Share
Here's a story that has everything - except compelling reasons to feel good about how things are working in Raleigh. According to news reports, at least four state agencies have purchased nearly $200,000 in equipment from a politically well-connected firm whose board is chaired by outgoing state Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand, D-Cumberland.
Some of these purchases, the News & Observer's Michael Biesecker reports, were made without competitive bids by state agencies headed by allies of Rand.
Other major investors in the company, Law Enforcement Associates Inc. (LEA), include Gov. Bev Perdue, former Gov. Mike Easley and Fayetteville political figures close to Rand. They include former Secretary of Transportation Lyndo Tippett and former Division of Motor Vehicles Commissioner George Tatum, who resigned two years ago under a cloud.
What's more, Rand's resignation to take an appointment from Perdue early next year to head the state Post Release Supervisory and Parole Commission also looks problematic. The reason? A former executive of LEA, Paul Feldman, charged last month that Rand had engaged in insider trading as part of a scheme to enrich other state officials. Rand has labeled that accusation as "hogwash" and said Feldman was a disgruntled employee.
Still, Perdue, who has spent considerable time this year dealing with a series of still-unfolding questions about the ethics of legislators, executive branch officials and former state officials, has asked the Department of Transportation to review its purchases. She vowed to make those findings public. Good. The public has a right to know about potential conflicts of interests.
For one thing, while commissioner of motor vehicles, Tatum's office made more than $64,000 in purchases from LEA without competitive bids, including more than $24,000 for pinhole cameras and transmitters. The agency avoided a rule requiring competitive bids for equipment costing more than $10,000 by asserting that the equipment was available from no other vendor. Tatum, who owns 30,000 shares of LEA stock, told the newspaper he had nothing to do with the purchase of LEA equipment and said he never discussed it with Rand.
Tatum resigned from DOT in 2007 after helping a friend get a vintage truck title for a replica, a title distinction that can save a vehicle owner hundreds of dollars in taxes, and helped get a title for another replica vehicle that certified it as a 1932 roadster prized by collectors.
Tatum now works as a risk assessment coordinator at Fayetteville State University, where Rand is an influential figure and member of the university's charitable foundation board. Tatum did not disclose on his annual statement of economic interest, filed with the State Ethics Commission, that he owned 30,000 shares of LEA stock. It was an honest mistake, he said.
Perhaps so. But it smells bad. A question thousands of people must have is why George Tatum is on the public payroll anywhere, regardless of whether it's a state agency, an educational institution or a local government agency. Surely there are competent people who can perform jobs ably while avoiding ethical complications, complying fully with financial disclosure requirements and observing a higher standard of conduct than helping their friends circumvent the law.
Another question many taxpayers will have is whether Perdue's appointment of Rand to the parole commission is advisable under the circumstances. Just as Perdue has issued executive orders requiring a higher standard of conduct, she ought to reconsider whether placing Rand in charge of post-release supervision and parole decisions will boost public confidence in government. It's hard to see how.
She also ought to consider whether holding stock in a company with close ties to politicians and which has done business with state agencies is the right example. It doesn't matter much that LEA's stock is now worth little more than a dime a share. As Perdue surely knows, it's the principle of the thing, not the principal.
