Closed Doors and Loopholes

As the public and press bemoan the sorry state of ethics - or lack thereof - in state government, the news continues to give us prime examples of the culture in Raleigh that provides the fertile soil for these problems to fester. Let's start with the ongoing saga of former power lobbyist Don Beason. Reports are that he earned somewhere in excess of $100,000 lobbying in the first months of this year according to records filed with the Secretary of State's office. But Tom Campbell of NC Spin fame reports that there is a gaping loophole in the law that allows large consulting fees to be paid to lobbyist, ostensibly for something other than lobbying, which go unreported under current law. Mmmm, now exactly where did that $500,000 loan for Jim Black come from?

Then we have the ongoing debacle of the Randy Parton Theater in Roanoke Rapids. With all the shenanigans that went on in putting that deal together, you'd think that local government would be bending over backward to openly deal with the press and public about the financial records of the newly opened, and apparently not so good, shows. No way say town officials. Those records are private. If only the money to subsidize the project had been private instead of financed on the public's back.

And finally, we find out that several athletic scholarships will be financed by the taxpayers in a provision slipped into the final budget. Now it's not a lot of money and certainly won't go far in meeting other more pressing needs but it emphasizes the closed door process involving the budget. And again according to Tom Campbell, the $40 million dollar appropriation for a cancer center at UNC - CH isn't just a one time expenditure but an ongoing one to most everyone's surprise.

We need openness and reform in state government. The press and the public need to be unrelenting in an effort to pull open the closed doors and close the loopholes. The time for reform is long since past due.

More Openness in State Government Needed

A recent posting on the N&O's Under the Dome blog quoted a national public interest group as having given North Carolina a D grade in requirements for public access to the governor's financial interest. Frankly, the state deserves a D for its overall tendency to increasingly opt for lack of disclosure and public access to governmental actions. Whether it's the governor's income, or legislative ethics, or who put together the backroom tax deals for Google, there is an alarmingly dangerous trend to try and keep it all secret from the press and the public. A couple of months back, an Alamance County journalist was arrested for trying to get information about a governmental closed meeting dealing with a proposed economic development project. And the City of Roanoke Rapids has refused a reporter's request for financial information dealing with the publicly funded multimillion dollar boondoggle project put together by Randy Parton and the Moonlight Bandits. Attorneys for the N.C. Press Association argue that the records should be turned over, but local government officials continue to refuse.

Recent editorials in the Charlotte Observer and and Asheville Citizen have advocated for more openness in dealing with legislative ethics and in Asheville's case, a public airing about the ongoing controversy over the water system. If North Carolinians are serious - and they should be - about trying to restore our state's long standing reputation for good government, then we need to get serious about prying open the ever increasing closed door policy of government and let some fresh air and careful scrutiny into the system. Afterall the continuing parade of scandals tainting our state government were, in part, allowed to take place because of a lack of openness. The public deserves better.