Hartsell case shows value of campaign finance laws

It now remains for the courts to determine whether Republican state Sen. Fletcher Hartsell of Concord broke campaign finance rules forbidding the use of campaign money for expenses not related to service in the legislature. The courts presumably will decide whether he didn’t break them, broke them accidentally or broke them intentionally. Hartsell is now in his 13th term.

He must answer, of course, and the felony charges he faces doubtless will get the attention of other lawmakers who may be scouring their own spending reports.

But it is never a happy moment when a long-time public servant who seems to have done a good job for his constituents hits a moment such as this. Hartsell, an attorney, also may face problems with the N.C. State Bar. And his political career, no matter the outcome of his case, is over. He decided not to seek a 14th term.

But the campaign finance laws were good, and they came in part because of The News & Observer’s reporting on then-House Speaker Jim Black and ethics guidelines, or the lack thereof. Transparency in government, wherein the public can know how much campaign money goes in and where it goes, is important. So are laws that don’t leave everything in terms of money up to the judgment of individual candidates or legislators but lay out what is legal and what is not.

Until all is said and done, Fletcher Hartsell is, like any other defendant, innocent until proven guilty, and he has a right to make the case that he is not guilty. Regardless of the outcome, however, his case shows the value of stronger, more open campaign finance laws.

This story was originally published June 29, 2016 at 6:46 PM with the headline "Hartsell case shows value of campaign finance laws."