Speaker Jim Black now has given us a real mystery.
Recall yesterday that the local KR paper reported that Black had ended his ties with his political director Meredith Norris, who is now under state invesitgation for her role in the passage of North Carolina’s $1.2 billion lottery. Black said he ended that relationship some time ago:
Black said Norris stopped her unpaid political duties for him a month or two ago “when that started to bother people, that they thought she had some kind of inside track” on the lottery or other issues.
In an e-mail dated Sept. 6, she still identified herself as Black’s political director.
Now comes a solid report that Black and Norris were still working closely together as of just a few weeks ago. As usual, Charlotte residents interested in the story have to turn to the N&O for the latest news on Black.
Black released Meredith Norris from the unpaid position “several weeks ago,” said her lawyers, Mark Calloway and Thomas Walker. But 17 days ago, Black and Norris attended a Las Vegas conference at which Norris was described as a political director. …
Less than three weeks ago, Black attended the National Speakers Conference in Las Vegas with his wife, Betty; Norris; and his legislative legal counsel, Dianna Jessup. Norris was listed in conference materials as “Political Director, North Carolina.”
“It was clear he had a lot of confidence in her,” said Stephen Lakis, president of the foundation that put on the event for the presiding officers of state legislatures.
North Carolina has been chosen as host for the 2008 National Speakers Conference, and Black told Lakis at the Las Vegas conference that Norris would be the “point person” handling that event, Lakis said.
Many companies underwrote the conference, which took place from Sept. 28 to Oct. 2 at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. They include GTECH and Scientific Games, two of several lottery companies looking to capture contracts to run North Carolina’s new lottery.
Quite the mystery, huh? Norris goes from “point person” on a 2008 event to out the door in a matter of days. What changed? How about news reports last week revealing that Norris had traded on her access to Black and, contrary to repeated assertions, had de facto performed as a lobbyist for her one-time employer, Scientific Games.
See how this works? A little bit of sunshine in the inner-workings of Jim Black’s political operation and everything changes. No wonder some folks are calling for a federal investigation of how business gets “done” in Raleigh.
