It looks like Wake County school board member John Tedesco will be avoiding any potential ethics concerns by turning down gifts being solicited in his name by the Wake County Republican Party.

As noted in today's article, Tedesco said he didn't know in advance that Wake GOP Chairwoman Susan Bryant would send out the request Thursday. Tedesco said people should instead send gifts and donations to his former employer, Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Triangle.

“While I appreciate their generous offer, I can’t accept it,” Tedesco said. “I know there are many other people having difficulties right now.”

Here's a look at how the Wake County Republican Party put together the press release Thursday criticizing Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker for his remarks about the Wake County school board majority.

The press release was formulated after a series of e-mail messages between Wake GOP Chairman Claude Pope and Jay Bryant, a GOP spokesman. The messages are public because copies were also sent to Cary Town Councilwoman Jennifer Robinson, a Republican.

The messages show the GOP strategy for responding to Meeker's comments that the majority board members are "people who are not from the area, who don't share our values."