How many members did a Republican mayors group have?

When he was elected president of Republican Mayors and Local Officials in 2000, Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory boasted that the advocacy group had 750 members.

But not all appear to have been active.

According to the group's Web site, annual membership dues were just $25. Tax forms filed with the Internal Revenue Service show $2,075 from dues in 2001, $1,525 in 2002 and nothing in 2005.

That would indicate 83 dues-paying members in 2001 and 61 in 2002.

It's worth noting that the dues were voluntary, though the amount is so small that it's hard to see why most wouldn't pay it.

A new ad by Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beverly Perdue argues that Republican Pat McCrory is a "copy" of President Bush.

What the ad says: Perdue speaks: "I'm Bev Perdue. I'm running for governor and I sponsored this ad." The ad then shows images of an office copy machine, with pictures of McCrory going in and Bush coming out. Narrator: "Want to know where Pat McCrory would take us? Just look at who he’d copy. George Bush. McCrory is the only candidate for governor in the country who Bush is campaigning for. McCrory called Bush 'a great president.' And McCrory backs Bush's economic plan all the way that's devastated the middle class, raised gas prices and sent our jobs overseas. On the economy, Pat McCrory is a copy of George Bush."

The background: In 2000, McCrory was elected president of Republican Mayors and Local Officials, a Washington-based advocacy group.

In May of 2003, the group issued a press release quoting McCrory praising a proposal to cut dividends and capital gains taxes being pushed by President Bush.

"What the President's tax cuts will do is enable entrepreneurs and local people to make the best decisions about creating jobs and making needed investments," McCrory said in the release.

The bill was signed into law later that month.

At the 2004 Republican national convention in New York City, McCrory spoke on behalf of Republican Mayors and Local Officials, praising the tax cuts, programs to increase homeownership, brownfields legislation and the war on terrorism.

"We have witnessed leadership in the toughest of times from a great Republican mayor right here in New York City and from a great president during the past four years," he said.

In late July, Bush attended a high-dollar fundraiser at the home of a Raleigh developer to benefit McCrory's campaign, although the two did not appear in public together.

Bloomberg News reported in late September that McCrory was the only one out of 11 gubernatorial candidates that Bush has campaigned with this year.

However, as the ad was released, a Missouri newspaper reported that Bush would also campaign for a Republican gubernatorial candidate there.

Is it accurate? For the most part, yes. McCrory called Bush a "great president" and praised his economic plan. But it's a stretch to say that McCrory "backs Bush's economic plan all the way" based on his support of the 2003 tax cuts.

— Ryan Teague Beckwith

A mayors group led by Pat McCrory sought out corporate sponsors.

The Republican Mayors and Local Officials 527 advocacy group, which the Republican gubernatorial candidate led from 2000 to 2005, advertised for corporate sponsors on its Web site.

"Wanted: Corporate sponsors," read one page. 

"The RMLO hallmark of promoting local governance and partnering with other elected officials at all levels is also extended to those who share RMLO's ideals, including Corporate Sponsors," McCrory wrote in a welcome message on the group's Web site.

Annual sponsorships cost $5,000.

Based on tax forms filed with the Internal Revenue Service, the following groups contributed in 2003: the American Trucking Association and the International Council of Shopping Centers each gave $5,000 and the Bond Market Association contributed $10,000.

In 2005, the shopping centers council, the American Petroleum Institute and the Edison Electric Institute each gave $5,000 and the National Cable and Telecommunications Association gave $10,000.

Other corporate sponsors listed on the group's Web site in 2003 include: the American Chemistry Association, AT&T, Anheuser-Busch, DaimlerChrysler, Fannie Mae, Goldman Sachs, the National Rifle Association and Waste Management.

That and other pages are no longer available online, as the group appears to have let its Web site registration expire in September of 2003. The address was then briefly used by an outside company to advertise Internet porn (NSFW) and is now defunct.

They can be viewed on the Wayback Machine, an Internet archive. 

A group of Republican mayors led by Pat McCrory overspent in 2001 and 2002.

In December of 2000, the Republican gubernatorial candidate was named president of Republican Mayors and Local Officials, an advocacy group based in Washington, D.C. He served in that capacity through 2005.

According to tax records filed with the Internal Revenue Service in the first two years of his tenure, the group spent more than it took in both years, for a total deficit of about $96,000.

In 2001, the group raised $57,500 from contributions, $2,075 from dues and $199 from interest, but spent $119,105 on payments to independent contractors and $59 on printing costs, for a deficit of $59,390.

In 2002, the group raised $20,000 from contributions, $1,525 from dues and $9 from interest, but spent $58,302 on independent contractors, for a deficit of $36,768.

The overspending depleted the group's reserves from $101,948 at the end of 2000 to $5,790 at the end of 2002.

Tax forms for 2003 and 2004 were not immediately available, but forms filed in 2005 showed the group had gotten spending under control and built its reserves up to $23,212 — still far below the amount it had when McCrory became president.

Pat McCrory called for Congress to pass President Bush's economic plan in 2003.

According to a press release issued by Republican Mayors and Local Officials on May 8 of that year, McCrory said Bush's jobs and economic growth plan would have a "healthy effect on local economies and tax revenues."

"What the President's tax cuts will do is enable entrepreneurs and local people to make the best decisions about creating jobs and making needed investments. Small businesses are the engine of economic growth for our cities and towns, and they need help. The President's plan provides that, with $2,042 in tax relief for the average small business owner just this year."

The press release is available on PR Newswire, a wire service for public relations groups.

A new ad from Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beverly Perdue says "McCrory backs Bush's economic plan all the way."

Full text of the press release after the jump.

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Pat McCrory became head of a group of Republican mayors in 2000.

According to a Dec. 13 article in the Charlotte Observer that year, the Charlotte mayor won a yearlong term as president of Republican Mayors and Local Officials:

RMLO executive board members this fall asked McCrory, who faced no competition, to run for president though he hadn't been particularly active in the group, which pushes Republican solutions to municipal problems. He has earned a reputation among mayors, however, particularly as chair of the Energy and Environment Committee for the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

He said that he would spend a day or two each month in Washington, arguing for Republican solutions to municipal issues on behalf of the 750-member group. In particular, he said he would press for local control and against unfunded mandates.

"It gives me access to both the executive and the congressional branch. It helps open doors, and any time you open doors you help Charlotte," he said. "If I meet with (Senate Majority Leader) Trent Lott, Charlotte's request will be in the room too."

McCrory spoke on the group's behalf at the 2004 Republican National Convention. His speech praising President Bush is being cited in a new TV ad by Democrat Beverly Perdue.

Pat McCrory called George W. Bush a "great president" in 2004.

During a two-minute speech at the Republican National Convention in New York City on Aug. 30, the Charlotte mayor praised Bush's leadership on behalf of the Republican Mayors and Local Officials 527 group.

"As mayors, we are on the front lines of government," he said. "So I'm pleased to say that our president has been a very good friend to mayors."

He spoke about brownfield legislation that rehabilitates industrial waste sites, tax cuts and increased homeownership and "strong and decisive leadership" from Bush on terrorism:

"But most of all, President Bush has helped cities by reassuring people through strong and decisive leadership on the war on terrorism. He understands that to protect our cities we must take the war to those trying to destroy us. We have witnessed leadership in the toughest of times from a great Republican mayor right here in New York City and from a great president during the past four years. Cities large and small will benefit by having President Bush leading us for another four more years."

A new ad from Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beverly Perdue attacks McCrory for his ties to Bush, noting that he called him "a great president."