#NCGA - Pro-Toll Mayor Travis continues support of Pro-Toll Rep Fraley

There are lots of sayings in the rough and tumble game of running for public office.  One of them is “money is the mother’s milk of politics.”

With last Friday’s deadline for submitting campaign finance reports now in the rear view mirror, we get the first glimpse at how candidates are doing in this phase of the run-up to next month’s primaries.  That should definitely provide some interesting fodder in coming weeks for those who follow local elections closely.

With so much going on with the I77 tolls project recently, it seemed like a good idea to check up on the report for NC House 95 Representative, John Fraley.  Fraley is currently the only Lake Norman area member of the General Assembly still openly supporting the project and its controversial contract with Spanish firm Cintra’s local subsidiary -  I77 Mobility Partners.

When Fraley challenged Mooresville’s Robert Brawley for the seat back in 2014, his candidacy was widely speculated to be an effort supported by Raleigh power brokers backing the tolling project – people such as Thom Tillis, then the Speaker of the NC House.  Back then, Brawley had been involved in a very public spat with the Speaker largely over the plan to put HOT lanes on I77.

Fraley’s 2014 campaign finance reports were highlighted by huge loans to his campaign from his own personal funds totaling over $80,000.  He also raked in 10s of thousands of dollars more in contributions with much of that coming from out of state sources.  Much of that war-chest, to the tune of over $64,0000, was spent with a high powered and well connected Raleigh political consulting outfit called The Stewart Group.  Fraley’s campaign treasurer also happened to be the same firm used by most Republican US Federal candidates, a firm named CM&CO, out of Raleigh.  One of that firm’s largest clients that cycle according to OpenSecrets.com just happened to also be the Thom Tillis US Senate campaign.

With all that political fire power backing him, Fraley eked out the primary election victory against Brawley by a mere 106 votes.

However, all of that may not be the most interesting thing about Fraley's reports that cycle.  The most interesting was one donation from an address in Cornelius.  That address would match the address on Cornelius Mayor Chuck Travis’s campaign reports.  However, the name on the donation was not that of the Mayor, instead it was from his wife.  In fact, the $2000 donation was one of the largest individual donations Fraley received last go-round.

All of that just provides a little background.  What does it have to do with this cycle, you may be asking?

Here are two things.

First, Fraley has raised and spent much less this time – a mere $20,000 raised and less than $3,000 spent – leaving him with cash on hand of about $23,000.  Things could certainly change after this report, but that’s a clear indication he believes he has little to fear from his primary challenger this time.  That would be political newcomer and anti-toll candidate David W Thomson of Mooresville.

The second is that one of his biggest donors, continues to come from that same address linked to Cornelius Mayor and HOT lanes supporter, Chuck Travis.  This time though, there is really no mistaking where that money originated.  The name on the check is Travis’s, or more specifically the “Chuck Travis for Mayor” campaign committee.  Travis raised an unusual amount of money last time for someone running unopposed – over $35,000.  It was many times what he'd raised for his previous local campaigns.

Travis serves on the state's Turnpike Authority Board, so sending some of his leftover campaign cash to a fellow toll supporter to use in this cycle somehow seems sort of fitting.
That brings to mind another saying…
“Birds of a feather….”

More Toll Related Fraley Campaign Finance Funny Business in NC95

A few weeks ago, we told you about a number of bright red flags in NC-95 Rep John Fraley's initial campaign reports when he ran last cycle.

Those dubious items included:

• the large amount of out of state donations in addition to his own mega loan of $75,000 to his campaign
• the use of paid campaign workers
• the diversion of copious amounts of cash to hardball consultants closely linked to the Raleigh establishment
• receiving a large donation from the family of Mayor Chuck Travis - a long standing supporter of the I77 toll project and a board member of the state's tolling authority.

As bad as that list is, unfortunately there's a bit more.

When Rep Fraley filed his year end campaign report in 2013, the first major report he filed, he served as his own campaign treasurer and did a very thorough job of capturing the required information from donors.  Maybe too good for some people's liking.

The State BOE website shows that in April of 2014, the Fraley Campaign filed an ammended report.

At first glance that April ammended report looks intended to just correct a couple of minor accounting errors.  A few dollars here and there are recategorized, nothing unusual.

However, one also notices the contact info on the donor list has also been "updated".

As previously mentioned, while serving as his own treasurer, Fraley had been very thorough.  Nothing was missing as far as contact info for donors goes.  For a first time report, that was actually pretty impressive.

The interesting thing about the updated report is that it actually removed info.  Every donor was reformatted and had some of the not required info provided in the original report struck from the report.

One donor had a bit more than that taken off.  Want to guess which one?

Out of 50 donors, only the donation from the family of Cornelius Mayor Chuck Travis had more info removed.  Instead of the required address info it now just said "NC" - an error that does not meet the minimum standard.

Typically, ammended reports correct errors.  They don't introduce them.

Plus, when the only introduced error makes it more difficult to identify the source of a potentially embarrassing contribution, that is certainly something that makes one go "hmmm...".

So, how did this happen?

One tried and true "explanation" for this type of thing is to throw the campaign treasured under the bus.  Often campaign treasurers are the candidates themselves or other people who may not do these things for a living.  It is believable for them to admit a mistake and beg forgiveness.

However, that tactic would not really work in Rep Fraley's case.  You see, in February of 2014 Fraley changed his campaign treasurer from himself to one Collin McMichael.  McMichael signed the ammended campaign form with the eror.

Who is Collin McMichael?  He just happens to be the professional campaign finance accountant used by many of North Carolina's Federal Republican candidates.  According to OpenSecrets.org,  McMichael's firm, CM&CO LLC , received $291,181 for its Federal work alone in the 2014 election cycle.

Who was CM&CO's largest customer that cycle?

That would be the Thom Tillis campaign.

That's the same Thom Tillis who is the godfather of the I77 HOT lanes plan, the same Thom Tillis who appointed Mayor Travis, whose wife made the donation in question, to the state Turnpike Authority, and the same Thom Tillis who had the dustup with former NC95 Rep Robert Brawley over the toll issue just before Fraley decided to primary Brawley last cycle.

So, here's the situation...

A high-dollar campaign finance accountant makes a "mistake" by removing information on a donation that could raise a few eyebrows.  It occurs around a highly volatile issue, and the people involved all have connections back to Senator Thom Tillis.

It could all be just an innocent coincidence, but it certainly is one of those things that make you go "Hmmm..."