Moore, Perdue spar over DOT contributions and money
State Treasurer Richard Moore and Lt. Gov. Bev Perdue played their latest game of "Good idea / Bad idea" today.
No, not this game:
But it's sort of similar. In the Tar Heel Politics version, one candidate for governor comes out with a policy proposal saying it's a "good idea" and another candidate for governor explains why they think it's a "bad idea," usually with some personal thrown in for good measure.
In today's version, Moore sends out the following "good idea":
RALEIGH - State Treasurer Richard Moore, candidate for governor, today announced a three-step process for reforming North Carolina’s Department of Transportation.Moore's plan calls for DOT to establish metrics that measure the need for and effectiveness of new road projects, the elimination of legislative transportation slush funds that have little oversight and a ban on political fundraising by DOT board members.
"Effectively addressing our transportation needs starts with removing politics from our transportation decisions," said Moore. "We need to focus on building roads where they are needed - not where political insiders want them."
A recent report from McKinsey Consulting found the Department of Transportation is overly political and bureaucratic, which leads to stagnation and inefficiency. North Carolina faces massive transportation needs, with estimates reaching a $122 billion price tag over the next 25 years.
Click here to read the whole thing.
Okay, now you know what's coming. A few hours later, Perdue's campaign sent out the "bad idea" portion of our program:
"Bev Perdue believes we should look at comprehensive campaign finance reform. That should include restrictions on contributions from those affiliated with DOT as well as restrictions on contributions from the state's investment advisors," said Bev Perdue spokesman David Kochman."Given his $1.4 million in contributions from Wall Street and now the Randy Parton Theatre, Richard Moore trying to lead the parade on campaign finance reform is like Paris Hilton trying to lead the parade on good taste," added Kochman.
Also worth noting is that Richard Moore has accepted at least $24,000 from current DOT board members and their families (News & Observer, 8/19/07)
You catch that bit about investment advisors? Yeah, that's a reference to Moore getting somewhere north of $700,000 in campaign contributions from those who manage the state pension funds or their relatives. (Moore has repeatedly said campaign donations do not affect what investment firms the state uses.)
If you only paid attention to the back-biting, you might miss the fact that these two crazy kids actually agree on something: that the state ought to be doing something to restrict the flow of campaign donations from a politically powerful state board that decides whether you have eight lanes of asphalt or a dirt road coming through your town.
Perhaps this will be some fodder for Thursday's debate.