Art Pope is denying being the architect of the new Wake County school board majority and Thomas Farr is saying he advised against sending out controversial postcards in the 1990 U.S. Senate campaign.
As noted in today's article, Pope said "to say I was the architect was overstated.” He's referring to an Oct. 7 e-mail message from Wake GOP finance chair Marc Scruggs in which he tells school board member Ron Margiotta that they followed Pope's plan in the election.
Pope says he raised money for the school board candidates and gave advice to Wake GOP Chairman Claude Pope, his distant cousin. But he says that was all he did during the campaign.
Pope also says he's not directing the new board's actions.
Pope says he hardly knows Margiotta and doesn't recall having contacted the board members since the election. Pope says he has not given them advice on what to do.
But Pope said he's pleased by what the new board has done so far, dismissing the allegations of resegregation from critics as "deliberately false and malicious."
"It's nice to see candidates, once elected, trying to deliver on their platforms," Pope said. "They're trying to do it in an orderly fashion."
Pope took to task the column last week from Chris Fitzsimon, executive director of the liberal N.C. Policy Watch, that said "it’s not hard to see the influence of Art Pope and the groups he funds on the new board’s operations."
Pope questioned why people don't mention that N.C. Policy Watch is largely funded by the A.J. Fletcher Foundation. Pope pointed out that Capitol Broadcasting CEO Jim Goodmon is chairman of the board of the foundation, which is named after Goodmon's grandfather.
State Rep. Rosa Gill, a Raleigh Democrat and former Wake school board member, said someone has to be directing the new majority. She said the new members don't have much political experience to take the steps they're now embarking on.
“Somebody is directing their actions,” Gill said in the article. “Who that someone is, I don’t know. His name [Art Pope] keeps coming up.”
As for Farr, he said he hadn't been involved in creating postcards that U.S. Justice Department officials said were designed to intimidate black voters in Jesse Helms' 1990 campaign. He said that he advised against sending the postcards after he learned about them.
A Justice Department complaint described Farr as a participant in meetings about the mailing and said that had been involved in earlier "ballot security" efforts.
Carter Wrenn, Helms' chief political strategist, said Farr shouldn't be held responsible for the mailing. Wrenn took responsibility for the mailing, calling it a "mistake."
Comments
same ole
Tue, 12/22/2009 - 15:44 — loriac'State Rep. Rosa Gill, a Raleigh Democrat and former Wake school board member, said someone has to be directing the new majority. She said the new members don't have much political experience to take the steps they're now embarking on.'
This is so indicative of the prior BOE - WE know better than any parents what is good for you. YOU must accept our decisions for the greater good, as WE define it.
That she cannot fathom that a groundswell of VOTERS caught on and decided to vote them out, is indicative of the blinders these folks have on.
Ms. Gill - keep looking for that 'someone' behind the curtain. Meanwhile, we'll get busy cleaning up your mess.
Is she speaking from experience?
Wed, 12/23/2009 - 15:28 — ncmpgjrAnd the fact that she did not know what she was doing and had to rely on staff who actually ran things?
They're not you Rosa.
All this is a diversion. You lost the debate on issues, so now go after them personally. Smear attempt.
Directing their actions
Tue, 12/22/2009 - 13:31 — TrailerParkGirlWell, we all know who directed Ms. Gill - the Administration and she always had her rubber stamp at the ready. "Well, if Mr. Dulaney says...I see no reason to question that."
As far as what is directing the new members - IMO their hearts and their own beliefs not clouded by blinders that all was well with the way things were.
If it is all the GOP then the GOP must have magical powers considering the candidates received 60+ % of the votes in a county that is very far from 60% GOP. Those that want to make this into some kind of GOP conspiracy theory need to wake up and smell the coffee.
Personally, no offense to them but I do not know (other than what I've read in the N&O) who Claude or Art Pope are.
Once again, if anyone wants
Tue, 12/22/2009 - 09:54 — aquaman4life68Once again, if anyone wants to place the blame on the changes coming to Wake county...the N&O needs to simply post the pictures of Del Burns, Chuck Delany, and the rest of the old board. FOLKS...this is who you need to blame. They caused the dissatisfaction among the citizens in Wake Co.
I'm really enjoying the fear among the "status quo" supporters....THEY SHOULD BE SCARED...their days are over, which is long overdue!
New BOE elected by thinking citizens
Tue, 12/22/2009 - 09:24 — kmisegadesThe N&O is flummoxed that a broad, bipartisan majority of voters replaced the real puppets with thinking Board members. Unlike liberals, those who voted for the new BOE members actually think, inform themselves on issues, and take actions based on their beliefs, not what they are told from the Dem or GOP leadership, WEP, WCPSS, NCAE, etc. You won't find a bogey man here, N&O, just a heckofa lot of folks who were fed up with a decade of arrogance and incompetence on the BOE. My guess is that fewer than 1% of those who voted for these new members have ever even heard of Art or Claude Pope. You'd probably be shocked how many of the folks who voted for the new members are registered Democrats and belong to the minorities the old Board purported to represent.
The politics of smear
Tue, 12/22/2009 - 08:41 — nancyncRight here, with a boost from the N&O - get your slime here folks! This is the best they have!
Rosa Gill is gone, it's a good thing I see given her bitterness.
In the spirit of the season
Tue, 12/22/2009 - 15:40 — g88ky07we might as well just say Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. May we all look towards the coming year, what ever it holds!
he11 is freezing ;-)
Tue, 12/22/2009 - 16:20 — supportwcpssDitto to you G88
Pathetic
Tue, 12/22/2009 - 07:55 — Dadof3Wow, that's all it takes? Say a weak inference out loud to convert a suspicion into a "fact?" Thanks for reminding me why I don't miss your work on the board. Lazy and uncivil, a calumny, really.
Otherwise, I'm loving "slow news weeks," if this is all we got to banter about. Merry Christmas!
Why would Gill say this?
Tue, 12/22/2009 - 08:39 — RichardAndersonWhy would Gill suspect that "somebody is directing their actions"? Was somebody directing her (in)actions so that is a natural assumption for her?
I am really tired of the boogieman under the bed stuff. I said the same thing about the old board. They are doing what they are doing because it was they think is right. Judge them on what they do, not on some imaginary conspiracy behind it all.