House speaker asks Wright to quit

The Wilmington Democrat says he's done no wrong and will not step down

RALEIGH -- House Speaker Joe Hackney called on Rep. Thomas Wright to resign Monday evening, saying Wright, a Wilmington Democrat facing possible criminal prosecution, should leave for the good of both the House and himself.

"Representative Wright should not be here. He should resign," Hackney said after a weekly meeting of Democratic House members. Hackney was the first among them to call for Wright to step down.

Hackney's declaration comes a week after the State Board of Elections asked the Wake County district attorney to consider criminal charges against Wright for his handling of hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions.

Wright, who has served in the House since 1993 and not been charged with any crimes, said Monday night that he wouldn't step down and was disappointed with Hackney for rushing to judgment.

"Yes, I'll be back and I'll be voting and I'll be doing my job," Wright told The Associated Press in a phone interview.

Responding to Hackney's comment that Wright hasn't provided an explanation for the allegations to House members, Wright told the AP he declined to testify at last week's hearing because he had not yet seen the allegations.

"I understand my rights under the law," Wright said. Declining to discuss details, Wright said he would provide information later that shows he spent campaign money properly.

"I look forward to bringing the facts out on that," he said.

Lawyer Chris Brook, who represented Wright during the elections board hearing, declined to comment Monday.

In a matter of months, Wright, 51, has fallen from an influential committee chairman and top lieutenant to then-House Speaker Jim Black to a political outcast.

Hackney urged Wright's departure after receiving documents and other evidence from the board of elections, material that he forwarded to the Legislative Ethics Committee for action. He said Wright's resignation would benefit not only the House but also Wright, who needs to get his affairs in order.

"He should look at how he's going to respond to all this," Hackney said, "how his life is going to go forward."

Wright's legal troubles have proved particularly frustrating for the House's new Democratic leaders, who watched the new scandal escalate just as the criminal case against Black was winding down. Black awaits sentencing on his guilty plea to federal and state corruption charges.

Hackney acknowledged that Wright's situation was difficult.

"In another sense," he said, "it's an opportunity to show we mean business about our ethics laws."

Hackney declined for weeks to express any judgment on Wright, after receiving a complaint letter from Joe Sinsheimer, a former Democratic campaign researcher who has become a watchdog on his own party.

Sinsheimer's complaint prompted the elections board's action. The elections board hearing last week showed that Wright:

* Spent as much as $222,000 in campaign money on personal expenses without reporting them.

* Used his office to get a state official to write a false letter to help Wright close a real estate deal.

* Failed to disclose more than $211,000 in campaign contributions.

* Received direct contributions from corporations, which are illegal.