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Easley Scandal Budget Woes Top N.C. Story ListBY SCOTT MOONEYHAM: CAPITOL PRESS ASSOCIATION Updated: December 26, 2009 at 15:54 pm Two governors -- one leaving office, the other beginning -- probably couldn't imagine the troubles that they would see as 2009 began. **SNIP** Plenty of Scandal Helping that cause may be a year filled with political scandal. Mike Easley left office already having squandered the political capital built as an outsider and anti-politician. The image began crumbling when his wife, Mary, landed a $170,000 job at N.C. State University. By spring, published reports about Mike Easley flying around on private...

North Carolina elections officials penalized former Gov. Mike Easley's campaign $100,000 Friday for not reporting flights provided by a political ally and asked prosecutors to investigate whether he or others broke laws by trying to hide them or other expenses.

RALEIGH -- After having spent much of his life as the hunter, former Gov. Mike Easley is the prey. Easley rose in politics as corruption-busting district attorney and a consumer-oriented attorney general, then as an outsider governor who didn't like good ol' boy politics. That image is a distant memory. On Monday, Easley's reputation suffered deep damage as the State Board of Elections opened several days of hearings into allegations of election-law violations that occurred during his eight years as governor. Gone were the stories of Easley as the young drug-busting prosecutor who kept a shotgun next to his bed...

EDITORIAL: Easley Performance Not Very ConvincingUpdated: October 29, 2009 at 18:43 pm Larry Leake, chairman of the State Board of Elections, asked a pretty good question Wednesday. A couple of days earlier, on the first day of this week's explosive hearings on alleged campaign spending abuses, former Easley friend and supporter McQueen Campbell had testified in great and dismaying detail. Among other damning allegations, he said he and Easley were part of a bogus scheme to hide the cost of repairs to Easley's private residence by listing them as being for air travel. When a campaign aide expressed concern that...

RALEIGH Internal documents from former Gov. Mike Easley's campaign committee suggest a concerted effort to run donations illegally through the N.C. Democratic Party to circumvent contribution limits. The evidence, released Tuesday by the State Board of Elections, included internal campaign memos that outlined ways to extract more money from donors than they could get with straightforward contributions to Easley's two campaigns for governor. The board's questions about the memos were greeted with denials and fuzzy memories from two Easley campaign officials and a top donor. And attorneys for the state Democratic Party contended that Easley's campaign gave to the party...

Hearing on Easley and Democratic Party under way Raleigh | A hearing to investigate the campaign of former Gov. Mike Easley and the state Democratic Party is under way. The State Board of Elections immediately went into closed session Monday to discuss how it will investigate whether Easley’s campaign committee or the state Democratic Party broke campaign finance laws.

Gov. Mike Easley and his wife, Mary, accepted a $137,000 discount on a coastal waterfront lot they bought in 2005, months after Easley's administration granted environmental permits to the developer of the Carteret County subdivision. Easley did not report the 25 percent price break from R.A. North Development, on his state ethics disclosure forms; and his closing attorney, the mayor of Beaufort, did not report the discounted price on the deed registered with the county. It was recorded at the original sales price of $549,880.

Easley, Democratic Party Pay For Improper ContributionsBy NBC17 and AP, NBC17, 2 days, 7 hours ago Updated: Jul. 23 7:35 pm RALEIGH, N.C. - Concerns over former Governor Mike Easley's campaign finances have both his campaign and the state Democratic Party writing checks to cover questionable contributions. The party sent $24,086.22 to the state's Board of Elections, representing seven "in kind" donations -- services that Easley says he did for the party. Easley's campaign added another $2,720 for a series of excessive contributions between 1999 and 2004. It's all tied to an on-going investigation with a lot of focus on...

NCSU Chancellor James L. Oblinger resigned this morning after days of shifting explanations about a deal he cut for former provost Larry Nielsen when Nielsen stepped down last month. Both men are at the heart over a controversy about how former state first lady Mary Easley gained a job at the university in 2005, then an 88-percent pay hike last year to a $170,000 salary. Last month McQueen Campbell, a friend of the Easleys who Gov. Mike Easley had appointed to the NCSU board of trustees, admitted to UNC system President Erskine Bowles that he had told Oblinger that Easley...

Could Easley investigation expand to Perdue?Updated: May 29, 2009 06:36 PM EDT By Melissa Hankins WBTV (Charlotte) - Sources tell WBTV that the federal probe into former Governor Mike Easley's travel records and expenses may grow to include our current Governor, Beverly Perdue. The FBI is investigating trips taken by Easley during his time in office. The News and Observer in Raleigh reports, while in office, he flew on at least 25 private jets provided by several businessmen. Easley didn't pay for some flights, and the value of other trips appears to exceed campaign donation limits. It's a matter of...

Raleigh, N.C. — Gov. Mike Easley on Friday implemented the state's price-gouging law as gas prices jumped amid fears that Hurricane Ike would cripple U.S. refining capacity. Refineries along the Texas Gulf Coast, which handle about one-fourth of the U.S. daily demand, were shutting down operations Thursday and Friday in advance of Ike, which was expected to hit the coast late Friday or early Saturday. Under North Carolina law, the governor must make a disaster or emergency declaration or proclaim an abnormal market disruption for critical goods and services for the state Attorney General's Office to investigate and prosecute allegations...

UNC chief says Mary Easley's raise under review Link only

Easleys took lovely trips abroad; we got the billBy Scott Sexton | Journal Columnist Published: July 3, 2008 It's a rhetorical question with an obvious answer, but one that nonetheless bears asking in light of Gov. Mike "Tax Hike" Easley's lame attempt at explaining the extravagant (and taxpayer-borne) costs of overseas junkets that he and first lady Mary Easley enjoyed. Who is dumber, a European restaurateur who tries to sell a cheeseburger and onion rings combo for $60 or the rube from Brunswick County who pays $60 for it? Hmmm. Yet Easley used that very example in a news conference...

RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley is being lauded by the nation's top teacher lobbying group as "America's Greatest Education Governor." The National Education Association planned to give Easley an award Thursday during the group's annual meeting in Washington. The NEA cites Easley for his "More at Four" program for at-risk preschool students and the "Learn and Earn" program, which allows high school students to graduate with a diploma and an associate's degree. Easley also got the Legislature to create a program that allows students to finish college without debt.

Mary Easley's 88 percent pay raise questionedWednesday, July 02, 2008 | 6:41 PM By Ed Crump Wife of N.C. Governor Mike Easley.RALEIGH (WTVD) -- There is more controversy surrounding First Lady Mary Easley in the wake of expensive taxpayer funded trips abroad by both the first lady and Governor Mike Easley. Eyewitness News has learned that Mary Easley got an 88 percent raise at her job at N.C. State University. Until this week, Mary Easley got paid $90,000 a year to recruit speakers to come to campus. Now her job duties have expanded to include directing a public safety program...

Hillary Clinton is finally getting some good news on the superdelegate front. The Associated Press is reporting that North Carolina Governor Mike Easley will endorse her on Tuesday, a week before the primary in the Tar Heel state. Easley, a popular two-term governor and former attorney general, had supported former North Carolina senator John Edwards before he dropped out of the nomination race. Easley's support could at least help Clinton reduce the size of her expected loss........."

NC-GOV Mike Easley Endorsing Hillary This can't be a positive leading indicator for Obama, I would think. The timing is perfect to get more Democrats in the state to give her another look. And given that Hillary is taking her case to the superdelegates based on the popular vote - plus the Democrats' insane winner-takes-barely-more-than-the-loser system, she's got every incentive to contest North Carolina even if she is all but certain to lose the state. The Clintons are not going quietly.

"RALEIGH, N.C. - Gov. Mike Easley will endorse Hillary Rodham Clinton for president, The Associated Press has learned." "Easley was expected to announce the endorsement Tuesday morning in Raleigh, the state capital, one week before North Carolina's primary on May 6, according to persons close to the governor and to Clinton. The individuals spoke on condition of anonymity because a formal announcement had not yet been made. Easley is a Democratic superdelegate who has served two terms as governor. His decision comes despite several recent polls showing Clinton trailing rival Barack Obama ahead of the state's May 6 primary."

HIGH POINT - As a boy, Gary Don Holt would roam the woods with his father and uncles, hunting for rabbits. It's been more than two decades since he had the chance. Arrested for marijuana possession in Onslow County in 1986, Holt is a convicted felon and must stay away from guns. When his father dies, he'll have to ask his sister to hold on to a family heirloom he has been promised: a shotgun passed from father to son for generations. Holt's felony at the age of 21 has robbed him of much over the years: jobs, jury duty,...

Raleigh — North Carolina cannot turn its back on anyone who wants a better education, including illegal immigrants, Gov. Mike Easley said Tuesday. Easley reiterated his support for a policy shift in the North Carolina Community College System that allows qualified illegal immigrants to attend any of the state's 58 community colleges as an out-of-state student. About 340 illegal immigrants are enrolled statewide, officials said. Easley said he understands why many North Carolina residents oppose the idea. But he said anyone who studies the issue would support it.

Gov. Mike Easley did not want an "heir apparent" in the Durham district attorney's chair, and that is why he extracted a promise from Mike Nifong not to run for the office when he was appointed to it in 2005, a state spokeswoman said Monday. In appointing Nifong to succeed former District Attorney Jim Hardin Jr. -- who became a judge -- Easley merely wanted a "placeholder or non-candidate" to fill the job until last year's election, said Easley spokeswoman Renee Hoffman. That way, those who wanted to compete at the ballot box "would be able to start from a...

Gov. Mike Easley said last month that picking Mike Nifong to be Durham's district attorney was the worst appointment of his career, and he said Nifong broke his promise not to run for the office. Easley told law students in New York that Nifong's decision to seek office in last fall's election almost prompted him to consider yanking Nifong from office. "I almost un-appointed him when he decided to run," Easley said. "I rate that as probably the poorest appointment that I've," the governor trailed off before adding "I've made some good ones."

N.C. Ethics Board To Consider Complaint Against Easley POSTED: 3:25 pm EDT June 2, 2006 UPDATED: 5:52 pm EDT June 2, 2006 RALEIGH, N.C. -- A community group has accused Gov. Mike Easley in an ethics complaint of giving favorable treatment in a marina lease deal to a pair of developers with business ties to one of his campaign donors. Perry Newson, executive director of the State Board of Ethics, said Friday that the board will consider the complaint at its meeting Wednesday. He declined additional comment. Through a spokeswoman, Easley denied the allegations. . . .

Wearing a white Bush-Cheney '04 T-shirt, Jeff Hubbard was distinctly in the minority Tuesday night when Howard Dean popped into a pizza restaurant to roast President Bush before the State of the Union speech. Hubbard, 24, was surrounded by scores of true believers, the few remaining North Carolina Democrats who still think that Dean, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, can help the party. And Hubbard couldn't have been happier. "I love Howard Dean. I had to see him," he said. "You have to like the man. He's done more for the Republican Party than anybody since Eisenhower." It's...

September 20, 2005 04:00 PM US Eastern Timezone Storm Surge Lifts Governors Barbour, Riley, Easley, Perdue & Perry, but Sinks Blanco, SurveyUSA Finds VERONA N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 20, 2005--Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour-R went up 26 points in "Net Job Approval" from August to September, the largest increase of any of 6 Governors directly affected by hurricanes in the past month, and the largest increase of any Governor in the country, according to 50 separate but concurrent public opinion polls released today by SurveyUSA. Barbour went from a Minus 7 Net Job Approval in August to a Plus 19 Net Job Approval...

Gov. Mike Easley climbed into Hendrick Motorsports' No. 48 car at the Executive Mansion today, blasted out of the driveway and promptly lost control, missing a parked Mercedes sedan and a utility pole by mere inches. He crashed a retired No. 48 car into the wall at Lowe's Motor Speedway two years ago this week.Updated: 3:28 PM Gov. Mike Easley is pushed from a curb after he lost control of a borrowed race car. The incident occurred seconds after he peeled out of the Executive Mansion driveway in downtown Raleigh. Easley narrowly missed crashing into a utility pole and a...

Last Monday, the day before the Senate Appropriations Committee approved the state's 2005-07 spending plan, Gov. Mike Easley's office came out with some good news for the state's budget situation. The governor's office reported that state revenue collections were projected to be $428 million more than anticipated.That should have sent senators jumping for joy. Common sense would have said that such a spike in revenue collections would mean that lawmakers could scale back the litany of tax increases and fees that they had planned. Common sense did not prevail. Instead, Senate budget writers proceeded with their plan to increase taxes...

Some N.C. tax targets not part of U.S. effort Increases on liquor, candy, movie tickets, more may be contested Associated Press RALEIGH - Gov. Mike Easley is seeking sales tax increases on a variety of consumer items, arguing that the jumps are necessary and driven by a nationwide effort to streamline some taxes. But not all of the second-term Democrat's proposed increases apply to goods that are part of that effort -- and they could face significant opposition. Easley has proposed tax increases on items such as phone bills, liquor and cable television. But his planned increases on movie tickets...

Raleigh – Feb 23 Governor Easley’s $16.9 Billion state Budget proposal falls short of promises made in the recent campaign and in his State of the State remarks to the legislature, according to state Senate Republicans.“Fiscal responsibility and controlled spending are budget no shows,” said Senate Republican Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham).  “This budget proposal represents more broken promises and poor choices,” Berger said.The Governor’s budget released Wednesday continues the recent trend of new programs and increased state spending  after months of warnings and complaints that state coffers were $1.3 Billion short on existing commitments.“I just don’t see how you can...

Easley campaign returning money from topless club owner The Associated Press Published: Feb 3, 2005 Modified: Feb 3, 2005 2:40 PM CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Gov. Mike Easley's re-election campaign will return donations it received from a Charlotte-based operator of topless bars. Easley political adviser Mac McCorkle offered no reason for the refund to David "Slim" Baucom, who runs 17 topless clubs, including 12 in North Carolina. Easley, who won re-election in November, has returned contributions from other club owners in the past. Campaign finance reports at the State Board of Elections show Baucom gave $8,000 to Easley during the 2004...

Last updated: January 15. 2005 12:02PM The state's second-most-powerful Democrat says fellow party member Britt Cobb should concede defeat in the still unresolved race for agriculture commissioner. "I personally believe that the people have already settled it - that they voted for (Steve) Troxler and he should be commissioner," Senate president pro tem Marc Basnight told the Winston-Salem Journal. Cobb trails Troxler, a Republican, by 2,287 votes out of more than 3.3 million cast. But because a voting machine error in Carteret County resulted in 4,438 ballots being lost, the State Board of Elections has twice ordered new elections. Both...

Beloved conservative icon and former Senator Jesse Helms will be coming to Kinston, Saturday, to stump for Patrick Ballantine and Richard Burr. Jesse Helms will be at Kings Restaurant in Kinston from 11 until Noon, Saturday, on Highway 70. Here is the Ballantine eastern barnstorm schedule: 7:00 - 7:30 pm Currituck High School Football game Barco, NC Saturday, Oct. 30, 2004 8:30 - 9:30 am Wayne County Breakfast Madison's Restaurant 413 New Hope Road Goldsboro, NC 9:15 - 10:00 am Wayne County "Feast in the East" Goldsboro Fairgrounds (off 117) 11:00 - 12:00 pm Lenoir County Rally and Brunch Special...

Three weeks ago, seven men were charged with gang raping a woman in Huntersville. Most people probably don't associate Governor Mike Easley and the Division of Motor Vehicles with the crime, but there is a connection. All seven men charged in the rape have two critical things in common. All are illegal aliens. And all seven have driver's licenses issued by the state of North Carolina, Huntersville Police Detective A. Dempski confirmed for Creative Loafing last week. Perhaps these men would have come here anyway and committed this crime if they couldn't get a license so effortlessly from the DMV....

An economic incentives package intended to lure a Dell computer assembly plant to the Triad was shaping up Thursday to be one of the state's biggest ever. Legislators said the package, which still was being negotiated, could be worth up to $200 million over the next 20 years, surpassing most other efforts to bring jobs to North Carolina. Dell, a maker of personal computers based in Round Rock, Texas, is shopping for a site on the East Coast to put a 2,000-worker plant. Gov. Mike Easley has called a special legislative session for next week hoping to close a deal...

NEWS SUMMARY SPECIAL SESSION: Gov. Mike Easley has announced a special legislative session for next week so lawmakers can consider an incentives package for a Dell Inc. computer plant in North Carolina, a company official said. Easley sent a letter to legislators asking them to return Nov. 4 at 2 p.m. to consider economic incentives for "projects that would provide the state with significant jobs and investments in computer manufacturing." Easley spokesman Ernie Seneca declined to identify the target of the potential incentives except to say it was for a "major computer manufacturer." Dell spokeswoman Cathie Hargett confirmed it was...

With 10 days to go, GOP candidates in N.C. races broach subject to win votes in a bid that could backfire.Republicans working on behalf of U.S. Senate candidate Richard Burr and gubernatorial candidate Patrick Ballantine are saying on TV, radio and the campaign trail that their Democratic opponents have not done enough to curtail illegal immigration.

RALEIGH, N.C. -- The gubernatorial debate between Gov. Mike Easley and Republican challenger Patrick Ballantine led to sharp criticism, dozens of disagreements and heated exchanges between the two candidates, particularly on taxes.Real entertainment, folks.Full Video Stream Available

The Republican Governors Association planned to spend nearly $500,000 for television ads beginning Thursday in the state's three largest markets to help Republican gubernatorial candidate Patrick Ballantine, the Easley campaign said.The State Board of Elections voted 3-2 along party lines Thursday to block the ads.

Enjoying a comfortable lead in the polls, Easley should have come into Monday’s education debate, held at SAS Institute in Cary, with little to prove and little interest in making news. But that’s not what happened. The governor came loaded for bear, too loaded in fact, and delivered a performance that seemed to me to be nervous, unresponsive, and out of character.He set the tone with an opening statement that generated the best, make that the worst, sound bite of the day. "If Patrick Ballantine is a champion of education, then Saddam Hussein is a champion of civil rights," Easley...

CARYGov. Mike Easley and Republican challenger Patrick Ballantine aggressively attacked each other's integrity and education records during a spirited first debate yesterday, and they outlined rival plans for the state's public schools.Ballantine touted his 10-year record in the N.C. Senate, including support for teacher pay raises, poor school systems and literacy programs. He criticized Easley for diverting money from the teachers' retirement plan, spending too little on new schools and spending too much on school administrators."We need to be first in America in education. We need to challenge ourselves to reach that goal," Ballantine said. "Unfortunately, we aren't having the...

DOUBLE-HEADER TONIGHT! Watch North Carolina gubernatorial Education Debate, Patrick Ballantine MELTS "Tax-Hike-Mike" EasleyImmediately followed by Dick Cheney v. John Edwards On your local UNC-TV outlet, beginning at 8 PM

Easley, Ballantine Spar Over Education In First Gubernatorial DebatePOSTED: 7:04 am EDT October 4, 2004 UPDATED: 12:34 pm EDT October 4, 2004RALEIGH, N.C. -- Opposing views over education sparked a heated exchange Monday between Gov. Mike Easley and his Republican challenger Patrick Ballantine in a debate at SAS Institute in Cary.Easley and Ballantine debated educational issues during the one-hour debate. At one point, both parties backed out of any debate because they could not agree to parameters. Both sides finally agreed to debate education issues first and general issues later. *snip*"If Patrick Ballantine is a champion of education, then...

Threat was not serious, Union man says 9/29/2004 3:09 PM By: Jason Bronis, News 14 Carolina WATCH THE VIDEO Threat Against Governor A former head of the Union County Republican Party was arrested Tuesday and accused of threatening to harm Gov. Mike Easley. MONROE, N.C. -- John Barker admits he shouldn't have said it. "What does it take to get any attention? Do I have to shoot the governor?" Apparently not. All he had to do was say what police interpreted as a threat, and he got plenty of attention. Unfortunately, Barker did not get the response he'd hoped for....

Easley, Ballantine Agree To Two Debates First Debate On Oct. 4 Covers Only Education; Oct. 15 Debate Will Be 'Free Flowing'POSTED: 11:56 am EDT September 29, 2004 UPDATED: 1:14 pm EDT September 29, 2004 RALEIGH, N.C. -- The great debate over the debates is over. Democratic Gov. Mike Easley and Republican challenger Patrick Ballantine have agreed to debate each other twice before the Nov. 2 election. Easley and Ballantine will face each other Monday, Oct. 4, in a one-hour, education-only debate organized in part by the Public School Forum of North Carolina. The 11 a.m. debate at the SAS auditorium...

Easley, Bowles sit out Democrats' gathering By J. ANDREW CURLISS, Staff Writer Published: Jul 27, 2004 Modified: Jul 27, 2004 3:46 PM Missing from this week's giant gathering of Democrats in Boston are two of North Carolina's most high-profile Democrats: Gov. Mike Easley and Erskine Bowles, who is running to replace Sen. John Edwards. Easley and Bowles are staying home while their party's leaders and foot soldiers rally around presumptive nominee John Kerry and his running mate, Edwards. Spokesmen for Easley and Bowles said the two are not running away from Kerry but will be busy in North Carolina and...

Few expected Ballantine's narrow victory over Vinroot, 30.3 percent to 30 percent. And the early end of the governor's primary season is causing some observers to rethink the chances that Gov. Mike Easley, a Democrat, will win re-election.

RALEIGH,N.C. -- Richard Vinroot announced Thursday afternoon that he will not call for a runoff in the GOP Gubernatorial election, thus handing the Republican nomination to primary winner Patrick Ballantine.

RALEIGH – North Carolina now has a rollicking, revealing, and interesting Republican nomination fight for governor. Of course, the primary is on Tuesday, so the arrival of this compelling campaign might be considered a bit late. On the other hand, here we are in the middle of summer holding what is likely to be a low-turnout primary, so who’s to say anyone would have been paying attention until now? Here’s the latest:

Friends and readers, As I mentioned in my most recent column, I am coming under fire for the campaign ads I created using the 9-11 footage. I don't really care what people say about me, but Sen. Fern Shubert's campaign is being unfairly maligned. The ads are entirely truthful, and the video was used because the 9-11 Families For A Secure America endorse her because she is the only candidate in NC working to prevent such attacks from happening again. The ad can be viewed at www.forfern.com. You will also find a longer radio ad and a great deal of...

News Home / News   Topics: NC | Nation & World | Crime & Safety | Health & Science | Education | Growth | Q | CorrectionsColumnists: Rogers | Saunders | Sheehan | Sill   Published: Jun 19, 2004Modified: Jun 19, 2004 5:42 AM Vinroot leads among GOP voters, poll findsNumbers indicate Easley still big challenge Vinroot By LYNN BONNER, Staff Writer Former Charlotte Mayor Richard Vinroot leads the half-dozen Republicans running for governor, but with the primary a month away he is short of what he needs for an outright victory, a new statewide poll shows. Representatives for...