Justice Martin Fuzzy Young GOP Campaign Reporting?
Dear Friends and Voters,
Over the weekend, I went over the campaign reports filed by my opponent
and I happened on something that caught my eye. Maybe it will catch
yours too. I noted that between May 5, 2006 and June 29, 2006 there
were four (4) payments to an individual named Matthew G. Martin. Just
who is Matthew G. Martin? And why did he receive almost $14,000.00?
To avoid any confusion, I will refer to Mr. Martin simply as Matthew.
Matthew appears to be a young man who graduated from UNC's law school
in
2004.
The Amazing GOP 30 Day Campaign Consultant
From his picture, he does not appear to
be
over 30 years of age. As per his firm's website information, he
practices in the areas of commercial real estate, commercial
transactions, commercial litigation and construction.
After his graduation, and he graduated from law school with honors, he
went to work for a prestigious law firm in Washington, D.C. However,
after working only one year there, he returns to practice law at
another
prestigious large law firm in Raleigh. Clearly this young man has
connections to get such coveted appointments.
I graduated from law school a good while ago, but the legal practice
has
not changed. For one who is lucky enough to land a job at a big law
firm, yes, a young associate will earn big bucks. But the law firm
expects you to work 24/7 for that princely sum they are paying you.
One
wonders if Matthew's employer is aware of his outside activities and
the
sum that Matthew has raked in during the past month.
One other curious factor is the last names of Matthew and Justice
Martin. Could it be a relative? We don't know. If it was, we are
talking about a nice chunk of money. Some people earn $14,000 in one
year. Matthew does it in one month.
Why was Matthew paid $14,000.00? You can link to the campaign report
here:
http://www.sboe.state.nc.us/
(if the above link does not work, go to www.sboe.state.nc.us and click
on the lefthand side where you can view campaign finance reports; you
can input Justice Martin's name. Click on his second quarter
disclosure
report and finally on his detailed expenditures - People can judge for
themselves and not rely on my word).
From a review of the expenditures, we see that Matthew received
$7,500.00 on May 5, 2006 for political consulting services. Then
Matthew gets another $3,000.00 for political consulting services on
June
2, 2006. He gets reimbursed for expenses in the sum of $497.67 on June
29, 2006. On the same date he gets a final $3,000.00 for political
consulting expenses.
I can understand the reimbursement for expenses. It is a big state and
the demands of a job and conflicting campaign appearances do pose
obstacles. Possibly the young man spoke at various events throughout
the state or put up road signs, although his job demands would hardly
leave him the time. Perhaps his employer grants him time to do
important work for the campaign of a justice on our state Supreme
Court?
If so, that brings up other questions about favoritism for the law
firm.
Even if we assume nothing untoward, that still does not explain the
other $13,500.
Justice Martin has hired a political consultant, Paul Schumaker. Mr.
Schumaker was the consultant to Senator Richard Burr, so he is one of
the outstanding political consultants in his field. And Justice Martin
has handsomely paid Mr. Schumaker $175,000.00 for his services. So why
does Justice Martin need the political consulting services of a young
man when he already has a well-known political expert and the expert's
staff? What could Matthew have done of political value to the campaign
that was worth $13,500.00 in one month? Is this a way of transferring
donations and enriching a family member? If so, is this not nepotism?
Or perhaps this is all aboveboard and can be logically explained?
I call on Justice Martin to give members of the voting public an
explanation. We have a right to know.
For Justice
Rachel Lea Hunter
