Moran/Spruill flap resolved

2009 Gubernatorial Race, Local, Politics, Virginia 1 Minute

I consider both Del. Brian Moran and Del. Lionell Spruill friends, and pretty smart guys, to boot. So I was a bit taken aback when the financial reports came out showing Moran paying Spruill during the General Assembly session. I have no problems with Moran paying Spruill for working on his campaign – heck, everybody these days gets paid to work on campaigns. (That is, of course, a topic for another post for another day.) What gave me a bit of heartburn was that the payment was being made during session. Although not illegal, it did carry the unmistakable stench of impropriety.

In response to an editorial in The Virginian Pilot, today”s newspaper printed a statement from Mame Reiley, the director of Virginians for Brian Moran.

In light of the concerns raised, Moran plans to introduce a change to the General Assembly rules that expands the current ban on fundraising during the legislative session to include a ban on employment of any legislator by any candidate for public office or political committee during the same time period.

In addition, whether the House adopts our proposed change or not, Spruill will take unpaid leave from the campaign during next year’s regular General Assembly session.

That is exactly the correct response. We all have blind spots and make boneheaded mistakes. The key is to recognize them and rectify them. This approach does both.

~

And kudos to the Pilot for putting this response online. In the past, these Objection! responses were only available to newspaper subscribers. It’s good to see them available to all.

Published

39 thoughts on “Moran/Spruill flap resolved”

  2. Yeah I’ve heard that Spruill was a supporter prior to, I just can’t bring myself to believe that with campaigns being as expensive as they are, Brian Moran still took it upon himself to spend $7500 a month for something that Spruill would have been willing to give him for free.

  3. I agree that it is a BS rule, but there is also a difference between paid work and campaign contributions. Am I to understand that, if one has a lawyer on retainer, and that lawyer is elected to the House of Delegates, one must stop the retainer payments while the legislature is in session?

  4. Generally they have the common sense to recuse themselves from voting on legislation in which their clients have a vested interest, Mouse. However, when your client is the chair of the House Democratic Caucus, EVERY bill that comes before the house is one that your client has a vested interest in.

  5. MB – nope, I’m not getting paid. The payment for me would be seeing Moran in the governor’s mansion 😉

    silence – I understand what you’re saying. I don’t know how or why they came to that amount but I can definitely say that Spruill supported Moran long before he ever went on the payroll.

  6. I can back that up. I worked in the General Assembly in 07 and it was made clear that Spruill supported him then.

    You want to know how Lionell Spruill feels about something? Just hang out with him. He’ll let you know exactly what’s on his mind.

    The guy is a good, hard worker who hits the pavement and holds his pancake roasts for many a democratic candidate. I don’t think anyone that has been aware of what has been going on in this area for long can question Spruill’s dedication and loyalty to the Democratic Party.

  7. Sean,
    I hear where you are coming from. All I’m saying is I’d like to see more elected officials “grooming” a farm team of upcoming candidates and a little more mentoring.
    I’ve seen it in other states and wish it happened more often here. I called out Spruill but its pretty much across the board. As a VP in the YDs, you should understand that.
    Its been a problem in VA for years and I am hoping that someone like Spruill could help this. Let’s face it, younger candidates have only recently been encouraged to run and strides have been made.

    I know Spruill has been a Moran supporter for some time, that’s great. I just think that the $$ arrangement puts things into a grey area which could hurt Moran next year (and I support Moran).

  9. Agreed completely on grooming new, younger candidates. This is something that the YD’s are certainly working on.

    Look for the Reynolds Institute coming soon.

  10. Except he’s wrong. To say that someone is “for sale” is to imply that this is something that they routinely do. We have already established that Spruill has not previously been paid for supporting candidates.

  12. Six years ago? Wow. And how many campaigns has he supported in the interim?

    My goodness. That’s called grasping – at straws.

    In the meantime – let’s see. How much has Spruill donated? I see over $81,000. And that is cash, not all the in-kind stuff he’s been doing.

  13. Ok Vivian, I see your point.
    Let’s agree to disagree 🙂

    I’ll conclude with some words from my political hero that I think still hold true (or should for that matter):

    “Politics is not about power. Politics is not about money. Politics is not about winning for the sake of winning. Politics is about the improvement of people’s lives. It’s about advancing the cause of peace and justice in our country and the world. Politics is about doing well for the people.”- the late Senator Paul Wellstone (D-MI)

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