Conservative Activist Named to NC Tobacco Board

Source from:  AP 06/16/2011

RALEIGH, N.C. A Republican activist whose family business helped fund successful efforts targeting Democratic incumbents in the North Carolina Legislature last year is now a member of a state foundation that's been criticized by conservatives for years. Senate leader Phil Berger said Tuesday he appointed former state Rep. Art Pope of Raleigh to the Golden LEAF Foundation Board of Directors last week because he's highly qualified. Golden LEAF manages half of the proceeds from North Carolina's share of the national tobacco settlement. The Rocky Mount-based foundation, created in 1999 by the Legislature, so far has awarded $450 million in grants, most of which have gone to try to improve the economic climate in small towns and areas affected by tobacco's wane. "He'll provide a voice on the Golden LEAF Foundation that will help make that a better group," said Berger, R-Rockingham. "If he were someone who was not qualified, I would say that folks can ask those kind of questions, but I don't think anybody can question his qualifications." State Government Radio first reported Pope's appointment. Variety Stores Inc., Pope's family business, gave at least $390,000 to the group Real Jobs NC and Civitas Action last year, according to documents filed with the North Carolina Board of Elections. The groups targeted more than 20 legislative districts with mailers or ads critical of Democratic incumbents. Republicans won a majority in both the House and Senate in November. The John William Pope Foundation, of which Art Pope is chairman, also gives millions of dollars annually to the John Locke Foundation and the Civitas Institute. The two conservative-leaning think tanks have been critical of Golden LEAF's grant choices they say have been draped in Democratic political influence. Pope, who served in the Legislature during the foundation's infancy, said in an interview the think tanks' viewpoints aren't necessarily his own, but he does believe the foundation can do better. He said his background as a retailer and philanthropist with customers statewide qualifies him for the post. "Just because you're critical of an organization doesn't mean you cannot serve, or want to serve, to improve an organization," Pope said. Pope's appointment didn't require approval of the Senate. A pending bill requiring the Legislature's approval of Berger's appointments to other state commissions and panels, which included at least two John Locke Foundation employees and two former senators known for vocal criticism of Democrats while in the Legislature. "I don't see those appointments as constructive," said Senate Minority Leader Martin Nesbitt, D-Buncombe. Enditem