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 A Gubernatorial Discussion worth Hearing
by Tom Campbell
September 17, 2008
Great news from the gubernatorial campaign. North Carolinians got to see substantive and enlightening public policy discussion when both major gubernatorial candidates presented their ideas about ethics, legislative and lobbying reform to the North Carolina Coalition for Ethics and Lobbying Reform.
Republican Pat McCrory criticized the culture of corruption, intimidation, and conflicts of interest. Democrat Beverly Perdue said she was disgusted, disappointed and angered that things weren’t working and citizens have lost confidence. In separate presentations both promised they were serious about change, indicating previous reforms haven’t restored public confidence in good government.
Perdue said the recent short session budget process was a “personal disappointment to me.” Calling for “Google Accountability,” Perdue focused on live streaming of meetings and legislative sessions, reporting that about a dozen states currently do so. She advocates “BRAC” budget reform, an independent commission that would bring ten budget or government reform ideas forth each legislative session, with the legislature forced to vote “yes” or “no” to each. Bev proposes taking the money out of politics, preferring establishment of an endowment to finance future elections while also advocating the elimination of “soft money” contributions from political parties. Perdue also favored a longer “cooling off” period from legislators and ranking government officials before working or lobbying for organizations they once regulated.
McCrory told the committee that some previous reforms might be misdirected, chiding the state for restrictive laws that prohibit a candidate from accepting a soft drink from any organization that has a paid lobbyist. He spoke at length about the intimidation that often takes place when local officials or the media challenge legislators or ask to enter secretive meetings. Pat approached transparency by advocating weekly online disclosure of campaign finance data instead of being filed or posted days prior to elections. He favors public disclosure statements of conflicts of interest, the frequent posting of public e-mails, and promised to veto any budget that contained special provisions, items slipped into the budget without having been debated and passed by one or both houses of the legislature. The Mayor would eliminate all cash contributions. When asked about pay increases for legislators, McCrory proposed a system similar to what is in place in Charlotte, where city council members automatically receive one-half of the pay increase given municipal employees. He spoke against gerrymandering districts, claiming it allowed the far right or left to determine nominees who then had no reason to find common ground solutions best for all.
Both candidates propose more transparency of government contracts, putting them online for all to see. They agree that elected officials should not be allowed to continue raising money for charities, although Perdue had some concerns over being too restrictive. Both agree lobbyists should not be allowed to raise money for political campaigns, though McCrory focused more on transparency and less on restrictions. Both spoke to concerns over fundraising by members (or potential members) of the DOT board, UNC Board of Governors or ABC board.
This was a high-level discussion providing promise that both candidates intend to make further government reforms a priority. It had the excitement, content, detail, and vision that had been largely missing from this campaign. We hope most of their suggestions will become law, but more importantly we welcome the tenor and substance of these discussions and hope they are the first of many to come. Well done. |
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