Before the legislative session started, House Speaker Thom Tillis confronted a controversy about his aides’ inappropriate relationships with lobbyists by saying he would implement a code of conduct for his staff.
But more than two months later, the policy apparently isn’t in place and no copy has been made public.
This is what Tillis said May 1: “What I am going to do to remove any doubts about that in the future is to implement non-fraternization policies and other codes of conduct that will make it clear ... that we have to hold ourselves to a higher standard than the law actually requires.”
Tillis made those remarks in a conference call with reporters when he announced that a second staffer would resign after he discovered an inappropriate relationship. When he came to the N.C. House, Tillis said he took a policy with his legislative aide that spoke to inappropriate relationships, echoing one he used in the private sector. As speaker, he voiced those policies to his new staff but didn’t implement it formally, he said.
In the call, Tillis said he would do so soon and suggested the policy may be available for public review that day. It wasn’t. A couple weeks ago, Tillis told reporters the policies were still being reviewed by attorneys but would be ready by now.
Huckabee endorses Hudson
Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor and unsuccessful GOP presidential hopeful, has endorsed Richard Hudson for Congress in North Carolina’s 8th Congressional District.
Hudson will face Scott Keadle of Iredell in July 17 runoff for the Republican nomination. The winner will face Democratic U.S. Rep. Larry Kissell in the November general election. Huckabee said Hudson is the “kind of man we need in Congress.”
“Pro-life, pro-family and pro-jobs, I know Richard will be a consistent vote for conservative values in North Carolina,” Huckabee said in a statement. “Further, I know Richard will be a solid vote to repeal Obamacare and will never support a stimulus, bailout or government giveaway. ”
The problem with Charlotte
The city of St. Louis lost to Charlotte as host for the Democratic National Convention. In an online post, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s editorial board pokes fun at the recent bad press surrounding the North Carolina host city.
Here’s their take:
“You might have heard that the Democratic National Committee is having a bit of trouble with its big national convention planned for September in Charlotte, N.C.
It starts with the words “Charlotte, N.C.” A city and a state that aren’t friendly to unions. In case you haven’t heard it on Fox News, unions tend to like Democrats.
Then North Carolina passed a draconian anti-gay marriage amendment, angering another key Democratic constituency. Then fundraising dried up (see “unions” above). This month, the DNC moved a pre-convention event from a Charlotte speedway to some downtown streets to save money. Now the Democratic incumbent in the most closely watched Senate race… , Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri, has decided to wash her hair instead of attending the convention.
Charlotte, you’ll recall, was chosen over St. Louis. We had the “excitement,” said the national political folks. We had the hotel rooms, the convention space, the union support, even fundraising from deep-pocketed Republicans who care more about their city than partisanship.
Charlotte has big banks. We have big beer.
We hope the Dems get it figured out. But four years from now, look toward the Arch.”
Staff writer Franco Ordonez contributed to this report.
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