RALEIGH -- While investigating Gov. Bev Perdue's use of private planes for campaign flights, State Board of Elections Chairman Larry Leake chartered a private plane from Asheville to Raleigh to supervise the questioning of a close friend of the governor's.
Leake, a Mars Hill lawyer and Democrat, said it was crucial that he be present June 8 when staff elections investigator Kim Strach interviewed Trawick H. "Buzzy" Stubbs Jr.
Stubbs, a New Bern lawyer who was a partner of Perdue's deceased first husband, provided the governor at least $28,000 in private plane flights that initially went unreported as campaign donations. An interview with Cornelia McMillian, Perdue's former staff scheduler, was also scheduled for that morning.
After the interviews, Leake said, he needed to return to Asheville that afternoon. His round-trip flight, one of at least two in which he used state money to charter a private plane and hire a pilot, cost $1,563.88.
"There was a family commitment involving my daughter that was very important to me," Leake said. "We interviewed people that day we had previously been unable to interview. I have no question that was a wise use of taxpayer funds."
State rules dictate that a private aircraft can be chartered if it is more economical than a commercial flight, if a state-owned plane is unavailable, or if the use of a private plane is "necessary because of unusual travel circumstances."
At least three commercial airlines offer daily flights from Asheville with connections to Raleigh. A flight is available on US Airways next week, for example, for $481.
"The use of a charter flight was necessary because of unusual circumstances due to Mr. Leake wanting to be present during the interview process," state Elections Director Gary Bartlett wrote in a memo July 20 approving Leake's reimbursement. "He wanted to make certain he was here on time."
Leake and Bartlett supervised Strach during her investigation of campaign flights by 2008 gubernatorial candidates, dictating who from Perdue's campaign Strach could interview and when, records show. Strach's bosses then edited the investigative report released to the public to omit references to Perdue staffers she was not given permission to question.
In prior investigations, Strach helped uncover campaign finance violations by former Gov. Mike Easley, former House speaker Jim Black, former Rep. Thomas Wright and former Agriculture Commissioner Meg Scott Phipps. The State Elections Board later fined Easley's campaign $100,000 over the violations.
A member of the board for the last 18 years, Leake was appointed to four-year terms by Democratic governors Jim Hunt, Easley and Perdue.
The elections board has five members, with a three-seat majority going to the political party that holds the governor's office. Members are not paid, but they do receive $15 per day for meetings, as well as reimbursements for meals, hotel rooms and travel expenses.
Records show Leake typically drives his personal vehicle 251 miles from Asheville to Raleigh, and is reimbursed 33 cents per mile. Leake is paid $165.66 for mileage when he drives.
On other occasions, including a meeting last week, the elections board has conducted business by telephone.
Earlier charter flight
Records show that on April 24, 2008, Leake chartered a private plane at a cost of $1,298 to fly to Raleigh for a board meeting. The meeting began at 11 a.m. and ended at 12:24 p.m., according to the minutes. Leake said he did not remember the specifics of the 2008 flight or why he didn't drive.
The chairman also took commercial flights. In April 2006, Leake flew on US Airways from Asheville to Jacksonville, N.C., with a layover in Charlotte. The purpose for the travel was not disclosed in documents provided by the state board Wednesday. With the return trip, the flights cost $972.70.
Tom Fetzer, head of the state Republican Party, said Leake's use of a private plane to attend the Stubbs interview shows the lengths to which the board's chairman went to protect the Democratic governor.
"That's wholly inappropriate behavior on two levels," said Fetzer, who in October filed the complaint against Perdue that triggered the investigation. "One, it's an inappropriate use of tax dollars. It's a 31/2-hour drive from Asheville. On the other level, it is completely inappropriate for him to manage an investigation which, as chairman, he will be called to rule on later."
Leake said he wasn't interfering in Strach's investigation but helping to "expedite and facilitate" it.
Strach-Wallace tiff
After Strach pushed the Perdue campaign in April to produce detailed records of the flights, campaign lawyer John Wallace sent a letter asking Strach to recuse herself from the investigation because her husband served as general counsel for the N.C. Republican Party.
Because of her husband's position, Wallace said, Strach could not conduct an unbiased investigation into a complaint filed by Republicans. Strach's husband has since resigned his unpaid position with the Republican Party.
Strach, who is registered as an unaffiliated voter, replied in a letter to Wallace that she had been married for eight years and questioned the timing of his objection, which came as the two wrangled over what records the Perdue campaign would provide. Records show Wallace was also the gatekeeper for which staffers from the Perdue campaign would be made available for interviews.
"John Wallace and Kim [Strach] lost the ability to effectively communicate," Leake said. "She was not able to secure the cooperation of badly needed components of the investigation. The way those interviews could be quickly obtained was, in my view, by participating in the interviews. I was the person saying, 'Guys, let's get this done.'"
