If you’re a conservative politician, you’d better
make sure your business dealings are squeaky clean, because liberal journalists
are on the hunt for anything that could taint your reputation. The latest scandal to hit North Carolina is
the slush fund known as the NC Rural Economic Development Center. Politicians from both sides of the aisle have
benefitted from this agency, but what is despicable, is how the News and
Observer targeted Art Pope, whom is a noted conservative and budget director
for Gov. Pat McCrory.
Officially, the
nonprofit N.C. Rural Economic Development Center awards “job generating”
grants, funded by state taxpayers, to nondescript government agencies. The city
of Rocky Mount. Montgomery County. The town of Indian Trail.
From the
center’s files, other stories emerge: Legislators influencing where the money
goes. People and businesses from across the political landscape getting in on
the deals. Political money men benefiting from taxpayer cash, spent with little
notice or scrutiny.
One of the
biggest names: Discount store business Variety Wholesalers, whose CEO, Art
Pope, is a well-known supporter of nonprofit groups that criticize taxpayer
subsidies for businesses. A former Republican legislator, he’s now Gov. Pat
McCrory’s budget director.
Now after
reading that, you would have come to the conclusion that Mr. Pope is a hypocrite,
swindling the taxpayers for his own business.
You have to go all the way down the article in order to find out what
actually happened.
Money helps
Pope’s business
The grant is
listed as going to the city of Rocky Mount. It was awarded Oct. 15 last year in
the amount of $200,000.
It was crucial
to Walt Crayton Jr., a developer from New Bern who wanted to rehab a vacant
shopping center on the eastern side of the city’s downtown.
Crayton is
using the grant money to improve the building so Pope’s company can put in a
new Roses discount store and grocery. City officials sponsored the grant –
local government involvement is required – and contributed $10,000. Officials
there say a grocery is badly needed.
Crayton said he
couldn’t make the numbers work without the taxpayer assistance through the
Rural Center. The Roses is set to open this summer, and there is a 15-year
lease. Last week, dozens of people lined up to apply for jobs.
Crayton said
that Pope’s business, Variety Wholesalers, didn’t get a special discount on its
lease with him because of the grant funding. He said Variety essentially set
its lease terms, and he had to figure out the rest of the deal. The public money
allowed it to proceed, bridging a gap in financing on the $1.2 million project,
he said.
In several
interviews this month, Pope said he did not think the Rural Center grant had
any effect on the lease terms – and he suggested his company did not know about
the Rural Center’s aid as the deal came together.
“There was no
knowledge and no involvement of how the work was done on that (shopping) center
owned by the developer and where his source of funding came from,” Pope said.
Records and
interviews show otherwise, and Pope later said he was mistaken.
Documents show
that on Aug. 15, 2012, the chief operating officer at Variety Wholesalers, C.
Wilson Sawyer, wrote a “job commitment” letter to the developer that said the
store would hire at least 25 full-time employees. Of those, 22 were cashiers or
associates to be paid about $14,000 a year.
Sawyer wrote in
the letter that a condition of Variety Wholesalers’ lease was that the
developer would be able to obtain a grant for the site.
Crayton said in
an interview that he did not deal with Pope on the Rocky Mount project but said
the company “absolutely” knew the grant was coming from the Rural Center. Other
company documents and emails support that.
Pope emphasized
that, while the company has committed to the jobs, the grant did not benefit
his company directly and had nothing to do with what his company is paying for
the lease. He acknowledged his company at least “indirectly” benefited from the
grant.
“To the extent
that public funds are involved, and often are involved, does that make it more
affordable for the developer/landlord, for the rent for the retailer or the
industrial facility?” he said. “In the case of retail, does it make it more
able to even locate there? And offer our goods at lower prices to the customers
in the community and provide jobs? Yes. That happens. But there was no
negotiation along those lines, at least in our case.”
Pope said he
supports making cuts to the Rural Center’s funding. He said there is “very high
unemployment” in rural counties and new approaches might work better.
In January, the
Rural Center produced a report for legislators on the employment impact of its
grants. The 25 jobs soon to come at the Roses were included.
Pope said his
business, not the Rural Center, is creating the jobs.
“They like to
claim credit for everything,” Pope said. “They like to build up IOUs because,
‘We helped you.’ In this particular case, I’d say it was Variety Wholesalers
who creates the jobs when we open the stores and sell products at a good price
and the customers want to shop there and it, in turn, allows us to pay our
employees and pay our rent. That’s what creates the jobs. Not a grant.”
This fund has
been around for over 25 years. Now that
republicans what to slash its budget, the knives are coming out to taint their
reputations. I ask where all this
scrutiny was 19 years ago; nay, 5 years ago.
Only the libtards that run these papers can answer that.
