JOHN HOOD: Nonprofit Funding: Take the Next Step
Thursday, December 29th, 2005
By Chris Fitzsimon
Raleigh
Here is a really good idea: The Joint Ethics Committee of the North Carolina General Assembly has just enacted a rule requiring candidates for the N.C. House or Senate to disclose their relationships with nonprofit organizations, including any compensation or board service.
Why is this seemingly innocuous change in the rules so important? I’ve got two words for you: Frank Ballance.
As North Carolina voters now know, and my readers knew a bit earlier on, Ballance spent many years in the N.C. Senate before his election to Congress in 2002, steering taxpayers’ money to a nonprofit under his direct control.
The John Hyman Foundation, supposedly a group combating drunk driving and other substance abuse, received millions of dollars over the course of a decade or so, with much of the money flowing to Sen. Ballance’s political allies, his church, his family members, and himself.
There is credible evidence that some of the money, originally parceled out to church ministers in his district, ended up returning to Ballance in the form of campaign contributions. (more…)
Last 5 posts in Daily News
- For College-Bound, New Barriers to Entry - December 3rd, 2008
- Where’s Mike? Easley’s ’business trip’ is a mystery - December 3rd, 2008
- Taylor hosting annual Christmas dinner - December 3rd, 2008
- Rookies get their General Assembly bearings - December 3rd, 2008
- Mental hospital deemed unsafe - December 3rd, 2008
Email This Post
Print This Post
