< Previous page

Democrats hoped that this year's productive short legislative session -- including a package of good-government reforms -- would put the Black controversies behind them.

Just last week, Black said he would work hard to win re-election but was confident voters would return him to office.

"I do not believe they're going to throw out the speaker of the House and send a freshman down here," Black said Friday morning after the legislative session ended.

But Hal Jordan, a Charlotte Republican challenging Black in the district election, said Tuesday that his chances of victory improved with Decker's guilty plea.

"Any time ethics are brought up, it enhances my chances," said Jordan, a 47-year-old software sales representative.

It's too soon to say how Decker's disclosure that he took money to switch parties will play into the local campaign, Jordan said.

"I can't accuse him of anything," Jordan said of Black. "I think everybody suspects it was Speaker Black or somebody who was a surrogate of Speaker Black."

Democrats' worries

The Democrats kept the collective stiff upper lip they have maintained throughout their ordeal.

"It's of course highly distressing that any House member would take money for actions," said House Majority Leader Joe Hackney of Chapel Hill.

Was he worried about the political fallout?

"There has been worry all along," Hackney said. "So, yes, of course."

One person who said he took no delight in Decker's demise was Rep. Leo Daughtry, a Smithfield Republican. Daughtry thought he would be elected House speaker after Republicans won a 61-59 majority in the 2002 election. But Decker, a strongly conservative lawmaker from Forsyth County who felt neglected by the GOP majority, switched his vote and agreed to back Black. After being deadlocked in a 60-60 tie for several days, the House agreed on a co-speakership with Black and Morgan.

"It's a bad thing for the institution," Daughtry said of the Decker disclosures. "It's depressing to me."

Decker's plea bargain was another reminder that many investigators still are looking into the speaker's dealings. On Tuesday, several rows of the courtroom were filled by federal prosecutors and investigators, State Bureau of Investigation personnel and Internal Revenue Service agents.

(Staff writer Dan Kane contributed to this report.)

< Previous page