Dalton, Clary, Kiser mostly funded from non-constituents

State legislators Walter Dalton, Debbie Clary, and Joe Kiser get 73 percent of campaign funds from outside their districts.

Average from inside: $310. Average from outside: $1,148.

That means when an issue you care about comes up (like the current mental health funding crisis), you need to let them know that you expect them to represent YOU and not some group of people who don't live here.

Here's the story, from the INSIDER:

A report from liberal policy group NC PIRG found that 10 of the more powerful state legislators collected, on average, 73 percent of their campaign contributions from sources outside their districts. The report examined the out-of-district fund-raising during the 2006 election cycle by top appropriations chairs and minority leaders -- Reps. Bill Owens, D-Pasquotank; Jim Crawford, D-Granville; Joe Kiser, R-Lincoln; Beverly Earle, D-Mecklenburg; and Debbie Clary, R-Cleveland; and Sens. Phil Berger, R-Rockingham; Kay Hagan, D-Guilford; Linda Garrou, D-Forsyth; Walter Dalton, D-Rutherford; Tom Apodaca, R-Buncombe.

Among the 10, the report found that the average in-district contribution was $310, while the out-of-district contribution was $1,148. Many of the out-of-district contributions came from political action committees. Rob Thompson of NC PIRG said the out-of-district contribution undermine the influence of voters within the district. The group is advocating public financing of legislative campaigns. Thompson acknowledged that the report did not take into account the amount of contributions redistributed by the candidates to other candidates in other legislative districts. That practice is typical of legislators in leadership positions like those selected for the study.(THE INSIDER, 4/26/07).

They get this money because they are in influential positions. If their seats are safe, then they can pass their money on to other legislators, gaining influence with them. That's why it's so important that we keep track of what they are doing. And that we let them know we are keeping track . . .

NC air quality second worst in country

Thanks to the AsheVillein for this write-up:

The North Carolina Public Interest Research Group released a study this week which places North Carolina second, behind Ohio, for the highest level of power plant pollutants released into the air in 2004. Come on, Progress. Come on Duke. We can do better. Number 2 is the first loser, right guys?



The 65-page report is long on detail and begins,

Every day in America, industrial facilities release millions of pounds of toxic substances into the nation’s air and water. Many Americans – especially those who live in close proximity to industrial facilities –harbor deep concern about how those toxic releases may affect their health.

Harbor deep concern about those toxic releases affecting their health. Go figure. I mean, it's not like we have County Commissioners and power companies making secret deals to build just such industrial facilities upwind from cities... oh, wait, here in Buncombe County we do. And it is not like industry would lie about their ambitions and facts about their pollution... oh wait, they do that too.

I guess then we should harbor deep concern then.

Of course, it could be worse, it can always be worse. We could be in Texas, where G. W. Bush had more time to mess things up than he has in the rest of the USA.

Okay, you say, we also are not as bad as Louisiana, South Carolina, and Alabama, but is that a goal to which we wish to aspire?

The report also breaks out the North Carolina data by itself. I have just begun going over it and will be back later with an update.

This is gonna hurt some people's careers.