Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Nine years after bitter campaign, Vinroot working with Easley's son

In 2000, Democrat Mike Easley beat Republican Richard Vinroot in a rough and tumble gubernatorial campaign. They've rarely spoken or even seen each other in the years since.

But now Easley's son, Michael Jr., is working with his father's erstwhile rival at Vinroot's Charlotte law firm. The younger Easley, a law student at the University of North Carolina, is one of a handful of summer clerks at Robinson Bradshaw & Hinson.

He and Vinroot have hit it off, going to lunch at places such as the Diamond. Vinroot and his wife Judy have even talked about inviting Easley and other clerks to their home for dinner.

"He's a nice young man and his parents are nice people," Vinroot says. "I just happen to have a different political philosophy and we happened to bump into each other running for governor. He won and I lost."

Vinroot didn't want to comment on the Easleys' legal troubles. A federal grand jury in Raleigh is looking into free air trips the former governor took. Prosecutors have also interviewed the Fayetteville car dealer who loaned a 2000 GMC Yukon that was driven by Michael Jr.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Leave Mr. Easley along there are people in office now commiting fraudulent activities. Let the man and his family go on and enjoy life without the crap.

Anonymous said...

I'm glad Michael Jr. has had a chance to work with Richard Vinroot, I would love for the media to talk about something different. They are making it seem like Mr. Easley is guilty before conducting a theral investigation!

David McKnight said...

Good for Richard Vinroot for his show of professional respect and personal courtesy in regard to Charlotte's business, legal and political communities. "Keeping lines open" is a great tradition in Charlotte and one of the keys to the city's continued story of growth and new opportunities into a new century for people throughout the Carolinas and across the country.

One of the best Martin Luther King Jr. birthday addresses I ever heard was delivered by Richard Vinroot in Charlotte years ago, so he continues to "carry the banner" for outreach, achievement and fair play for civic involvement in the Queen City of the Carolinas.

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