Tim Moore, Getting His Quid Before His Pro

Man, oh man. That Tim Moore is one slick dude.

He takes campaign money from persons in a well-heeled neighborhood in Cleveland County and then slips a cool $1.5 mil into the state budget to "upgrade" a water and sewer system for that same well-heeled neighborhood, Moss Lake, an unincorporated lakeside high-dollar housing development.

But let investigative reporter Lisa Sorg tell the story (and hattip to scharrison over at BlueNC):

On June 27, state lawmakers were in the throes of hashing out the 2016-17 budget, when tucked on page 182, a new line item appeared, as if by magic: a $1.5 million grant for water and sewer upgrades and dam repair at John H. Moss Reservoir in Cleveland County.

Such an appropriation sounds neither sexy nor controversial. That is, until it’s revealed that the item was inserted in the budget during a final conference committee hearing at the end of the session. No previous versions of the Senate or House budget include it.

And that Moss Reservoir, also known as Moss Lake, is in Kings Mountain, home of House Speaker Tim Moore.

And that his campaign treasurer, a campaign volunteer, and at least four campaign contributors live on or near the lake.

And that the grant money was allocated carte blanche, with virtually no conditions except that Kings Mountain may use it “for any lawful purpose.” None of the 15 other local projects that received grant money was given the same latitude….

According to Moore’s campaign finance reports from 2014 to 2016, Donna Mabry, Moore’s treasurer, and Misty Greene, a campaign volunteer, live on Moss Lake. Contributors James Testa ($1,500) Robert Arey ($700), William Shipley ($300) and Ellis Monroe ($200) also live there.

Dennis Bailey ($250), works for ReMax realty, which sells homes in Cleveland County, including several on the lake.... 

Sorg's investigation is considerably longer and just as detailed and backed up by numerous other links to documents. (The Cleveland County map linked at the words "on the lake" above is a revealing factoid.)

Parting Shot

"First, we count the money."

--"Political Religiosity" in Encylopedia of World Religions

It Smells

The Cleveland County Commission recently decided to hire the NC House Speaker Tim Moore as its county attorney, giving him an up-front appetizer of $25,000 cash and promising $250-per-hour as his fee going forward. The chair of the Cleveland County Commission is Tim Moore's first cousin ("once removed!" Moore is quick to add, defensively).

The Cleveland County Commission is 4-1 Republican, and they know The Main Chance when they see it. Mr. Moore could be a boon to future deals, not to mention a hedge over which the General Assembly might not lobe certain turds (we know all too well the General Assembly's tendency to butt into local affairs).

A boon but also a bone of contention, as it turns out. The man the Cleveland County Commission unceremoniously fired as their attorney to put in Moore is not at all happy about being shown the door, and he wrote his former employees a complaining letter which has been made public (discussed at the link above).

What perhaps smells the highest is what appears to be a rank case of feather-bedding: the Cleveland commissioners appear to have made the job possible -- and much easier -- for the excessively busy Mr. Moore by hiring another full-time attorney to handle routine lawyer stuff for the county while Moore's busy at the General Assembly.

That's kind of a proliferation of legal expenses, ain't it, for no good reason? Or perhaps we should say "for no rational reason," which is more "lawyerly."