Democrats Tap Disgraced Easley Appointee to Run for North Carolina Senate

Raleigh, N.C. – With a nod to convicted felon and former governor Mike Easley, on Tuesday the North Carolina Senate Democrats tapped disgraced former DMV commissioner George Tatum to run for State Senate District 19.

Tatum resigned from the DMV in 2007 after a whistleblower exposed corruption and cronyism at the agency. Tatum used his office to help a friend get a replica 1937 Ford truck titled as authentic, making the car more valuable and saving the owner hundreds of dollars in taxes. Tatum suspended the whistleblower before ultimately resigning.

This was not the only time Tatum abused the power of his office. Other cronies were awarded special favors, including the reported incident of a mechanic winning an emissions specialist position over other more qualified applicants. Also, Tatum had his office phone rigged to secretly monitor employee phone calls, as reported by the Raleigh News & Observer.

With a legacy of misdeeds, abuse of power, corruption, and disdain for the public trust under Mike Easley, it boggles the mind that state Democrats would tap George Tatum to run for public office.

NCGOP Executive Director Scott Laster added, “The North Carolina Democratic Party must miss the good old days of Mike Easley and Jim Black, when their culture of corruption made Illinois look like a Sunday school class. George Tatum left his post at the DMV in disgrace, but, unlike Easley, managed to avoid a felony conviction. In Democratic circles, I guess that makes him a viable candidate.”

###

 Links:

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1607689/

http://www.elon.edu/e-web/academics/communications/ncopengov/toolbox/secretspart2.xhtml

http://ncgop.us/sites/corruption/?pageId=ttm-steps-down.html

http://ncgop.us/sites/corruption/?pageId=ttm-disparity.html

http://ncgop.us/sites/corruption/?pageId=ttm-dmv-tradition.html

http://ncgop.us/sites/corruption/?pageId=ttm-troubles-dmv.html

http://projects.newsobserver.com/tags/george_tatum

Tweet