Democrats raise money, eyebrows

RALEIGH -- Democratic legislators took a break from debating ethics reforms and the state budget Tuesday evening to hobnob at a Raleigh fundraiser also attended by lobbyists.

The invitation to the 2010 Legislative Reception asked recipients to join Gov. Bev Perdue, Senate President Pro Tem Marc Basnight and House Speaker Joe Hackney at the event.

It cost $50 to get in the door at the Democratic Party's headquarters, a white-columned neoclassical mansion a block from the Capitol.

For $500, platinum-level sponsors could reserve a table for 10.

Republicans criticized the fundraiser as a transparent "shakedown" of lobbyists while legislation affecting their clients is under consideration.

"Holding a fundraiser the day before voting on the budget and an ethics bill is an action that the word hypocrisy does not begin to define," said Tom Fetzer, the chairman of the state Republican Party. "This clearly violates the spirit of state ethics laws and reveals that all the Democrats' talk about ethics is just that."

It is illegal under state law for lobbyists to make political contributions to legislators or members of the Council of State, including the governor. It is also illegal for elected officials to raise money from political action committees while the legislature is in session.

But there are no such limits on political donations to political parties. Political parties, in turn, can make unlimited donations to the re-election campaigns of state lawmakers.

Invitation disclaimer

Andrew Whalen, executive director of the N.C. Democratic Party, said it was Fetzer who was being hypocritical.

"They're trying to raise money on the fact that we're raising money," Whalen said of the Republicans. "This is simply an opportunity for the party to thank our legislators for their service. The money will go to pay for party operations, such as the electric bill, the water bill and the elevator repairman."

Invitations for the fundraiser contained a disclaimer at the bottom in small print: "No contribution, regardless of who solicited the contribution, may or will be earmarked or designated for the use of any candidate or candidate committee."

Whalen said the language was a direct response to hearings before the state Board of Elections last year where two major Democratic contributors testified that they wrote large checks to the state party in the belief the money would be passed on to the campaign of then-Gov. Mike Easley, circumventing the $4,000 limit on individual contributions.

Those invited to the event Tuesday, including lobbyists, were under no obligation to come, Whalen said. "We sent it out," he said. "They were welcome to attend. They were welcome to ignore it."

Pushing the envelope

Jane Pinsky, director of the non-partisan N.C. Coalition for Lobbying and Government Reform, said she was surprised Democrats would choose to overtly raise money from special interests after the recent spate of fundraising scandals.

"It does push the envelope," said Pinsky, herself a registered lobbyist. "If there was ever a time when the political parties would want to be above reproach it is now. They should want to be squeaky clean."

The conservative Civitas Institute sent a group to stand outside and videotape those going in. It was humid, and a young Democrat guarding the iron gate offered them water while politely declining requests to go inside.

Sen. Linda Garrou, a Winston-Salem Democrat who serves as a chief budget writer, waved to the camera-wielding activists. She denied even knowing that lobbyists were attending the event, before hurrying inside.

Perdue and her husband arrived in the back of a black Suburban that sped up a driveway to the backdoor. Flanked by her security detail, the governor did not respond to an interview request shouted from the street.

Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, said she didn't know lobbyists had been invited. Her office directly regulates lobbyists.

"I knew it was a fundraiser, but I didn't know who was on the invitation list," Marshall said before going inside.

Asked whether she was concerned about the party raising money from lobbyists, State Treasurer Janet Cowell said: "I don't know a lot about it."

Rep. Deborah Ross, a Raleigh Democrat who is a cosponsor of ethics legislation under consideration, didn't stop to answer questions. "I'm going on in," she said, bounding up the steps to the door.

Hackney bristled when asked whether he was concerned voters might think it was wrong to raise money from lobbyists while the legislature is in session. He stressed that it was the party, not he, raising the money.

"It's legal and it's proper," said Hackney, a Chapel Hill Democrat. "I'm not raising money from lobbyists. I scrupulously follow that rule."