Easley campaign paid for flights

A Carolina Journal report Monday raised questions about one of Gov. Mike Easley's appointees and air service he provided to the governor on the campaign trail.

The report is titled "Clues Point to Secret Easley Air Service." But it was not a secret that one of the appointees, McQueen Campbell, had flown Easley around the state, reports Dan Kane.

Easley campaign reports from 2005 show that Campbell's company, Executive Aircraft Services, was reimbursed twice for air travel. The campaign paid the company $4,777.50 on Feb. 18, 2005, and $6,300 on Aug. 11, 2005. John Wallace, an election law attorney representing Easley's campaign, said the payments were for air service provided during the 2004 campaign.

Wallace said the N.C. Democratic Party also helped pay for Easley's air travel. The party's campaign reports reflect a $1,500 payment to Campbell on June 30, 2004, though it provides no details.

More after the jump.

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Easley appointed Campbell to the N.C. State Board of Trustees in 2001 and he now serves as the board's chairman. That same year, Easley appointed Campbell's father, D.M. "Mac" Campbell, to the N.C. Board of Transportation. Both men have been key fundraisers for Easley in Bladen County.

McQueen Campbell could not be interviewed, but he e-mailed a short statement saying that he was reimbursed for flying Easley to campaign events. He had flown Easley during the 2000 campaign as well.

That, too, was not a secret. A Charlotte Observer reporter, Mark Johnson, recalled meeting McQueen Campbell in the cockpit during an Easley campaign flight that year.

But Wallace, Campbell and other campaign officials have yet to show how Campbell was reimbursed for the 2000 campaign.

State campaign finance law requires candidates to record air travel expenses. If a contributor provides them gratis, then the cost needs to be listed as an in-kind donation to the campaign. If the campaign pays for the travel, it has to be reflected as an expenditure.