Share
For all the hours they devote to hunting, fishing and other outdoors matters, many members of the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission also give generously to their political patrons.
The commission's 19 current members and their spouses have donated $263,187 to the governors and state House and Senate leaders who appointed or reappointed them to their seats, an Observer analysis of state campaign finance records found. They gave an additional $31,303 to the N.C. Democratic Party.
That's 16 times more than the $18,225 contributed by the 19 members of an arguably more powerful board, the Environmental Management Commission, who are appointed by the same political leaders.
The 21 trustees of the Clean Water Management Trust Fund, which has spent nearly $1 billion on land acquisition and restoration projects since 1996, donated $100,255 to the same set of politicians.
The question of "pay-to-play" politics on the wildlife commission, whose seats are among the most prized in the state, came up two weeks ago at a state elections board hearing on former Gov. Mike Easley's campaign.
Former Charlotte developer and Wildlife Resources Commission member Gary Allen testified he had given $100,000 to the N.C. Democratic Party in 2003 and 2004. Allen said his contributions were not intended to curry favor. But in an e-mail released in the hearing, Allen's business partner had earlier written Easley's staff that Allen, among other things, wanted to stay on the board.
Easley reappointed Allen in 2004 and appointed Allen's brother Randy, also of the Charlotte area, in 2005.
After the hearing, wildlife advocates quickly pounced. The N.C. Wildlife Federation, which helped form the commission in 1947, asked Gov. Bev Perdue to demand the resignations of members appointed under "inappropriate circumstances." Perdue's office referred the resolution to the State Bureau of Investigation. It's unclear whether the agency will launch a formal probe, and no one has alleged criminal wrongdoing.
The federation's Charlotte-based executive director, Tim Gestwicki, said he has no evidence of a pattern of improper patronage. But the evidence that surfaced last month, he said, needs to be investigated to protect the integrity of the commission.
"The state agency and all the employees don't need this hanging over them," he said.
Commission Chairman Steve Windham, a wine distributor in Winnabow, cautioned against reaching hasty conclusions.
"I have complete confidence in Gov. Perdue, and once due process has taken place, she will do what is right and just for North Carolina, its citizens and its resources."
Coveted seats
Commission members oversee a state agency with a powerful constituency - the 3 million people who hunt, fish or watch wildlife in North Carolina each year. N.C. fish- and wildlife-related recreation was estimated in 2006 to have a $4.3 billion economic impact.
The commission enforces hunting, fishing and boating laws, manages wildlife and educates the public. It can buy and sell land, although most acquisition money comes from other sources. It also leases or manages 2 million acres of public game land.
Dick Hamilton, a former commission director, said most of the commissioners he worked with at the agency were motivated only by interest in hunting and fishing.
"They have so much fun," he said. "They meet six to eight times a year, and they get to rub shoulders with experts in the field, go on trips and see facilities, get to attend regional meetings. It's hard to explain, but it's a great personal reward for them, and they work hard to get it and they work hard to keep it."
Because the seats are so prized, he added, they've been used to reward political contributors for years.
"The average commissioner has to contribute a great deal of money to get it," said Hamilton, now a contract lobbyist for the Wildlife Federation.
Hamilton, who worked at the agency 37 years, said he never knew of commissioners benefiting financially. Members aren't paid for their time, and some don't seek reimbursement for travel expenses.
But Hamilton said his refusal to fire a staff member who ran afoul of commissioners forced his own resignation in 2007.
Bill Holman, a former state environment secretary and longtime lobbyist, said Wildlife Resources members have been politically active contributors for as long as he's worked in Raleigh. "It's perceived as a very prestigious board, and for sportsmen it's something they covet and are very active in seeking a seat," he said.
Bob Hall of Democracy North Carolina, a Durham watchdog group, groups Wildlife Resources with the N.C. Board of Transportation and the UNC Board of Governors among elite boards that attract politically connected members.
"The thing that's wrong with it is it becomes a government by the elite instead of government by the people," he said. "You don't want a system that encourages people to think they have to make political contributions to be appointed."
5-digit donations to zero
Windham, the commission chairman, and his wife have donated $28,000 to Easley's and Perdue's campaigns, contributions he said he would have made anyway. Other commission members' donations range from five digits to zero.
Over the years, Clinton lawyer Douglas Parsons and his wife have donated nearly $75,000 to Easley's and Perdue's campaigns and the state Democratic Party, records show. Financial executive Nat Harris of Whitsett and his family gave more than $47,000. Neither could be reached.
"I've given the $4,000 (individual) max probably every year since I've been gainfully employed," said Wes Seegars, a fence-company owner in Goldsboro and former commission chairman.
Over the past decade, he and his wife have given $40,000 to the campaigns of former Gov. Jim Hunt and Easley, who appointed and reappointed him to the commission, and to state Democrats. But Seegars insists the donations weren't bargaining chips to keep his seat, and colleagues agree.
"My personal opinion is you just go on there and do a good job, and you don't have to buy your way in," said Ray White, a retired banker in Manteo who's given $4,000 to Easley and Perdue. "I certainly didn't do it, and I didn't find that my job was any harder or easier because I didn't."
The commission's senior member, retired newspaper editor Eugene Price of Dudley, was a registered Democrat when Republican former Gov. Jim Martin appointed him in the 1980s. Price switched his registration to Republican, but Senate president pro tem Marc Basnight, a Democrat, reappointed him.
Price never gave a dime to either one.
Many times no political ties
While some donors try to parlay their political relationships into elite board seats, said Hall of Democracy North Carolina, most spots on the state's more than 400 boards and commissions go to people with no political connections.
"Most of the appointments, it's not a selection process, it's a recruiting process. It's not surprising that you might turn to a friend or a supporter," said House Speaker Joe Hackney. "Overall it's a good process because it gets people involved."
Like Hackney, Perdue and Basnight, who also name Wildlife Resources members, say contributions don't figure in their appointments. They say they look for people with expertise who will play an active role on the board.
Chuck Bennett, a Matthews lawyer who is the wildlife commission's vice chairman, was appointed in 1999 by former House speaker Jim Black, a neighbor whose sons Bennett took duck hunting. Bennett contributed $1,000 to Black's campaign after his 1999 appointment, records show, but none to Hackney, who reappointed him.
"These guys spend hours and hours of their time" on commission business, Bennett said. "If someone wanted to pay for something, there are a lot of other positions that would be more worth it to them."
