For ex-lawmakers, retirement pays

It pays to be a legislative leader --- even when you're gone.

Or out of prison.

Former leaders head the list of those receiving pensions under North Carolina's Legislative Retirement System.

At the top of the list: former Democratic House Speaker Jim Black of Matthews, who served time in prison for corruption. He gets $3,607 a month, according to the state Treasurer's office.

His predecessor, Republican Harold Brubaker of Asheboro, gets $3,444 a month to supplement his income as a lobbyist representing more than a dozen clients including Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina and GlaxoSmithKline.

Among 260 former lawmakers getting pensions, former Democratic speakers Joe Hackney and Joe Mavretic are also in the Top 10. So is former Senate Democratic leader Marc Basnight.

At least three North Carolina congressmen, all Republicans, are getting legislative pensions. U.S. Reps. Virginia Foxx ($686/month); Robert Pittenger ($324) and Walter Jones Jr. ($276.)

Not all pensions are as generous. Former Gov. Jim Holshouser and Irwin Belk of Charlotte, an heir to the department store fortune, served in the General Assembly. Each gets $100 a month.

Here are the top 20 recipients of legislative pensions:

JAMES B BLACK $3,607.30


HAROLD J BRUBAKER $3,444.19

JOE HACKNEY $2,828.02

HENSON P BARNES $2,476.36

MARC BASNIGHT $2,364.42

MARIE W COLTON $2,281.60

JOSEPHUS L MAVRETIC $2,221.75

STEPHEN W WOOD $2,047.10

ROBERT C SOLES JR $2,005.55

CHARLIE S DANNELLY SR $1,951.27

JOHN J HUNT $1,924.89

BETSY L COCHRANE $1,847.82

DONALD R KINCAID $1,829.70

JOHN R GAMBLE JR $1,615.75

FRANK W BALLANCE $1,557.71

AARON E FUSSELL $1,484.02

DAN R SIMPSON $1,483.64

CHARLES F BUCHANAN $1,474.00

AARON W PLYLER $1,474.00

UPDATE: Pittenger donates his monthly state pension to a Charlotte charity, an aide said Wednesday.

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."

Want to weigh in on Jim Black? Here's how.

Judging from emails, phone calls and online comments, a lot of people have opinions about our story today on the effort to reduce Jim Black's prison sentence or move him closer to home.

Lawyers for the former N.C. House speaker, who is serving five years for corruption in Lewisburg, Pa., have organized a letter-writing campaign to commute his sentence or at least get him moved back to North Carolina. They cite his ailments as well as his wife's recent diagnosis with ALS, or Lou Gehrig's Disease.

About 150 people have written in support of Black. Not everybody is sympathetic.

"The key piece to remember is that Jim Black had a chance to get a shorter prison sentence," says Bob Hall of Democracy North Carolina, whose research into Black's campaign contributions helped set the stage for his prosecution. "There was a considerable period of time between his conviction and his sentencing when prosecutors sought his cooperation in their investigation of corruption, but he gave them no help....

"So if he wants a reduced prison time now, does that mean he's changed his mind and is ready to tell the truth about the full extent of pay-to-play politics in North Carolina?"

How do you feel about Black's sentence?

To argue for or against the commutation of his sentence, write:

Ronald L. Rodgers

Pardon Attorney

Department of Justice

1425 New York Ave., Suite 11000

Washington, D.C. 20530

Re: James Boyce Black

Reg. No. 50655-056

To write for or against moving Black closer to home, write:

Harley Lappin

Director, U.S. Bureau of Prisons

320 1st St., NW

Washington, D.C. 20534

Re: James Boyce Black
Reg. No. 50655-056

Old stories, new charges haunt David Balmer

Remember David Balmer?

He's a one-time wunderkind of N.C. politics, elected to the state House in 1988 at age 26 and minority leader four years later. In 1994 the Charlotte Republican ran for Congress and forced a primary runoff with Sue Myrick.

But his resume -- playing varsity soccer in college, graduating in the top of his law school class and clerking on the state Supreme Court -- raised questions. Turned out, none of the claims was true. After first blaming the embellishments on a GOP rival and later an overzealous campaign worker, he admitted adding the lies himself. He apologized but was trounced in the runoff.

He kept a low profile for a year, until police found his bloodstained car in east Charlotte. Seventeen hours later, he turned up on a street far from home, battered, disheveled and soaking wet. Police never learned why. He moved to Colorado, remarried and in 2004 was elected to the state House out there.

Last month trouble found Balmer again.

He's running for the minority leader post in the Colorado House, the same job he had here. Last month the current Republican minority leader filed an ethics complaint against him. He alleges, according to the Rocky Mountain News, that Balmer "may have worked with a lobbyist to offer campaign donations and a future committee chairmanship to another legislator in exchange for supporting Balmer."

Balmer and the lobbyist both say they've done nothing wrong. Last week a legislative panel was appointed to look into the complaint.

When the complaint was filed, Colorado reporters got anonymous emails with news stories (including one from the Observer) about Balmer's earlier problems in North Carolina. The subject line read "The Sordid Tale of David Balmer."

The lobbyist in question, by the way, represents the Colorado Chiropractic Association. It was some N.C. chiropractors whom prosecutors said handed former N.C. House Speaker Jim Black wads of cash in restaurant bathrooms.