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Rep. Thomas Wright's answering machine must be getting full.

The State Board of Elections suspended the Wilmington Democrat's campaign Tuesday for failing to respond to a letter asking for his most recent campaign finance report.

But the board is not the only one Wright doesn't call back.

Even for a state legislator, Wright has been in more than this fair share of news stories this year for his role in bills recognizing the Wilmington race riots, his campaign finance troubles, a Supreme Court ruling on his district and other issues.

Each story dutifully notes that he did not respond to interview requests. Wilmington Star-News reporter Mark Schreiner has been the most spurned, but Wright has also failed to call back The Charlotte Observer and The News & Observer in recent months.

In fact, the last time he was quoted was on June 7 — more than 50 stories ago — and that quote was not much more than a "no comment."

Are calls for Rep. Thomas Wright to resign unfair since few did the same for Jim Black?

On WUNC's "The State of Things" Friday, Wilmington Star-News reporter Mark Schreiner pointed out a few differences between the troubles of the Wilmington Democrat and the former House speaker.

In an 11-minute interview, Schreiner said that the allegations against Wright are more substantial. He noted that the state Board of Elections hearings were far more pedestrian:

The discussion at the hearing centered on sort of one of these fine points about checks and whether they could be filled out or partially filled out and whether this was exactly according to Hoyle.

When Black pleaded guilty 14 months later, it was for taking illegal cash from chiropractors — a "completely new" charge, Schreiner noted.

He said that a lot of legislators also "felt a little burned" for initially defending Black.