Judge halts gubernatorial candidate’s misdirection of taxpayer funds

(The Center Square) – Direction of taxpayer funds from the world’s largest pork producer by North Carolina’s Democratic candidate for governor has been stopped by a Superior Court judge.

Attorney General Josh Stein, Gov. Roy Cooper and state Controller Nels Roseland were dealt defeat by a Randolph County pastor, Jonathan Burris, suing on behalf of the Randolph County Board of Education. Shirley, in his ruling, wrote money paid by Smithfield Foods since July 2019 “must be used for the purpose of environmental enhancement in public schools.”

An environmental grant program created by Cooper and overseen by Stein had been receiving the money. In dispute was $12 million paid by Smithfield Foods since July 2019 as part of a 2000 deal worth $50 million over 25 years negotiated by Mike Easley, then the attorney general.

Stein and Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson are engaged in what is expected to be one of the nation’s most expensive gubernatorial campaigns to succeed Cooper, a term-limited Democrat.

Each of the defendants were named in their official capacities for the state.

Easley went from attorney general at the time the agreement began to governor in 2000. Cooper succeeded him and spent four four-year terms as attorney general, then rose to governor; Stein succeeded Cooper as top state prosecutor and hopes to follow his steps again Nov. 5.

It’s the second time for Cooper being attached to what is criticized as a slush fund. The first was the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, a $4.5 billion project – that grew to $8 billion – involving Duke Energy and Dominion Energy that never came to fruition and was pock-marked by accusations of a pay-to-play permitting scheme netting $57.8 million into a mitigation fund.

Cooper denied wrongdoing and did not benefit personally from the money. Known for a high volume of litigations involving authority with the Legislature, Cooper didn’t sue when the Republican-majority General Assembly successfully gained control of the fund's assets.

Education also benefited in that instance, with the money being distributed to school districts in the eight counties on the pipeline route.