Ethics, the lottery, racin' and big chunks of lumber
Update: News release here. AP story here. Audio below.
Gov. Mike Easley held a news conference today. The main thrust was to announce he had appointed Judge Robert Farmer as head of the state's ethics board. Farmer is currently undertaking a rewrite of the state's lobbying laws.
Easley also said he had asked Farmer to look at all the various ethics and lobbying reform proposals that have come up in the past few months, and try to mesh them into one comprehensive proposal.
You can listen to the pre-scripted announcement by clicking here. This is a link to a real audio file.
Of course, if you want to hear the fun stuff and good quotes, I recommend this link to the second half of the news conference. (Also a real audio file.) This second link has Q+A time with us scrubby media types. Some highlights:
- Easley doesn't like the feds' proposal to sell thousands of acres of national forest in North Carolina.
"The reasons for selling it to me seem pretty silly," Easley said. Although he didn't sound enthusiastic about the option, if it came down to it, Easley said, the state may look at buying the land from the feds rather than letting it go into private hands.
- "It's not over until it's over and I've seen a lot of deals fall through at the last minute." Yeah, he's talking about the NASCAR Hall of Fame locating - or not - in Charlotte.
- Quote of the Day: "The people have a responsibility to look at the candidates who run for office and see if their conduct meets the standard we want in this state. Voters ultimately make that decision. On the other hand you cannot legislate ethics or morality. But you can make it hurt for people who don't demonstrate good ethics and morality. And Judge Farmer has been one who has shown over the years who has shown over the years that if you don't see the light, he can make you feel the heat." (Comes about 16 minutes and 11 seconds into the audio.)
- Not the quote of the day: "I think there's more than enough blame to go around. What we're looking for right now is solutions."
- Listen for: a press aid to say "last question." There will be about five or six questions after that.