Tim Moore is Speaker of the NC House. A powerful position for a person whose recent campaign mailer says “I’m just a small-town lawyer – that’s all I’ve ever been. I won’t change at all from the way I’ve been all these years. What you see is what you get.”
Well, as Speaker of the House, and a conservative, Tim Moore has been the target of lots of tall tales and twisted stories from the Charlotte observer in Charlotte and the News and Observer in Raleigh. Among other critics. We have investigated several of those twisted reports and made our reports. Tim has come through those particular investigations with flying colors. Look on back in our archives and read for yourselves.
However, as the old saying goes, “Power Corrupts, Absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Commissioner Eddie Holbrook comes to my mind as the perfect example of that. Cleveland County wants to know whether or not Tim Moore is still the “small town lawyer” or has he been corrupted by the big city political office that he is presently in. Bill Williams from Lattimore asked me to find that out. Cousin Bill says, “use my name too.” It’s hard to get one over on Bill Williams. And on me too, I like to think.
The issues now in question are some more recent allegations that need some direct attention from Tim Moore himself. Us voters in Cleveland County will either bring Tim home from Raleigh or send him back in this coming election. Voters in Charlotte and Raleigh or anywhere else be damned. This is on US. Tim is MY representative, Bill Williams’ representative and YOURS too. And Tim faces some big money Democrat opposition from Tim’s Home town-Kings Mountain.
Tim, we are including four articles that carry disturbing allegations and accusations about you. Two from Raleigh News and Observer reporters, both of which were printed in the Charlotte Observer (serving Cleveland County) just days ago. An article in “The Daily Haymaker” that accuse you and other lawyer-representatives in Raleigh of running on-the-side legal services in Raleigh for big-shot high dollar clients who want favorable legislation passed for their own monetary benefit. And, the most recent article that accuses you of “making” a high paying state job for your Raleigh girlfriend for $89,000 per year. A girlfriend you are alleged of being engaged to.
Please respond to the allegations noted in those articles. Your response will be published and provided to the citizens of Cleveland County to help them decide how to vote in this upcoming election. No response would be unacceptable at this stage of the 2018 election cycle.
None of this information has been reported in the Shelby Star. No mystery there.
Thank you in advance for your cooperation in responding to the allegations found in the following four articles:
Those four articles are shown below: The links are provided so you can see the articles themselves, pictures and all.
1. House Speaker Moore needs to explain his work for a developer’s company
BY N AND O EDITORIAL BOARDSeptember 27, 2018 07:28 PM
Updated September 28, 2018 09:39 AM
North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore doesn’t want to explain his questionable work for KNOW Bio, a Triangle-based pharmaceutical start-up co-founded by a developer who benefited from special legislation sponsored by Moore.
When The News & Observer’s Dan Kane questioned Moore about his contract with KNOW Bio, he wouldn’t even confirm he previously had a contract with the company, let alone discuss how much he was paid. But a former KNOW Bio executive said she discovered — and promptly ended as unnecessary — a contract that the company’s co-founder, developer Neal Hunter, had set up with the House speaker.
Moore, an attorney, says attorney-client privilege prevents him from identifying his clients. That’s a questionable response since Anne Whitaker, the company’s former chief executive officer, and Harry Smith, a former member of KNOW Bio’s board, have confirmed that the company had a retainer agreement with Moore.
Moore’s reticence is especially concerning because this contract from Hunter came after Moore’s legislative actions benefited Hunter. In 2013, when Moore, a Republican, was chairman of the powerful House Rules Committee, he pushed through special legislation that overruled city of Durham officials and allowed for the development of 751 South, a 166-acre residential and office development near Jordan Lake.
Hunter sold the land for the 751 South project and has a stake in it. One of its developers is Alex Mitchell of Durham, a friend and campaign supporter of Moore’s. State records show that since 2013, Mitchell and his wife have contributed $30,300 to Moore. Hunter and his wife have contributed $33,300 over the same period. Mitchell and Hunter did not respond to Kane’s repeated requests for comment.
Moore and his developer friends would rather not say anything about this cozy arrangement in which the legislature takes the rare step of overruling local officials in a land use case and the sponsor of the legislation gets an undisclosed contract from a beneficiary of the legislation.
Unfortunately, existing state ethics laws do not require Moore to disclose how much he was paid by KNOW Bio nor the relationship itself. But given his role as one of the state’s three most powerful officials, Moore has an obligation to explain the extent and nature of his work for the company.
As Jane Pinsky, director of the N.C. Coalition for Lobbying and Government Reform, said of the contract, “Without disclosure, it’s not going to pass the smell test for North Carolinians.”
Meanwhile, this arrangement needs scrutiny from federal and state agencies. Whitaker, the former CEO, said her understanding of Moore’s work for KNOW Bio was that he was pushing for changes in federal tax law that would help companies that develop new antibiotics. However, Moore never registered as a federal lobbyist.
Meanwhile, this matter reveals a yawning gap in state disclosure requirements. Lawmakers who are lawyers don’t have reveal who their clients are, even those clients who are paying them significant amounts of money. And some lawmaker lawyers are quite busy in their private practices. Moore, for instance, says he has more than 100 private clients.
While he wouldn’t discuss his contract with KNOW Bio, Moore said the public should have confidence that he avoids conflicts of interest. He said: “Know this: Anytime I take on a client I ensure there are no conflicts with other legal matters I’m handling, and I’m always double extra careful to make sure there’s no conflicts or anything with my legislative role.”
The problem is we don’t “know this” about KNOW Bio. The public is entitled to know more about the private business dealings of the man who can steer or sideline legislation. The law may not require it, but continued public confidence in the House speaker does.