Basnight suggests a favorite to lead DOT
Friday, November 21st, 2008
By Staff
Senate leader Marc Basnight said Thursday that he has told Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue that Lanny Wilson, a member of the state transportation board, would be a good pick for transportation secretary.
Wilson, who is from Wilmington, would be no stranger to Perdue. He is one of a handful of board members who were also fundraisers for her gubernatorial campaign. Two other transportation board members, who raised money for Perdue, resigned during the campaign. Thomas Betts pressured a city official to raise money for Perdue, and Louis Sewell steered roadwork to commercial properties in Jacksonville that he or his son co-owned.
Perdue pledged to use executive orders to take much of the specific road-building decisions away from transportation board members, who are appointed by the governor.
Basnight said Wilson's fundraising activities wouldn't raise any problems with him running the transportation department.
"I think Lanny would be outstanding," Basnight said. "He never wants anything for himself. Never has. He's a fundraiser because he cares. And there's not a governor in this country that I'm aware of who will not appoint people who raise money for them.
"I would not shy from it. Now [Perdue] may well do that. She never did listen to me."
Efforts to reach Wilson on Thursday afternoon failed. A message to a Perdue spokesman was not immediately returned.
"Lanny has so much to give this state," Basnight said. "He's smart, and he understands the department very well. I believe he could reorganize the department in a fashion that we would get much more out for our money." (more…)
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