Posted on 09/30/2011 6:46:02 AM PDT by sunmars
A state lawmaker and a group of Democratic political donors with ties to Gov. Beverly Perdue are poised to sell land at a handsome profit for a tire plant that's being lured with $100 million in state and local incentives, according to public records reviewed by The Associated Press.
As North Carolina's chief executive, the governor is a key decision maker in large incentives deals involving state money. She also helps appoint the board members of a foundation that's been asked to provide part of the tire plant's package. Perdue's campaign has received more than $52,000 from five men with an ownership stake in the Brunswick County industrial park proposed for the new facility.
The governor's son, Garrett Perdue, is also a lawyer and site-selection consultant for an influential law firm that a county official said was advising the tire company. The firm, Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, does not disclose which projects the younger Perdue works on, citing attorney-client privilege.
Perdue's spokesman stressed Thursday that the company seeking the incentives, not the governor's aides, chose the site. The North Carolina site is competing with sites in two other states.
"Gov. Perdue is focused on bringing 1,300 jobs to North Carolina," said Mark Johnson, Perdue's spokesman. "She doesn't care where in the state the plant goes, who owns the land or who the company hires as its lawyer. She just wants the jobs."
The proposed location, the Mid-Atlantic Logistics Center, is owned by a group of investors that includes state Sen. Michael P. Walters, a Democrat from Proctorville.
(Excerpt) Read more at chron.com ...
“I wonder if Gov. Perdue is related to the late Frank Perdue of Chicken foods fame?”
Purdue is the name of her FIRST husband. She divorced him and has remarried. Her real last name is Eaves.
You know, Justice Bob Orr ran for governor largely on the issue of ending these incentives, and the John Locke Foundation pounds the table on this issue daily. But no one was interested.
But now everyone is shocked, SHOCKED that this sort of thing might lead to public corruption.
At least some of the Republican leadership in the state house are finally getting serious about this issue. Targeted business “incentives” are bad policy, encourage corruption, and probably violate the Exclusive Emoluments Clause of the N.C. Constitution.
the crime party.
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