In a split decision issued Tuesday, the N.C. Court of Appeals ruled that a lower court acted appropriately in dismissing a lawsuit filed against former State Treasurer Richard Moore.

The State Employees Association of North Carolina sued in 2008 over a dispute about whether Moore's office had provided public records requested by the group regarding the handling of the state retirement system.

Moore's lawyer argued in Wake Superior Court in June 2008 that the association cannot point to a single specific public record that had been withheld, and Judge James E. Hardin dismissed the suit.

In Tuesday's decision, appeals court Judges Cheri Beasley and Wanda G. Bryant ruled that Hardin was right to dismiss the case, ruling that Moore had fulfilled his obligation under the state's public records law to search his files for documents covered under the request filed by SEANC.

Appeals Court Judge Rick Elmore dissented, writing in a separate opinion that the employees group had shown that Moore had likely withheld records he was legally obligated to provide.

UPDATE: Thomas A. Harris, the chief of staff and general counsel for SEANC, said he will recommend to the group's board that they appeal Tuesday's decision to the N.C. Supreme Court.

"The majority opinion misstates the facts of the case and, as the dissent points out, adds a equirement for maintaining a Public Records Act lawsuit that is not in the law itself," Harris said in an e-mail to Dome.

Moore said: "This news, combined with the other recent news that North Carolina's pension fund was the best performing in the country for this past fiscal year, are nice exclamation points to the end of my 8-year-tenure."

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Gov. Mike Easley liked to call on his trusted campaign advisor Mac McCorkle.

That didn't sit too well with Easley's former campaign manager, Jay Reiff, who was trying to get Treasurer Richard Moore elected governor. 

See, McCorkle was a consultant for then-Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue, who was in a heated rivalry with Moore for the Democratic nomination for governor. 

McCorkle, who was called to testify before the State Board of Elections on Tuesday, said that at some point, Reiff called foul. 

"I think they were strategically worried about my relationship to Gov. Easley and wanted to distance me from Gov. Easley," McCorkle testified. "That was in the midst of campaign war." 

McCorkle was it a tough spot because Easley apparently had him on speed dial.

"I think he initiated more of of the calls than I did," McCorkle said.

Former State Treasurer and gubernatorial candidate Richard Moore works for a San Diego firm that helps companies increase their value.

Moore, a long-time fixture in Democratic politics, has been noticeably absent from campaigning for others and for himself since he lost the Democratic nomination for governor last year to Beverly Perdue.

In April, Moore became a managing director for Relational Investors, which advises large pension funds and invests in companies that are underperforming.

Hat tip: The Insider 

Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory opened the N.C. Republican Party Convention today with a discussion about how to get the state party back on track.

McCrory, who ran for governor against Beverly Perdue last year, urged convention's attendees to not stray from traditional Republican positions and said the party needs to focus on issues such as lower taxes, nuclear power and alternative energy, school choice and national defense, Kevin Kiley reports.

"We are not going to change the way we feel about the issues," he said.

He said these are areas where most citizens agree with the party.

McCrory also took shots at controvseries surrounding the state's Democratic Party, including former Governor Mike Easley and the controversy surrounding his wife's job at N.C. State University.

"One of the saddest things about losing the governor's race is that my wife can't get a job at N.C. State," he said.

Pat McCrory is staying in the political limelight.

Although the longtime Charlotte mayor is retiring from his current post at the end of this term, he will help kick off the state Republican convention this weekend.

McCrory, who lost a bid for governor in November, will deliver a speech entitled "The Road to Victory" at the beginning of the session Friday.

"As a highly effective mayor and visionary leader, Pat McCrory is just the right person to help North Carolina grassroots Republicans set a course for the future," said party chairwoman Linda Daves in a statement. "Pat is the kind of leader that makes fellow Republicans proud to be on his team."

McCrory recently criticized the House budget proposal.

MSNBC is raising the stakes:

GOP Sen. Richard Burr, who, if he wins re-election in 2010, could end up becoming a rising national star, is taking the lead for the Senate GOP on the issue of health care.

Washington types felt the same way about Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory. If he'd won the governor's mansion last year in spite of the Obama blue wave, he would be in the spotlight right now as the new face of the GOP.

On a somewhat related note, Reynolds High is inducting Burr into its sports hall of fame.

A standout high school football player who played in the 1973 Shrine Bowl, Burr went on to play defensive back at Wake Forest University.

Former GOP gubernatorial candidate Fred Smith also played in the Shrine Bowl and went on to Wake Forest.

* Former Gov. Jim Hunt to be featured speaker at 2009 international biotechnology convention in Atlanta, to address science education in states.

* Former Libertarian gubernatorial candidate Mike Munger moves to Germany for the summer; Angela Merkel to be mocked shortly.

* Bill drafting director Gerry Cohen outlines the rules behind the upcoming crossover week. Get ready for a hectic week everybody.

* Media consultant J. Mills Holloway, who is running for former Sen. Vernon Malone's seat, has a campaign manager: Marjorie Fields Harris. 

Council of State races cost $26.3 million more in 2008.

According to an analysis by the National Institute on Money in State Politics, state-level non-judicial campaigns cost $80.9 million last year.

That was a 48 percent increase from 2004.

Most of that money came in the races for governor and lieutenant governor, which went from $19.2 million in 2004 to $42.1 million last year.

Other statewide candidates went up slightly, from $7.4 million to $8.1 million.

Legislative races also remained relatively level, with candidates for the House and Senate receiving $30 million in 2008, up from $28.1 million.

More data is available on the nonpartisan group's Web site.

* Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin is urging legislators to reject bills that would shelve increases in homeowners insurance premiums.

* North Carolina native Brad Woodhouse will leave a labor-backed group to head communications and research for the Democratic National Committee.

* Democratic pollster finds 69 percent support, 13 percent oppose two-track sex education bill in survey of 1,020 voters from Feb. 13-15.

* Political consultant Thomas Mills reveals how an independent expenditure campaign for the SEIU helped Beverly Perdue win in the mountains.

Talk about rubbing it in.

Gov. Beverly Perdue will open the first satellite governor’s office in Charlotte, in the same building where her opponent, Mayor Pat McCrory, has his office.

Perdue announced Thursday that the governor’s office will lease 1,343 square foot space on the second floor of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center. The lease is for $1,500 per month for three years starting in March, Rob Christensen reports.

That is the same building where McCrory, the GOP candidate for governor last year, has his mayoral office.

If McCrory has any objections, he will get a chance to have his say. The lease must be approved by the Charlotte City Council before it is final.

While McCrory had strong support in the greater Charlotte area, Perdue actually carried Mecklenburg County the past election, winning 199,677 votes compared to McCrory’s 199,340.