The N.C. Coalition for Lobbying and Government Reform, of which JLF is a member, has closely examined the recent stories about fundraising and private meetings by the N.C. Board of Transportation ? and it doesn’t like what it sees. Coalition director Jane Pinksy has emailed this response:
The folks who take care of our roads, bridges, buses, trains and bike paths seem to have a hard time understanding and remembering the rules or maybe they don?t think the rules apply to them.
The Board of Transportation, which makes decisions about where roads and bridges are built, what gets repaired and when, regulations for oversize loads and trucks on our highways, etc, is discovered to spend almost as much time in the business of fundraising for candidates as they do making sure that our roads are adequate and safe. The Secretary of Transportation, the 19 BOT members, and their families have given $1,000,000 to state candidates and parties from 1999 to 2006. We have no clear idea of how much they may have raised for candidates from other people.
Then the Blue Ribbon Panel appointed to figure out our transportation needs for the 21st century decides to skirt open meeting laws and have a dinner, for social purposes only, on Figure 8 Island – a private community that most of us will never get to visit. Among the people who are on the panel and who benefit from this social time is at least one lobbyist who is no longer supposed to have the benefit of ?social time? with legislators. Even the host of the dinner, Lanny Wilson, who is a major Democratic fundraiser, and also sits on the Board of Transportation, couldn?t guarantee that they wouldn?t discuss business at the private meeting.
Rep. Becky Carney is to be congratulated for being concerned about how it looked. It didn?t look good.
Since it is our money and our roads they are discussing, it might be a good idea if the did it in public. North Carolinians work hard for their money and they would like to know how it might be spent. A little openness and transparency is called for here.
