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OPEN AND HONEST GOVERNMENT
Restore our Government's Integrity
Our image as a “good government” state has been tarnished. Public officials pleading guilty to crimes and violations of the public trust no longer surprise us. State and local officials dole out millions of your tax dollars to the select few as special interest trumps public interest in a “pay to play” system where money flows to fund the ever increasing concentration of power in the hands of a few. An “end justifies the means” mentality is not what your tax dollars should be paying for and is not what will best serve the future prosperity of our citizens.
Greater openness in campaigning and government operations is the key to government that serves the public interest. Transparency that allows the press and public to fully understand how decisions are being made and who is quietly pushing for the decision is a major first step in returning state government to you.
This is your government, and above all, your government must represent you and be accountable to you. Returning open and honest government to the citizens of North Carolina is my first priority. Without specific and meaningful reforms that bring integrity and accountability back to our government, all of our efforts in education reform, in sensible economic development, and health care policy risk being corrupted by special interests fighting to keep the business as usual system that favors them.
I understand the challenge of returning your government to you. Overcoming the resistance of entrenched special interests demands persistence and political courage. My pledge to you is that I will pursue all options, including campaign finance reform, open government laws, redistricting, and lobbying reforms. And I will not rest until the only special interest served is that of the public interest.
Shining the light of press and public scrutiny:
Open Government Laws
The Challenge: Secrecy in Government is the Norm
Our people must be aware of what their elected officials are doing on their behalf. North Carolina’s Open Meeting Law and Public Records Law should ensure that citizens and the press have adequate information to monitor and participate in state and local decision making processes. We have seen political corruption, corporate swindles, and just plain bad deals occur without the public or press realizing it until it was too late. If our state officials and local officials don’t want to readily provide information about their meetings and deliberations, you have to ask yourself: what are they trying to hide? According to a study done by two national non-profit organizations, our open government laws are weaker than those of all but 10 other states. We must strengthen these laws, and make our government open and responsible to the public.
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My Vision: An Open Process the Involves our People and the Press
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Reform our Open Meeting Law to remove unnecessary exemptions and close loopholes on which deliberations may be closed to the public. When public officials come together to discuss policy, it should be open to the public in every reasonable circumstance.
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Strengthen the Public Records Law by including a specific deadline for government response to requests for information.
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Establish a timely administrative appeals process for requests for information or access to meetings. Our citizens shouldn’t have to hire a lawyer and go to court to get information from our government.
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Establish a process for reimbursement of legal fees and costs incurred by citizens or the press if public officials are found to be violation of the North Carolina Open Meeting or Public Records Law.
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Establish a sanctions process to penalize government officials who violate the law.
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Create a searchable online database of all public expenditures in a user friendly format so that citizens can understand how their tax dollars are being spent.
Ending the concentration of power
The Challenge: Power and Money in the Hands of a Few
Over the past few years, we’ve seen the damage that can be done when power becomes too entrenched. Powerful legislative leaders have used their influence for personal gain and to promote special interests at our expense. The embarrassment of seeing our elected leaders standing before a judge is bad enough, but the impact on our citizens’ confidence in government is overwhelming. Greater fairness can be achieved by limiting the duration an individual can hold certain posts. Term limits on legislative leadership positions should be consistent with terms limits for the Governor.
Additionally, while we must respect constitutional guarantees that impact the political process, but a system that allows millions of dollars in special interest campaign contributions to flow into the hands of a few powerful leaders who rarely even have campaign opponents is wrong. This money is then funneled under the current system to favored legislators in close elections thus tending to secure the power of the leaders funneling the money and keeping the special interests influence secure.
My Vision: Ending the Corruption of Entrenched Power
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Establish reasonable term limits for legislative leadership consistent with the term limits established for the governor.
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Evaluate whether North Carolina should return the Governorship to a single term or one, six year term.
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Limit candidate political action committees to spending money only for that candidate’s election or as part of a multiple candidate effort funded equally by the various candidates.
Bringing Back Representative Government:
Non-Partisan Redistricting Commission
The Challenge: Districts that further politicians’ interests,
not the peoples’ interest
Similar to entrenched leadership, we also have entrenched office holders in North Carolina. Continued gerrymandering through the use of sophisticated computer technology has created legislative districts where incumbents are rarely challenged and single party rule dominates. Citizens are denied a real election while legislators are protected from accountability and more inclined to extreme partisan positions.
My Vision: A Competitive Two Party System
Lobbying Reform:
Curbing the Influence of Special Interests
The Challenge: Lobbyist have the Inside Track to Our Government
Special interests and lobbyists have more influence on our government than ever before, enticing politicians to make policy that is good for a few but bad for most. There was a 41% increase in the number of lobbyists between 1993-1994 and 2005-2006. While participation in the political system by all groups should be lauded, the public interest must come before special interests. Lobbyist activities must be clearly reported. In a recent Good Jobs First Report, North Carolina was given a C and ranked 20th in the country in lobbying disclosure. We need to improve the system and increase openness, especially when it comes to the exceptions and loopholes written into the law in the name of economic development.
My Vision: Citizens have the Inside Track to our Government
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Bar lobbyists from using their influence to solicit contributions for legislative candidates’ campaigns.
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End the practice of closing legislative committee meetings to the public.
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End existing provisions exempting economic development lobbyists from disclosure laws.
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