Treasurer's Report

For the past couple of years I have been drawn to examine the undue influence of money in State politics, subverting the democratic process. One troubling aspect is the ability of corporations to direct large, though limited sums of money via corporate PACs and bundled contributions to candidates and committees. More troubling is the ability of corporations to direct large unlimited sums of money to 527 committees and to non-profit foundations that are associated with politicians or engage in activities that support their positions.

Art Pope has perfected the corporate contribution conduit to an art. Jim Black certainly knew how to share the love to pet projects of his allies from campaign funds, discretionary funds, appropriations and the largesse of his fairweather friends. Today's finding of ethical misconduct against State Representative Thomas Wright is but the latest example involving the use of non-profit foundations to obfuscate the origin and destination of political cash.

In 2005 the News & Observer called out Richard Moore for direct solicitation of financial companies for his North Carolina Fiscal Literacy Foundation:

Moore ... asked dozens of fixed-income brokers, real estate investors, private equity managers and hedge-fund managers for $10,000 each for the foundation, a project that helps keep him in the public eye.
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"I am asking you to make a gift of $10,000 to the North Carolina Fiscal Literacy Foundation to help us continue our work toward these important goals and objectives," Moore said in a letter dated June 15 [2005]

Rob Christensen, 8/8/05. (Content firewalled) A subsequent editorial 8/11/05 stated:

The treasurer ought to know better than to solicit contributions for a nonprofit foundation of his creation from money managers who do business with the state, or who want a piece of that business.
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It's just a bad practice. Moore should stop it.

He may have stopped it, it's not clear. In the most recent IRS 990 forms posted online the Foundation only listed revenue of $21,467 in 2006 (with assets of $232,922). It took in $261,850 in 2005 (of which $75,000 was listed as government grant), $135,000 in 2004 and $153,150 in 2003. Yet nowhere is there an itemization of contributors or individual contributions.

A few companies have acknowledged their support through published reports or statements: Bank of America, Bank of New York, State Street, GlaxoSmithKline, Broyhill Asset Management. For the most part donors and donations are unknown. Moore has been defensive but forthcoming about direct contributions to his campaign by people associated with companies doing business with the Treasurer's Office. Given the events of the past couple of years and the gravity of a Governor's race, it is high time to be forthcoming about contributors to the North Carolina Fiscal Literacy Foundation which is run partly out of the Treasurer's Office.