Political fundraising by members of the N.C. Board of Transportation took center stage Thursday in the battle for the Democratic nomination for governor.

The day began with Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue defending the reform law that she championed in 1998, which she said was intended to require full disclosure of political fundraising activity by appointees to the transportation board.

"When the law was passed we intended for it to have full disclosure," Perdue said. She did not specify what full disclosure would entail.

The day ended with the campaign of one of her opponents for the nomination, State Treasurer Richard Moore, clarifying what he meant by an earlier call to ban fundraising by board members. Jay Reiff, Moore's campaign manager, said Thursday that Moore would consider appointing fundraisers to the board, but that they would have to cease fundraising from that day forward.

Perdue's campaign called that "hypocritical."

Seats on the Board of Transportation have long been plums that governors bestow upon supporters who raise money for their political campaigns. Legislators sought to reform the process about a decade ago in response to scandals over board members steering transportation projects in ways that benefited them or family members. Perdue was a state senator at the time.

The issue reignited recently when board member Thomas Betts Jr. of Rocky Mount sought to raise $20,000 in contributions from country singer Randy Parton and others involved in a struggling performing arts theater in Roanoke Rapids. Betts had previously used his position on the board to steer money for road projects to benefit the theater.

Betts, a Perdue supporter, resigned from the board last month. Perdue said she had no knowledge of the Parton fundraising and did not condone it.

The News & Observer reported Feb. 3 that two current board members -- D.M. "Mac" Campbell of Elizabethtown and Louis W. Sewell Jr. of Jacksonville -- raised money for Gov. Mike Easley's 2000 campaign. But on the disclosure forms the two were required to file with the state under the 1998 reform law, they said they were not fundraisers.

Their responses on the forms came after Easley obtained an attorney general's opinion of the reform law that said fundraisers did not have to disclose their efforts unless they personally accepted contributions from individuals. That meant that typical fundraising activities such as holding receptions and soliciting people for contributions were not considered fundraising.

On Thursday, Perdue confirmed that Sewell is raising money for her, along with board members Marvin K. Blount III of Greenville and Lanny Wilson of Wilmington. Moore then released the names of contributors and funds raised by two board members supporting his campaign: Campbell and Alan Thornburg of Asheville.

Campbell has raised $26,295 from his family and 28 others, while Thornburg has raised $21,741 from himself and 21 others, according to Moore's campaign. Moore's campaign challenged Perdue to provide a similar disclosure, but her campaign spokesman, David Kochman, said Moore would have to be more forthcoming about another area of his fundraising first.

"When Richard Moore discloses who's done his fundraising from Wall Street, and the folks doing business with his office, then we'll do the same," Kochman said.

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