Gov. Beverly Perdue says she is happy with her transportation secretary's efforts to take politics out of road building.

Dome asked the governor, through a spokeswoman, to respond to calls from Senate Republican Leader Phil Berger to have Transportation Board member Lanny Wilson withdraw from board business.

Wilson testified during a State Board of Elections hearing that he wrote checks to the N.C. Democratic Party that he believed would be forwarded on to former Gov. Mike Easley's campaign.

Perdue did not comment on Wilson specifically, but said Transportation Secretary Gene Conti was succeeding in removing politics from the department's decisions.

"The governor continues to move toward a more transparent state government, and she commends Secretary Conti for all he has done with the DOT and its Board to take politics out of the planning and decision making processes," said Chrissy Pearson, a spokeswoman for Perdue.

Senate Republican leader Phil Berger said Thursday that Board of Transportation member and fundraiser Lanny Wilson should not participate in board activities while state and federal investigations continue.

Wilson was a fundraiser for former Gov. Mike Easley and Gov. Beverly Perdue, who reappointed Wilson to the transportation board.

Wilson testified this week that he wrote and solicited large checks for the N.C. Democratic Party that were intended for Easley's benefit.

Wilson also testified that he gave his fiance money to give to Easley, which would appear to violate a law prohibiting giving in the name of another person.

When she took office, Perdue demanded that her transportation board members adhere to the highest ethical standards.

"Mike Easley appointed campaign fundraisers and high dollar donors to powerful state positions including the Board of Transportation; so has Governor Perdue," Berger said.

"In order to avoid the appearance that the Perdue administration’s approach to ethics is a continuation of Easley policies, Governor Perdue should ask Mr. Wilson to step aside until the legal issues surrounding his fundraising activities are resolved. It is past time to break the cycle of corruption in state government."

Gary Allen, a developer, doesn't remember anything about writing two $50,000 checks to the N.C. Democratic Party.

Lanny Wilson, a friend and business associate to Allen, testified Monday that he briefed former Gov. Mike Easley on a list of things Allen wanted including his seat on the Wildlife Commission and a permit for a boat dock.

Wilson testified that an inner circle of big Easley donors understood that big checks to the party would go directly to Easley's campaign.

Allen, a Charlotte native who now lives in Florida, said he doesn't remember talking to the governor about his permit or any circumstances around writing the checks.

"I don't recall the real details on it," Allen said. "Over the course of those years and a few years before, I've made many contributions, not only to candidates and the Democratic Party, but a lot of nonprofits as well. I don't recall the specifics of that."

Nearly every answer Allen gave during his testimony Tuesday began with the words, "I don't recall."

The first day of the State Board of Elections hearing included plenty of big moments.

Here are four highlights of today's testimony.

HOUSE WORK: Gov. Mike Easley had problems with the renters in his Raleigh home. He asked his friend and political supporter, McQueen Campbell to take care of it. Twice Campbell fixed up the house at a cost of $11,000 or more. Campbell testified that when he asked Easley for money, he understood the governor wanted him to file a false invoice for a flight.

WASN'T ME: Easley's defense may be geared around putting blame on others. Easley's lawyer took pains to point out that Easley never told Campbell to falsify invoices and that Easley's campaign didn't pay for flights because Campbell never submitted invoices for them.

WISH LIST: Fundraiser Lanny Wilson briefed Easley on a host of helpful facts to get him ready for his meeting with Gary Allen, a Charlotte fundraiser. Easley needed to know that Allen wanted to keep his seat on the Wildlife Commission and was trying to get a permit for a boat dock. The meeting went well. Allen gave $50,000 to the N.C. Democratic Party.

PARTY MAN: Easley fundraisers said they were told by Easley's campaign that big checks given to the party would go to the Easley campaign. The message was delivered Wilson said, by Easley attorney and aide Ruffin Poole.

Lanny Wilson testified Monday that he gave his then-fiance money so that she could give a contribution to former Gov. Mike Easley.

State law says donors can't give in the name of another.

No individual, political committee, or other entity shall make any contribution anonymously or in the name of another.

A eastern North Carolina developer, fundraiser and Board of Transportation member testified that he gave checks to the Democratic Party that he expected to be in turn given to former Gov. Mike Easley's campaign.

Lanny Wilson said he and his wife wrote checks to the Easley campaign and were told to re-write the checks for the N.C. Democratic Party.

"It was my understanding that they would flow through the state Democratic Party and the Easley Committee would pay expenses," Wilson said.

Wilson said representatives of the Easley campaign told him it was legal to write checks to the party that were meant for Easley.

State law limits contributions to a candidate to $4,000 per election cycle. There is no limit on contributions to a political party, but checks cannot be designated for a specific purpose.

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Federal authorities are looking into a former land deal by Gov. Mike Easley, according to the company that marketed the property.

Easley purchased a lot in the Cannonsgate development for $549,880 at the end of 2005, according to property records. It was assessed at a tax value of $1.2 million a year later, though it would sell for less today.

Separate reports in 2006 by the Charlotte Observer and the Carolina Journal, a publication of the John Locke Foundation in Raleigh, compared the Easley sale with others nearby and concluded that he got a good deal.

The project was developed and marketed by brothers Randy and William Allen, whom Easley appointed to the state Wildlife Resources Commission. Another Easley appointee, transportation board member Lanny Wilson, helped finance the project with a $12.5 million loan.

All three were major campaign contributors to Easley. (N&O) 

Gov. Beverly Perdue opened the doors of the Executive Mansion to some of her political supporters last week.

Among the invitees was a former Board of Transportation member who had made Perdue's path to the state's top job a bit more arduous, reports Dan Kane.

Louis W. Sewell Jr., a Perdue fundraiser, resigned from the board last fall after The News & Observer reported that in two instances Sewell had advocated for road projects near businesses that he or his son co-owned. He said in both cases he was not trying to enhance his property, but remedy road problems that were affecting general traffic.

Days after the report (and just before Sewell resigned), Perdue was unclear about whether she would attend a fundraiser Sewell was throwing on her behalf in Jacksonville.

When asked if she would reappoint Sewell to the board, Perdue said, "Lord have mercy. I'm trying to win the governor's race."

Sewell cancelled the fundraiser and resigned from the transportation board shortly after that.

Perdue has since changed board operations so that members can not approve road building contracts.

David Kochman, Perdue's communications director, declined to identify all of the roughly 25 people who attended the meeting on March 30. But he confirmed that Sewell and Lanny Wilson of Wilmington, another Board of Transportation member, were there.

More after the jump.

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Names have risen and fallen like the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

But with no Cabinet-level appointments made yet by Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue, the guessing game on her administration continues.

(Perdue has named a transition team, a chief of staff and the head of a public campaign finance project, however.)

Here's the latest rundown:

Transportation: State Sen. Clark Jenkins chairs the Appropriations committee on transportation. Gene Conti is a former assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation. Lanny Wilson is vice chairman of the N.C. Turnpike Authority and has Senate leader Marc Basnight's backing. David Joyner is a transportation expert and head of the turnpike authority. Nina Szlosberg, a Board of Transportation member appointed to oversee environmental issues, has the support of transit advocates, women political leaders and environmentalists.

Correction: Crime Control Secretary Bryan Beatty is reportedly under consideration.

Crime Control: Scott Thomas is the district attorney for Carteret, Craven and Pamlico counties and served in the state Senate from 2000 to 2005.

Juvenile Justice: Linda Hayes has chaired the Governor's Crime Commission since 1995 and is a past chair of the national Coalition for Juvenile Justice.

Commerce: Senate Finance Committee chairman David Hoyle is well known as an advocate for business in the legislature. Rep. Jim Harrell helped pass incentives bills. Former deputy Tony Copeland now works in the private sector.

Revenue: Former state Sen. Oscar Harris served as Perdue's campaign treasurer.

Legislative Liaison: Former Senate budget analyst Andy Willis is vice president of government relations for the University of North Carolina system.

Health and Human Services: Perdue may conduct a national search for this post.

Environment and Natural Resources: Current secretary Bill Ross has served since 2001 and is reportedly interested in sticking around.

Administration: State Rep. Alma Adams filmed a TV ad for Perdue in the primary, but later criticized her transition team for its lack of diversity.

Cultural Resources: Adams, an art professor, may also be considered for this department.

Charlotte Office: Crandall Bowles is the former chair of Springs Industries and wife of UNC system president Erskine Bowles.