State House Finance Chair gives up role, mentions Asheville conflicts, alleges unethical behavior

Posted on — David Forbes

From WRAL:

Longtime House lawmaker Rep. Robert Brawley, R-Iredell, handed back his Finance gavel Wednesday afternoon with a blistering public letter against fellow Republican House Speaker Thom Tillis.

In his letter, read aloud during Wednesday’s House session, Brawley says Tillis pressured him over House Bill 557, Brawley’s bill to increase the territory area for local broadband provider MI Connections in Mooresville.

“You slamming my office door shut, standing in front of me and stating that you have a business relationship with Time Warner,” Brawley wrote. “MI Connections is being operated just as any other free enterprise system and should be allowed to do so without the restrictions placed on them by the proponents of Time Warner.”
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Brawley also blames Tillis for blocking House Bill 245, his “little bill” to de-annex 23 acres near Troutman.

Brawley said even though H245 had the mayor’s backing, “You have controlled it completely, or your staff has, under the pretense we do not want to create conflicts with towns. Yet, we run all over Buncombe County and Asheville as if it is some kind of hero in the legislature taking care of things.”

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0 thoughts on “State House Finance Chair gives up role, mentions Asheville conflicts, alleges unethical behavior”

  2. bsummers

    I wonder what sort of investigations are in the works about the unethical or criminal behavior alleged against the Speaker by the (then) Finance Comm. Chairman?

    Audio of the 4 1/2 min. event, complete with a joke by Speaker Tillis at the end to lighten the mood, here:

    http://tinyurl.com/q6loaqf

  3. NC Farm Coalition

    [As previously submitted; typo corrected]

    Kudos to Rep. Rbt Brawley for having the wisdom, courage, vision, and ethics to stand up to the pro-development Speaker. For four+ decades — since NC’s land use laws were dramatically altered to favor development over citizens’ rights — similar disregard has undermined justice within NC.

    It was hoped by many among the thousands who thereafter lost their homes and livelihood, or otherwise were irreparably harmed, by NC’s unconstitutional laws and policies, that a Republican leadership might finally remedy such corruption.

    Unfortunately, this hasn’t occurred within the House. When in Feb. 2013 a long overdue bill to finally ban the practice of Extra-territorial Jurisdiction was introduced, Speaker Tillis promptly reported that it would never advance. Why not?

    Some believe that it reflects his National political aspirations. And, once again, in NC, politics prevails in opposition to citizens’ rights.

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