Annexation Petitions

A group of Wilmington residents has filed a complaint against Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand's legislative assistant, claiming she violated public records laws by throwing away petitions from people opposed to forced annexations. "It was astonishing that she threw them in the trash, and pretty stupid, too," said Lora Albachten, one of the residents who presented the petitions. When the group asked Rand's legislative assistant why she discarded the documents, they said she called security and had them removed. Evelyn Costello, Rand's assistant, denied throwing all the documents in the trash. She declined to provide detailed comments, but said she kept one copy from a number of documents she received. She also said the people who delivered the letters "were not very mannerly toward the staff."

The Wilmington residents were a part of a conservative rally last week sponsored by anti-tax group Americans for Prosperity. The rally focused on forced annexations, ending wasteful government spending and opening up government. Rand has said he supports current annexation law, which allows cities to annex land even if new residents object. The Wilmington residents sought to deliver the petitions to Rand because they suspect that -- as chairman of the Senate Rules Committee -- he would to block a bill that would temporarily ban involuntary annexations if it passes the House, said Russ Hauptman, who leads the Wilmington chapter of Americans for Prosperity. "We had premade petitions that we signed on the back to give to him, but they never even hit her desk," he said.

Rand said he stands by his staff. "It was my understanding that some sort of people came by, and it was some kind of problem," he said. Rand said he has no set routine for retaining correspondence, but added, "I have whatever comes in." State law says any letter or communication made or received in conjunction with public business is a public document. It is a misdemeanor to destroy a public document and the maximum penalty is a $500 fine. Efforts to confirm whether Attorney General Roy Cooper or the State Bureau of Investigation had received the complaint Monday were unsuccessful. (John Fuquay, THE FAYETTEVILLE OBSERVER, 7/01/08).