Art Pope: 'Maybe I'll go' to Art Pope protest

It's being called "Art Pope Exposed, a community teach-in," and scheduled for Tuesday night in downtown Raleigh.

The event is sponsored by the Institute for Southern Studies and includes a panel with representatives from Democracy North Carolina and the N.C. AFL-CIO.

"Want to know what all the Art Pope buzz is about?" a press release asks. "Curious to know more about his political network and its influence on everything from cuts to North Carolina schools to the state's anti-gay marriage amendment?"

Pope is a wealthy Raleigh retailer who has helped bankroll conservative causes and candidates throughout the state to the tune of $40 million according to one study. In October, the New Yorker ran a lengthy profile of him headlined, "State for Sale."

The story brought national attention on Pope, who had already become a sort of public enemy to liberal groups throughout the state. He's become a target of Occupy groups, who wave signs bearing slogans like "Say Nope to Art Pope." The North Carolina Association of Educators has called on shoppers to boycott stores in his Variety Wholesalers retail chain.

Pope knows about Tuesday's teach-in.

"I haven't been invited but maybe I'll go, I don't know," he says.

"First of all, I would point out that these are 501(c)3 organizations funded by the Reynolds Foundation and George Soros Open Society Institute, which are attacking me because I support Republican candidates and conservative causes. And that is not proper use of charitable dollars which are supposed to be used for educational purposes.”

He also said the groups didn't attack two men implicated in campaign finance violations because they're Democrats.

But Democracy North Carolina, through its own investigations into campaign finance violations, helped build cases against several Democrats. Among them: former House Speaker Jim Black of Matthews, who went on to serve time in federal prison.

"We’ve gone after many Democrats,” said Bob Hall of Democracy North Carolina. "He shouldn't feel so picked upon."

Groups plan to challenge districts

A coalition of N.C. groups is poised to file suit over new Republican-drawn voting districts as early as next month, a move that could delay the 2012 primary elections.

The groups, including the Southern Coalition for Social Justice and Democracy North Carolina, are waiting to see if the U.S. Justice Department or a federal court approves the plans drawn by GOP lawmakers.

The deadline for Justice to rule on new congressional and legislative voting districts is Nov. 2.

"Our organization is concerned about the way the plans are essentially segregating and promoting segregation of voters in ways not consistent with the Voting Rights Act," says Bob Hall, director of Democracy North Carolina.

A challenge has been expected ever since lawmakers approved the plans over the objections of critics.

"I don't think it's any big secret that we’re going to challenge the maps," says Chris Ketchie, a policy analyst for the Southern Coalition. "The only secret is how we’re going to challenge them."
Legal challenges delayed N.C. elections in 1998 and 2002. And no congressional district in the country has been litigated more than Democrat Mel Watt's 12th, the source of four cases that went to the U.S. Supreme Court.

A first: Every eligible N.C. judicial candidate opts for public funding

For the first time, every candidate for North Carolina's appellate courts have filed their intent to use public money for their campaigns.

Participating candidates for the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals can qualify for grants from the Public Campaign Fund. They have to agree to spending limits and raise a specified number of small donations from N.C. voters.

"It shows the success of the program it means that the courts are more accountable to the public than the system of private donors," says Bob Hall, director of Democracy North Carolina and an advocate of publicly financed elections.

Since the program started in 2004, Hall says 31 of 40 candidates in contested general election races have taken part. The Public Campaign Fund has been funded by voluntary tax checkoffs and a $50 annual fee from attorneys.

Proponents say the law prevents conflicts that might arise from donors or groups with interests before the court gaining undue influence.

In West Virginia, for example, the chief executive of a large coal company spent $3 million to help elect a judge in 2004. This year the state legislature has approved legislation modeled on North Carolina's that will create a pilot public financing program for Supreme Court races in 2012.

"North Carolina is rightly setting a national standard that other states are following and looking to," says Hall. "And I think it's a lesson in success in addressing a perceived problem of special interest money in elections that can be adopted for other offices in North Carolina.