February 18th / 20th, 2011
"Bev Perdue Should Resign (part 2)"
In April of last year, I called on Bev Perdue to resign over the 41 free
flights she had failed to report during her campaign for Governor. My
reasons were simple. Free flights are the same as a cash donation, except they
are more valuable. A campaign donation of $5,000 will only buy you $5,000
worth of advertising, but a flight worth $5,000 transports the candidate to a
fund raising event, where she can raise ten times that amount. Multiply
that by 41, and you can see how those free flights gave Perdue a staggering
advantage over Pat McCrory, whose final vote deficit could easily be
explained by the reach Perdue acquired through advertising made possible by her jet
jaunts.
Now, there's even more reason for Bev to step down. WTVD-TV just released
a fifteen year old FBI report they acquired through the Freedom of
Information Act which gives us a disturbing insight into Perdue's past behavior and
mode of operation dating back to her time as State Senator.
In 1995, Perdue wielded a great deal of power, including that of
appropriations for a number of state agencies, including the highway patrol. On the
eve of July 4 of that year, Perdue attended a party in Raleigh where
alcohol was served. On the drive back home she crashed her car into "something".
Instead of calling 911, Perdue called the Highway Patrol and asked for her
"friend", whose name was redacted in the FBI report. Perdue filed a
questionable claim with State Farm Insurance, and the HP's Internal Affairs
department sat on the matter for some six weeks before filling out a full report
on the crash incident.
In October, Perdue pressured Crime Control chief Brad Wilson into
promoting three of her friends in the Patrol, one of whom was transferred to the
Internal Affairs division where a job was created for him. This was in
violation of a state statute that limits the number of supervisory positions in
the HP. Another of the three officers was Randy Glover, the man believed to
be the "friend" who Bev called after the crash. Glover was transferred to
Perdue's home base of New Bern and given a 25% raise. HPIA never determined
what Perdue's car struck, and the FBI eventually closed its case against
the Senator for lack of evidence.
Flash forward to January of 2009. As soon as Bev was sworn in, she
appointed Glover to head up the Highway Patrol, after which the agency was plagued
by a spate of bad behavior, ranging from officers driving drunk, to
inappropriate sexual contact with civilians, to abuse of K-9 dogs. The HP was
spinning out of control, but that should have come as no surprise to those who
knew how Perdue had operated during her career. After all, if a politician
abuses her power to appoint officers, it's no wonder those officers and
their subordinates feel free to abuse theirs.
WTVD spoke with retired FBI agent Frank Perry who now works with the
Foundation for Ethics in Public Service. Perry said that misconduct in the
Patrol is due to, "politicians having too much influence in the agency, and the
only way to fix it, is to end political patronage".
At a press conference in July of 2010, Perdue was asked about her abuse of
power, to which she replied, "I have never intervened in promotions".
Knowing she had been caught in a lie, the Governor re-emerged nine days later
with a revamped statement, admitting only to having made, "
...recommendations on which men and women deserved recognition...".
As for the 41 free flights, Perdue escaped with a slap on the wrist.
That's because the chairman of the State Board of Elections (who had also been
appointed by Perdue) quashed a full investigation, including interrogation
of Bev's campaign manager. That was then and this is now. Fortunately (and I
can't believe I'm saying this) Republicans now control Raleigh, and that
means Perdue's influence will be severely curtailed. Bev is a lame duck
shark without her teeth, so if the Democrats have a shot next year, she should
resign now, and let Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton show how our state can be
governed by an honest, thoughtful chief executive for a change.
Yes, it's time for Bev Perdue to take another flight. This one back home
to retire. I'll even pay for her air fare. All I want in return is a
receipt, and a job with the highway patrol.
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