NC governor signs bill criminalizing politicians' use of their titles for financial gain

Last edited Tue Dec 14, 2021, 11:06 AM - Edit history (1)

RALEIGH -- Gov. Roy Cooper signed into law Thursday a bill that will make it a felony for public officials to financially benefit from their titles, going against some legislative Democrats and a North Carolina’s NAACP leader who opposed the legislation.

Legislators introduced the bill this year in response to a 2020 investigation by North Carolina State Auditor Beth Wood that found a Rocky Mount city council member hadn’t paid his utility bill since 1999. That investigation also found that city officials broke rules and spent thousands of dollars inappropriately.

The city councilman, Andre Knight, is Black, and North Carolina NAACP president Rev. Anthony Spearman called the legislation racist. Spearman implied that Wood, who has championed the legislation this year, had an “ulterior motive” for pushing it. (Spearman was later defeated for reelection as NAACP president)

Knight, who owed more than $47,000 in utility bills, is also president of the Rocky Mount NAACP — one reason Spearman may have weighed in.

Read more at: https://www.charlotteobserver.com/article256203442.html