A 'pay-to-play' campaign event? Wake County leaders are at odds.

Three Wake County commissioners have called on their fellow board members to distance themselves from what they say is a "pay-to-play" campaign event related to a controversial plan to build a park.

In a joint statement released Friday, commissioners Jessica Holmes, Greg Ford and James West said they learned of a social media post asking the Crooked Creek community in Fuquay-Varina to support the re-election campaigns of commissioners Matt Calabria, John Burns, Erv Portman and Sig Hutchinson.

Those four commissioners voted last fall in favor of a plan to turn the former Crooked Creek Golf Course into a county park.

The Facebook post encouraged residents to attend a meet-and-greet for the pro-park commissioners on April 15 at the Crooked Creek Clubhouse. It also asks residents to register to vote and volunteer for their campaigns. The information was posted in the public Facebook group South Wake Park Project, which has more than 2,100 members.

“The four county commissioners who voted in favor of this project are all up for re-election, and they need our support,” the Facebook post said. “Some of their challengers in this year’s primary elections are going after them specifically for supporting the South Wake Park.”

Commissioners voted 4-3 last fall to pursue the project, estimated to cost $23.4 million. A second vote is still needed to allocate money for the project. County staff had recommended the commissioners not move forward with the plan.

Supporters of the park say it is desperately needed in a fast-growing part of Wake. Opponents say the money would be better spent on public education, affordable housing or mental health care.

"The appearance of such (a campaign) event borders on unethical conduct and undermines the impartiality and fiduciary responsibility of the board, and we have notified the county manager and the county attorney of our concerns," the statement from the three commissioners said. "The board of commissioners should make every attempt to avoid the perception of a conflict of interest and should strive to serve all residents with integrity and fairness."

Calabria lives less than two miles from the site and spearheaded the park effort.

"My interest with this project doesn't have anything to do with politics or self-interest," he said. "I have not solicited and I don't know of anyone who has solicited votes or anything else related to the park. It is hard to distinguish this from other individual or group who supports you because of what you believe in."

Portman said there's nothing wrong with Crooked Creek residents supporting certain candidates.

"I would not find it at all surprising for people to support candidates who have been supportive of things they think are important — whether it's affordable housing or education or open space or a park or long-term planning or transportation," Portman said. "I would find that utterly unremarkable."

Burns said there's no more conflict of interest involving the event.

"I don’t think there is any ethical question there unless I were to pledge to vote a certain way for a certain amount of money," he said. "That would be illegal. That would be unethical. And I would never do that. And being accused of that as an attorney whom ethics is the most important thing for my professional reputation — I want to make it clear that there is nothing to that accusation. I value my ethical reputation very highly, and never had it questioned."

Hutchinson said that most people who live in Fuquay-Varina are farther than 10 minutes from a county park.

"The idea of citizens getting together to talk about issues, get out the vote, is citizen engagement," he said. "And clearly it is part of the process. We have to raise money to run a campaign and if they want to write us a check, what is unethical about that?"

Ron Nawojczyk, who organized the campaign event, said he didn't know why this would be different from other groups rallying for candidates they support. The second vote for the park is "just a formality" to make sure the purchase conditions are fulfilled, he said.

"I have no idea how that would be 'pay-to-play,'" he said. "As far as I know people have campaign events for candidates all the time. What would be different about this? What are they saying is improper about it?"

In Friday's statement, Ford, Holmes and West said they didn't know the other commissioners were directly working with Crooked Creek residents and that the county's normal procedure wasn't followed. They say they found out about the campaign event from residents.

"Several citizens brought this event to our attention and expressed concerns about the appearance of a 'pay-to-play' arrangement, or at the very least the perception of a legitimate conflict of interest," the statement says.

Wake County Manager David Ellis said he hasn't "seen anything unethical occur."

All seven Wake County commissioners — all Democrats — are seeking re-election this year. All but Ford and Holmes face primary challengers on May 8, and the general election is in November.

This story was originally published April 6, 2018 at 2:50 PM with the headline "A 'pay-to-play' campaign event? Wake County leaders are at odds.."