News-Record.com

with Republicans Billy Yow, Trudy Wade and Linda Shaw expressing disgust for Democrats' vote to suspend Crayton pending an audit of his office by the N.C. Department of Revenue.

What's this all about? Democrats Bruce Davis, Paul Gibson, Kay Cashion and Kirk Perkins say they've received many calls from Tax Department employees accusing Crayton of wrongdoing. Cashion actually held up index cards on which she said she's written down the complaints. It reminded me of Sen. Joseph McCarthy's "I have a list" stunt when he claimed to have identified communists in government (he was bluffing). Perkins said an investigation was needed to determine the truth, but he believed it would show Crayton is guilty as charged.

Perkins apparently triggered the SBI investigation that, according to DA Stuart Albright, found no criminal wrongdoing by Crayton in regard to property value cases involving Yow and fellow Republican Commissioner Steve Arnold.

Arnold spoke at length about his property in High Point, explaining his appeal to the Board of Equalization and Review to have its tax value returned to its original level after plans for commercial development fell through.

The Arnold case may or may not be the focus of this new investigation. Crayton and Republicans protest that they don't know what the latest accusations are.

This is really bizarre. Crayton has been widely praised for his effective leadership over the Tax Department and the Child Support Enforcement Office. Yet, Democrats last month yanked child support from under his direction. Complaints in that office prompted an investigation last year by County Manager Willie Best, who found nothing amiss. Now there's going to be a third investigation.

The Tax Department has about 90 employees, and odds are that a handful out of that many might be disgruntled about something. Any department head who demands productivity from employees is going to upset somebody.

But if there is trouble that the SBI missed, Department of Revenue auditors ought to uncover it. If they find nothing, then six commissioners will have a lot of explaining to do. It will look like they've been on a political witch hunt.

Republicans have a lot at stake, too. Some of them very loudly put their credibility on the line in support of Crayton. If their faith in him has been misplaced, it will look like they've been covering up. Worse, if any of them benefited from special treatment in tax matters, there could be legal consequences.

Democrats and Republicans on the board of commissioners have been divided over many issues, large and small, for a long time. This battle over Crayton may have the most serious political ramifications of all. Whichever side is wrong about Crayton will have lost an enormous amount of moral authority.

Scandal is brewing, one way or another. The question is whether the tax director, a valued county employee for 17 years, has done something terribly wrong or has himself been terribly wronged. A lot of reputations are going to be severely damaged. Whose depends on the outcome.