A campaign finance reform advocate is accusing N.C. House Rep. Josh Dobson, now the Republican candidate for N.C. Commissioner of Labor, of “double-dipping” from state and political funds during his time as a state representative.
The Legislative Ethics Committee filing made Monday by Bob Hall, the retired executive director of voting rights group Democracy North Carolina, claims Dobson of McDowell and another N.C. House member, Republican John Torbett of Gaston County, have charged the General Assembly tens of thousands of dollars since 2017 for expenses the two lawmakers did not incur because they were paid by their campaign committees, according to Hall’s complaint.
Rep. Dobson received more than $90,000 from January 2017 through June 2020 in government payments to support his expenses for housing, meals and travel connected with legislative meetings in Raleigh and elsewhere, but those expenses were largely paid by his campaign committee, not by Dobson. For example, the complaint filed by Hall said Dobson collected more than $18,000 for mileage, even though his campaign paid $17,091 for his “gas” over the 42-month period, or more than $400 a month.
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Dobson, who is a former McDowell County commissioner, also charged the government more than $50,000 for housing while attending legislative meetings, but his campaign paid $49,622 for his Raleigh apartment’s rent, furnishing and utilities and for hotel rooms in Raleigh after he moved out of the apartment in 2019, according to the complaint.
State lawmakers living outside the Raleigh area regularly receive travel allowances and $104 per-day payments to cover costs of serving in the General Assembly.
Dobson responded to Hall’s accusations in an emailed statement to The McDowell News.
“First, this is why a lot of good people don't run for office,” he said in his email. “To have your name smeared 29 days before a statewide election clearly for political gain and in hopes that a headline article might end up on a mailer is sad. Second, it's unfortunate that is where we are in our politics today.”
Dobson said he was audited twice last year by the state Board of Elections, provided them all information that was requested and the final audit completed in June of last year had no outstanding issues.
“I only received the complaint this morning so I’m trying to go through the accusations,” he said in his emailed statement. “As I did with the routine audit from state Board of Elections, I will comply with any questions or requests that the Legislative Ethics Committee may have.
“I look forward to continuing to run a positive campaign that brings people together instead of a campaign based on division. I will not practice the politics of personal destruction as Mr. Hall has had a reputation for this type of smear campaign for a very long time.”
Hall, who has filed complaints against Democratic and Republican lawmakers, is seeking an investigation by the ethics panel, which is composed of equal numbers of Democrats and Republicans.
“You can call what he’s been doing double dipping or stealing public money or whatever, but it seems clearly unethical and a violation of the law against using your public office for private gain,” said Hall in a news release.
Hall’s complaint against Torbett says he likewise received more than $85,000 in government payments for his Raleigh lodging, meals and travel from 2017 to mid-2020, even though his campaign committee actually paid nearly the same amount for those expenses — $84,122.
The Torbett campaign committee, not Torbett himself, paid $65,902 for the year-round rent and utilities for his Raleigh apartment, $10,369 for his travel, and $7,851 for nearly 200 payments described on his campaign reports as “Dinner.”
“Rep. Dobson and Rep. Torbett have by far the worst records among all House members for taking money from taxpayers for expenses they didn’t have,” said Hall in a news release. “It’s especially disturbing that Dobson and Torbett continued their practice of double dipping even after the Legislative Ethics Committee sent out clarifying guidelines on May 20, 2020, telling legislators it was unethical and a violation of the state constitution to take housing, meal or travel payments from the General Assembly for expenses being paid by other sources, not by the legislator.”
The General Assembly offers legislators $70 for lodging and $34 for meals per day when they attend sessions or legislative meetings, plus 29 cents per mile for travel from their home, according to the news release.
“Some other legislators have abused the system by taking government payments for expenses covered by their campaigns, but no House member has cheated the public in the excessive manner adopted by Dobson and Torbett,” Hall said in the news release. “It’s time for the Legislative Ethics Committee to perform its duty — to not just issue memos but take action to punish wrongdoing.”
Hall criticized the committee for failing to act on a complaint he filed in August against Senate leader Phil Berger for similarly charging the General Assembly for his Raleigh housing even though those costs were largely paid by his campaign committee. In fact, as news stories have reported, the campaign was essentially paying the mortgage on a home Berger owned in Raleigh and later sold for an $80,000 profit.
“Because Berger’s campaign stopped making payments for his housing immediately after the ethics committee issued its May guidelines, the committee seemed to forgive his actions prior to May and dismissed my complaint by saying it had no jurisdiction to enforce violations of the state constitution,” Hall said. “But my complaint also said Berger violated the State Government Ethics Act, specifically NC General Statute 138A-31 which prohibits Sen. Berger from using his public position for private gain. Because he used his position for years to request per-diem housing payments for expenses his campaign actually paid, the ethics committee should have at least declared his earlier actions unethical.”
“The committee must stop making excuses and take more responsibility for enforcing the State Government Ethics Act,” Hall added.
In his complaint filed Monday, Hall emphasized that Dobson and Torbett continued to collect government payments for their Raleigh lodging and food after the May memo, even though their campaign committees continued to pay those expenses. For example, from May 24 to June 30, 2020, Torbett’s campaign paid $1,831 for his Raleigh apartment expenses and Dobson’s campaign paid $2,235 for his stay at Raleigh-area hotels.
Hall noted that Dobson and Torbett have both used their campaigns’ debit cards to pay hundreds of expenses, including some that seem personal. Dobson’s campaign reports show it paid $5,536 for his clothes and dry cleaning and for numerous “gas” payments that are not to service stations. Dobson has served as his campaign’s treasurer since he first ran for the NC House in 2013, and he continues in that role in his campaign for Labor Commissioner.
“It’s possible that these men have violated campaign finance laws by using their campaign accounts as a slush fund for their personal enjoyment,” Hall said in the news release.
He also pointed out that personal use of tax-exempt government per diems could violate IRS regulations, as well as violate criminal statutes against theft that would be of interest to a district attorney.
“As this point, I want to just focus on a complaint with the Legislative Ethics Committee,” he said in the news release. “I want its members to have the courage to do their duty and not say it’s somebody else jurisdiction or responsibility or find some other excuse to avoid recommending discipline for their peers.”
