A family feud may be brewing between two cousins who are former members of the state Board of Transportation — Louis Sewell and Tommy Pollard.

According to the Jacksonville Daily News, the N.C. Department of Transportation is removing a traffic light that Pollard got installed 20 years ago while he was on the board, Dan Kane reports. The light caused some controversy for Pollard because he owned property at the location. A state investigation cleared him of wrongdoing, but also suggested the board needed better conflict-of-interest rules.

Pollard wrote a letter to the Daily News protesting the light's removal, and in a Daily News story published on Monday, he suggested his cousin may have had something to do with it.

"Louis Sewell has the political power and clout even today to keep the stoplight's removal on the backburner if he wanted to," Pollard told The Daily News.

Sewell told the paper he did not push for the light's removal, but he did pass along complaints about the light to the DOT.

The DOT told the paper that the light is being removed after a study in October showed it wasn't warranted. Earlier this year, the DOT had spent about $40,000 to upgrade it, the paper reported.

Sewell resigned from the board in September after The News & Observer reported that he had steered state transportation money for two projects near land that he or a son co-owns.

Pollard told the Daily News that he informed Sewell in the summer that he was backing Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory for governor. At a recent campaign event, Pollard boasted raising $50,000 for McCrory's campaign.

Sewell has been a longtime Democratic fundraiser, even though he is a registered Republican. He backed the winner in the race, Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue, a New Bern Democrat.

Sewell told the Daily News that he was not happy with Pollard's decision to support McCrory.

The latest twist in the Board of Transportation fundraising controversy has gubernatorial candidate Beverly Perdue calling upon her opponent, Pat McCrory, to support her proposal for a private endowment that would finance future elections.

Today, The N&O reported that a big fundraiser for McCrory, the Republican Charlotte mayor, had done virtually the same thing as one of Perdue's fundraisers — use his clout as a transportation board member to steer a road project near property he owned. McCrory's fundraiser, Tommy Pollard, did it 20 years ago, while Perdue's fundraiser, Louis Sewell, did it four years ago, Dan Kane reports.

Pollard and Sewell are cousins who live in Jacksonville. Pollard supports Republicans, while Sewell, a registered Republican, generally supports Democrats. Pollard's actions on the board were subject of a state investigation, but no wrongdoing was found. Sewell became the subject of an ethics investigation and resigned from the board last week.

Sewell's troubles caused McCrory to press for Perdue to return any funds Sewell had raised for her in the past eight years. Today, Perdue said McCrory should back her endowment fund that would provide equal amounts of campaign money to legitimate candidates, freeing them of having to raise money from special interests.

"If Pat McCrory believes his own words, he should join Bev Perdue in supporting campaign finance reform that would take the big money out of gubernatorial elections," said Perdue spokesman David Kochman.

Last week, Pat McCrory argued that Beverly Perdue should return campaign donations raised by a Board of Transportation member who steered public money to road improvements near properties he or a son co-owned.

He ended the week by attending a fundraiser on Emerald Isle that pulled in more than $100,000 — half from Tommy Pollard, a former transportation board member from Jacksonville who did the same thing 20 years ago.

McCrory's campaign said they will not return the $50,000.

"It's a bogus story to compare someone who is -- as a volunteer citizen of the state of North Carolina with no power — out raising money, compared to someone who is sitting on the Board of Transportation and is using that position to raise money," Jack Hawke, McCrory's campaign strategist, said Wednesday.

He added, "What happened 25 years ago has nothing to do with what's happening today."

In 1989, the State Bureau of Investigation probed whether Pollard violated state law by pushing for the installation of 10 traffic lights at an intersection where he owned property. It found no violation, but the then attorney general said the law needed to be changed. (N&O)