run by the Alliance for North Carolina attacking his record.

"We did feel like we need to let the public know that much of this ad was very misleading and very inaccurate," he said.

He called the Alliance, a 527 funded by a teachers' union and the Democratic Governors Association, a "very mysterious group" based in Washington, D.C.

He also said it was "extremely inappropriate" that the ad instructed viewers to call the Charlotte mayor's office, which has received about 300 calls during the past two weeks.

"The good news is over 60 percent of those calls have actually been people very upset about the ad and ... wanting to inform me of their support for the campaign," he said.

McCrory's ad notes that he has been attacked, but does not directly rebut the Alliance ad. Campaign consultant Jack Hawke said that they did not want to get into a "tit for tat" argument with an outside group.

The McCrory campaign intends to spend $150,000 over the next 10 days airing the ads in the same markets as the Alliance ad — essentially the state's major urban areas except for Charlotte.