Cruise Smells Fishy

From the Burlington Times-News

Barry Smith - Burlington Times-News

Sometimes I have to wonder why red flags don’t go up in people’s minds. This is supposed to be the year of ethics reform in the North Carolina legislature. A special committee has studied ways to change the state’s lobbying, ethics and campaign finance laws to make the operation of government and decision-making more transparent and free of undue influence.

Gov. Mike Easley has taken on the issue by appointing a new head of the state’s ethics board. The House has passed out, and the Senate is considering, a series of bills aimed at addressing some of the scandals in state government that have come to the forefront over the past year. Yet, episodes of lapses in judgment continue to occur. A few weeks ago, when the Carolina Hurricanes were making their run that led to the Stanley Cup, some lawmakers fessed-up to accepting free tickets from lobbyists for high-dollar seats at the RBC Center.

But over the Independence Day weekend, they were outdone. The State Ports Authority organized a cruise for more than 200 invited guests, mainly state and local officials, during the festival of tall ships in Beaufort. As reported by the Raleigh News & Observer, the Ports Authority had a ferry diverted from its normal run to wine and dine the officials during the holiday festival. On the menu were shrimp, scallops, sandwich wraps, fruit, pasta salad, desserts, beer and wine. A steel band provided entertainment. State House members, Cabinet members and local officials were among the guests who sent in an RSVP.

The Ports Authority has apologized for the lavish July 1 excursion, which gave guests a close-up view of the tall ships. And Easley, recognizing the bad smell, has called for a full report from the Department of Transportation (DOT) and Ports Authority on the cruise. The cruise appears inappropriate from nearly every angle.

To begin with, why is the DOT allowing the ferry, named the Floyd Lupton, to be used for such an event? Its purpose is transportation, not to be used as a high-dollar party boat. You have to wonder what the Ports Authority hoped to gain from hosting such a lavish party for people in high places. Might they want to curry favor in the future for proposals that come from the authority?

And then there are the state and local officials involved. Didn’t they wonder if such a fancy event would at least give an impression that something is a bit out of order? I guess not. There’s supposed to be an air of reform in the state capital. Reform certainly wasn’t in the air for state officials when the tall ships were along the coast.