N.C. Department of Transportation

Perdue happy with DOT reforms

bniolet — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:41:20 -0400

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.

Not all Perdue's BOT picks big givers

bniolet — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 08:49:43 -0400

Campaign finance records reveal varied political pedigrees for Gov. Beverly Perdue’s newest picks for the state Board of Transportation.

Perdue is reappointing one board member who was a major contributor in her run for governor, Bruce Siceloff and David Raynor report. She is naming four new members including one who supported her Democratic primary rival and never contributed to Perdue’s campaign.

J. Gary Ciccone of Fayetteville, to succeed Mac Campbell in Division 6. Ciccone, a commercial real estate developer, chairs a bank board and has been a political contributor to two of its members: Sen. Tony Rand of Fayetteville, the Senate majority leader ($1,000 in 2008), and former Sen. Oscar Harris, who was Perdue’s campaign treasurer ($500 in 2004).

Ciccone gave heavily to former Gov. Mike Easley and then backed Perdue’s Democratic primary rival, Richard Moore, before giving Perdue’s campaign $1,000 in late 2007.

David L. Burns of Laurinburg, an agribusiness executive, to succeed G.R. Kindley in Division 8. Burns supported Easley and gave Moore’s campaign $1,000 in 2007, but records show no contributions to Perdue.

Burlington Mayor Ronnie K. Wall, assistant superintendent for Burlington-Alamance schools, to succeed Tony Dennis of Norwood as at-large board member for government-related finance and accounting. Wall gave Perdue’s campaign $1,000.

Sam Halsey of Jefferson, to succeed Arnold Lakey in Division 11: Halsey, a Christmas tree farmer and retired auto dealer, was a major Easley backer. He gave Perdue $200 in 2000, when she ran for lieutenant governor, and $500 in March.

Stan White of Nag’s Head, reappointed to Division 1: White is a builder and Realtor, and his wife gave Perdue $6,000 in 2007 and 2008.

The DOT made me text

bniolet — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 14:31:57 -0400

The state Department of Transportation just announced that it will offer traffic updates on its Twitter page.

So how long before people start getting cited under the new texting while driving ban because they were checking for traffic information?

Dome can picture it now: "I'm sorry officer, the DOT made me do it."

Mindful of this potential, the department's news release trumpeting the new Twitter updates encourages travellers to check alerts before they leave home.

"The goal of this high-tech initiative is to help people 'know before you go,'" Transportation Secretary Gene Conti said in a news release.

The updates are surprisingly specific. Here's a recent post from the Triangle-area feed.

1:57 PM, US-70 W,Boiling St: Traffic is traveling at 22 MPH at: US 70 BUS W; MM 94.4; Boiling St

For those who don't use Twitter, the department has posted instructions on how to sign up for an account and use the traffic feeds.

DOT looking for stimulus money

kkiley — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 11:06:30 -0400

Gene Conti, secretary of the state Department of Transportation, was building bridges this week.

Conti flew to Washington, D.C. on Wednesday to meet with members of the state's congressional delegation or their staffs to try to receive federal stimulus money for the Yadkin River Bridge project. The project seeks to replace a 50-year-old bridge on Interstate 85 near Salisbury.

He also participated in an event held by Duke University to recognize five alumni of the university's Sanford School of Public Policy. Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar and Delaware Sen. Ted Kaufman spoke at the event.

In total, the trip cost the state about $610, including plane tickets, hotel fare and taxi rides.

Correction: Post originally misstated Luger and Kaufman's roles in the event.

Whistleblower sues DMV

bniolet — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 11:15:00 -0400

An assistant supervisor for the N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles' License and Theft Bureau who was fired after blowing the whistle has filed a lawsuit in federal court to get his job back and collect $800,000 or more in damages.

Ken Cassidy was fired in March 2008 after he was accused of violating an order not to talk to any DMV employees in the emissions program, Dan Kane reports.

Several months earlier, Cassidy had tipped The News & Observer to an improper hire within the program and to the fact that some emissions staff had so little work to do that they were finished with their tasks by lunch time.

Cassidy's information undid the improper hire, which also led to the resignation of the bureau's deputy director and the firing of another assistant supervisor. His information also caused DMV officials to give emissions staff additional duties.

Senior Administrative Law Judge Fred Morrison found the order that led to Cassidy's firing "excessive, punitive and unreasonable" and said he should be reinstated. But the State Personnel Commission rejected the opinion. Cassidy has appealed that decision to state Superior Court.

The federal lawsuit names the DMV, the state Department of Transportation and several former and current DMV and DOT officials as defendants, including former DMV Commissioner Bill Gore.

Gore issued the order after learning emissions staff alleged Cassidy had harassed co-workers. Two of those employees acknowledged in a hearing that they were upset that Cassidy had exposed the problems within the emissions program.

Gore and DMV officials said they had not seen the lawsuit and could not comment.

More after the jump.

Who gets a special license plate?

ryanteaguebeckwith — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 15:06:20 -0400

Who gets a special license plate?

Under state law, statewide elected officials and appointees get special low-numbered license plates for their cars.

The plates break down into several categories, based on their numbers:

1-14: Governor, lieutenant governor, speaker, president pro tem, members of the Council of State

15-23: Members of the governor's Cabinet

24-29: Members of the governor's staff

30-107: Chairs and presidents of various state boards, deputy and assistant state officials

108-200: State board members, commission members and employees not otherwise designated

A separate law grants legislators separate plates with the words "Senate" or "House" and their seat number, and another law grants state judges their own plates. Members of Congress and state Department of Transportation officials also have plates.

Bill drafting director Gerry Cohen said the provisions date back to 1975, although special plates of some sort were given out as early as 1937.

DOT board member resigns

ryanteaguebeckwith — Wed, 20 May 2009 14:43:29 -0400

A state transportation board member whose plane flew former Gov. Mike Easley at least twice has resigned today.

Cameron McRae, a businessman from Kinston, notified Gov. Beverly Perdue that he was resigning immediately. She has accepted, Andy Curliss reports.

The News & Observer on May 9 disclosed the flights that McRae provided for Easley, though state law required both men to disclose them.

McRae's obligation to disclose was required by a state law that asks DOT board members to show their campaign activities as part of taking the transportation board seat.

Violation of that law is a misdemeanor unless done with deceit, in which case it is a felony.

McRae indicated in a letter to Perdue that discussions were under way about possibly replacing him since early May.

He wrote: "As we discussed after your election, after over eight years of public service, I am looking forward to devoting more time to my family and over 2,500 North Carolina employees."

Easley had just appointed McRae to a third four-year term on the transportation board in early January, days before Easley left office.

McRae has acknowledged flying Easley on at least two occasions in his corporate plane. Those flights, when combined with campaign contributions from McRae, exceeded allowable limits or violated a state ban on business contributions.

The McRae flights are part of an ongoing state criminal investigation into the Easley campaign. Easley's campaign has said it is working to amend past disclosure reports.

DMV settles lawsuit over firing

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 19 May 2009 15:19:08 -0400

With a payment of $55,000, the state of North Carolina has settled a lawsuit over why Wayne Hurder was fired last October as deputy commissioner of the Division of Motor Vehicles.

Top officials at DMV and the state Department of Transportation originally said Hurder had exerted improper influence in several DMV hirings, Bruce Siceloff reports.

DOT released documents suggesting that Hurder had shaped some personnel decisions to favor job candidates backed by a Greene County political patronage boss, Eddie Carroll Thomas.

Hurder contended in his lawsuit that he was fired for refusing to make improper personnel moves favored by his boss, Bill Gore, who was then the DMV commissioner. The Office of State Personnel later found there was no basis for Hurder's allegations against Gore.

Now Hurder has dropped his lawsuit after DMV agreed in late April to pay him $55,000 and to change his personnel files to indicate that he had resigned. He says the state paid him because it feared he would prevail when the case came before a state hearing officer.

More after the jump.

Quick Hits

ryanteaguebeckwith — Thu, 14 May 2009 11:31:13 -0400

* N.C. Transportation Secretary Gene Conti pushes federal government for more high-speed rail north and south of the Triangle.

* Liberal commentator Chris Fitzsimon says the big story of the week was spending targets set by House budget writers behind the scenes.

* Greensboro News-Record columnist Doug Clark thinks the Racial Justice Act is just an attempt to do away with the death penalty.

* The Terri Schiavo Act had its name changed in committee to the Advanced Directives on Drivers License bill.

Gas tax may not drop this summer

ryanteaguebeckwith — Thu, 07 May 2009 13:19:40 -0400

North Carolina motorists might not get a break in gas and diesel fuel taxes this summer, after all.

The tax is scheduled to drop by 2 cents to 27.9 cents a gallon on July 1. The current tax, 29.9 cents, has been the highest allowed by state law since 2006, Bruce Siceloff reports.

But — to boost revenues for the state Department of Transportation — the Senate Finance Committee this week proposed to make 29.9 cents the minimum rate, instead of the maximum.

If the General Assembly agrees, the July 1 tax cut will be canceled and the rate will stay the same — and it could go higher in the future.

North Carolina's motor fuel tax rate is set by a formula that rises and falls with a percentage of recent wholesale gas prices. The rate is fixed at 17.5 cents plus either 3.5 cents or 7 percent of the wholesale average, whichever is higher.

The Senate Finance proposal would fix the rate at 17.5 cents plus either 12.4 cents or 7 percent of the wholesale average, whichever is higher. That adds up to a minimum tax of 29.9 cents per gallon.

More after the jump.