Transportation secretary silent on ferry flap

Gov. Mike Easley's public scolding over the state-sponsored ferry cruise this month was delivered this week to two top ports leaders and state Transportation Secretary Lyndo Tippett.

The ports officials, chairman Carl Stewart and ports CEO Tom Eagar, have already apologized and said they regret that the cruise for elected officials and family members took place. The Ports Authority is paying for the $30,000 cruise out of ports usage fees.

But Tippett has been silent, and on Tuesday he refused through a spokesman to discuss the outing or the critical letter Easley sent him on Monday. In the reprimand, the governor said that "common sense" should have prevented the cruise from happening.

A DOT spokesman, Ernie Seneca, said Tippett will not comment. Seneca added that the agency has already made clear that the ferry should not have been used for the cruise.

Tippett was invited -- along with numerous other legislators and high-ranking officials -- aboard the Floyd Lupton on July 1 but did not attend.

By all accounts, the use of the ferry was approved by a Tippett underling: David D. King, who retired in May as deputy secretary at the state Department of Transportation.

King said in an interview Tuesday he didn't give it much thought early this year when the state Ports Authority asked to use a ferry during the tall ships festival at Beaufort.

"When asked by a sister state agency, I said yes," King said. "And this was a relatively small decision made back in, I think, January. It consumed maybe 10 or 15 minutes of my time. ... If I spent 15 minutes on this, I'd be surprised."

King said he has no recollection of discussing the cruise with Tippett or any other superior.

The Ports Authority used the ferry to put on a $30,000 cruise featuring a steel drum band and a seafood spread for dignitaries and family members, who drank beer and wine on board. The cruise's disclosure has led to controversy and the scolding from Easley.

King said that at the time he gave the OK he thought that allowing a ferry to be used during the festival made sense and was a routine decision.

After all, he said, the state was spending $1.6 million on transit service as part of the festival, which was a big deal for the region.

His main concern was that traffic would not be delayed by taking the ferry off its regular route.

As it turns out, removing the Floyd Lupton led to delays at its normal crossing. A DOT report says 39 vehicles were left behind at various times. For that, King said, he is "regretful."

He said ferries have been used for top officials in the past -- at the dedication of a bridge in New Bern, for example, and along the Northeast Cape Fear River when checking out a planned highway bypass and other concerns near Wilmington.

King said that hindsight is always 20-20 and "in retrospect, I'd do a lot of things differently." Mostly, he said, that would mean checking out the exact details of the ferry's use ahead of time.

Vern, Virginia -- old friends

GOP congressional candidate Vernon Robinson is scheduled to be in Washington, D.C., today, and he has an unusual escort -- Congresswoman Virginia Foxx, his former primary opponent from two years ago whom he hammered unmercifully.

Foxx will introduce Robinson at a meeting with New York Rep. Tom Reynolds, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Campaign Committee and at a meeting of the Republican Conference.

Robinson said he wants to make the case that Democratic Rep. Brad Miller of Raleigh "is the most vulnerable white Democrat in the South."

Just two years ago, Robinson ran TV commercials in which the face of New York Sen. Hillary Clinton morphed into Foxx. The commercials contended Foxx had voted for racial quotas, higher taxes, gay rights and abortion bills -- all of which Foxx said was untrue.

But since then, Foxx has sent Robinson's campaign $1,000, and Robinson says he likes some of her votes.

So she didn't turn out to be another Hillary Clinton? Dome asked.

"I think all parties understand that occasionally campaigns ... ah, ah, ah ... she's done a great job," Robinson said.