Joe Sinsheimer says more change is needed at the General Assembly.

The former Democratic campaign consultant released a statement Wednesday on the conviction of former state Rep. Thomas Wright. Sinsheimer filed the initial complaint against the Wilmington Democrat in December 2006 with the State Board of Elections.

Here's his statement:

Thomas Wright's latest felony conviction is a sad end to a once promising political career.

Wright seems to have been undone by the same toxic combination of arrogance, hubris and greed that led to the downfall of former Speaker Jim Black. The indictments and convictions will continue until either the leadership of the General Assembly decides to change the culture of the institution or voters adopt a 'throw-the-bums-out' mentality.

Neither seems imminent, although both would be welcome.

Several lawmakers are subjects of ongoing investigations. The State Board of Elections is investigating a complaint about Sen. Julia Boseman, a Wilmington Democrat, and it has been reviewing the campaign finances of several Mecklenburg County Democrats in response to an investigation by The Charlotte Observer.

The House of Representatives voted in March to expel Wright from office, the first expulsion since the 19th century.

Correction: An earlier version of this post misstated whether any lawmakers are under investigation.

John Davis is no longer listed as the executive director of N.C. FREE.

After leading the business-backed research group for 23 years, Davis is working on contract as a political consultant for the group, its Web site says. The change in leadership follows several months of turbulence at N.C. FREE, including the departure of some of its biggest dues-paying members.

N.C. FREE lists Ron Ottavio as its interim executive director. Ottavio worked for Wachovia for 33 years before retiring. He spent his last six years managing the company's lobbying efforts in 16 states, and he was a registered lobbyist in Raleigh.

Ottavio also serves on the board of N.C. FREE's sister group in Virginia. Neither Davis nor Ottavio returned messages Monday from Dome.

N.C. FREE has long been known for its analysis and handicapping of N.C. elections, particularly elections for the General Assembly. Some members of the business community use the information to help decide where to contribute money.

Gov. Mike Easley has called the legislature back.

The session will start 11 a.m. Wednesday.

Easley had to call lawmakers back if he wants his veto of a boat bill to stand, because the law requires the governor to call a session so legislators can consider an override. Legislative leaders have signaled that they are interested in seriously discussing an override of the bill, which allows wider boat trailers to travel on state roads. 

An oversight committee expressed concern Friday that the N.C. lottery's benefits to education could be overstated.

Members of the Lottery Oversight Committee said that, in at least some cases, state lawmakers and Gov. Mike Easley appear to have used lottery revenue only to replace education money that would have come from elsewhere.

"It appears that there is a substantial degree of supplanting and not 100 percent supplementing," said Myron Coulter, co-chair of the committee and a former chancellor of Western Carolina University.

Committee members pointed to two of the four programs that the lottery is supposed to help fund: the More at Four program for pre-kindergarteners and teacher salaries to reduce elementary-school class sizes. In both cases, they said they suspected that lottery revenue is supplanting money that the General Assembly would have found from elsewhere.

"It appears to be the consensus of the committee that that's not a good thing," said co-chair William Harrison, superintendent of the Cumberland County Schools.

The committee said it intends to study the issue further and consider recommendations for lawmakers.

UPDATE: Easley budget adviser Dan Gerlach argues there has been no supplanting of previous education funding.

In a response sent Friday to Dome, Gerlach said the proper measure should be overall pre-K-12 education spending, which has continued to go up since the lottery's passage. The oversight committee should not try to speculate on what might have happened to specific programs without the lottery, he said.

Beverly Perdue tackled education as a third-term state senator.

During the state legislature's 1995-96 term, 12 of the 51 bills she sponsored dealt with North Carolina's public schools.

Successes included bills to ask the State Board of Education for recommended changes in the public school system, allow local school boards to expel dangerous students and prevent education officials from requiring that learning disabled students complete Algebra I.

Perdue also introduced bills to give teachers the same longevity benefits as state employees and reward teaching excellence.

Less successful was an attempt to create a "Common Sense Regulatory Review Commission."

Apparently, the legislature decided that common sense does not require regulation.

How effective were Triangle legislators in 2007?

Rep. Joe Hackney of Orange County was the most effective state representative in his first term as Speaker of the House, according to rankings released Wednesday by the N.C. Center for Public Policy Research. Hackney improved from his No. 3 rank in 2005.

Reps. Mickey Michaux of Durham and Reps. Deborah Ross, Dan Blue and Paul Stam, all of Wake County, rose in the ranks and made the top 10.

Blue, a former Speaker who came out of retirement to rejoin the House in 2006, and Michaux both have been ranked in the top 10 in previous years.

Stam, who serves as House Minority Leader, was the only Republican to make the top 10. He jumped to that spot from his 2005 rank of 42.

Sen. Richard Stevens, a Wake Republican, was the highest ranked state senator from the Triangle at No. 17.

How effective were the state legislators who now are running for state-wide offices?

Sen. Walter Dalton was the most effective of the candidates for major office, according to a survey by the N.C. Center for Public Policy Research. He ranked sixth in the state Senate for 2007.

Still, Dalton, who is running for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor, dropped slightly from his 2005 fifth-place spot. He has ranked in the top 10 since 2001.

Sen. Kay Hagan, a candidate in the Democratic primary for Republican Elizabeth Dole's U.S. Senate seat, ranked just behind Dalton at No. 7. She maintained her 2005 rank and has been in the top 10 since 2003.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Fred Smith, a state senator from Johnston County, was No. 38 — his lowest effectiveness rank since taking office in 2002.

Sen. Janet Cowell maintained her 2005 rank of 25. She is running for the Democratic nomination for state treasurer.

Cowell's potential opponent in the treasurer's race, Republican Rep. Bill Daughtridge, was ranked the 50th most effective representative in the state House.

In her second state senate term, Beverly Perdue again focused on marine resources.

Three of the 11 successful bills that she sponsored modified the laws regarding appointments to the Marine Fisheries Commission, allowed the Department of Agriculture to regulate the production and sale of commercially raised fish, and permitted the secretary of Environment and Natural Resources to grant shellfish cultivation licenses and study marine litter prevention.

Other successes prohibited hunting from some Craven County roads and created a commission to develop state-wide education standards.

Perdue sponsored 86 bills during that term.

Her community college efforts were less successful. All four bills failed, including one that would allow motivated 12-year-olds to attend community colleges.

Lobbyists, political science students, government employees and interested retirees were among the gallery spectators at Rep. Thomas Wright's expulsion hearing in the House.

The various elementary- and middle-school tour groups milling around the legislative building appeared somewhat disinterested in the proceedings, but former lobbyist Carole Smith said the hearing was history in the making.

"This is a part of history," she said. "I want to see it."

N.C. State University junior political science major Tim Lipka said he's watched the General Assembly in action before but didn't want to miss out on an event he's read so much about.

"On one level, it's kind of fun watching it happen because you always read about it," he said.

Nelson Lane said he drove more than an hour from Faison to attend the session, and he thinks the House made the right choice in voting to expel Wright.

"I've been listening to it and reading about it," he said. "I think they did the right thing from the charges I had heard against him."

More after the jump.

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As a second-term state representative, Beverly Perdue sponsored 10 successful bills.

During the 1989-90 session, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate sponsored bills that added a local government employee to the State Personnel Commission, created a central clearinghouse for information on preserving state historic properties and established an advisory committee on home and community care.

She also sponsored a successful bill declaring that drug- and alcohol-addicted children are not considered "children with special needs," but the state should secure an "appropriate education" for them.

She was not as successful in 11 bills that would have directed funds.

Bills to support education foundations, fire departments, human services and economic development projects, and the arts in Pamlico, Craven and Lenoir counties were all reported unfavorably by committees.

In all, she sponsored 35 bills that session, including several attempts to promote tourism in the state by creating a tourism study commission and research project.