Week 3 of Statewide Art Pope Informational Picket Campaign Kicks Off With 9 Simultaneous Pickets

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 15, 2013

For More Information:  Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II, President, 919 394 8137

                     Atty. Jamie Phillips Cole, Public Policy Coordinator, 919 682 4700

For Media Assistance:  Laurel Ashton, Field Secretary, 828 713 3864

Week 3 of Statewide Art Pope Informational Picket Campaign

Kicks Off With 9 Simultaneous Pickets

Monday, December 16, 2013

4:00 PM

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So how much did it Cost Art Pope to buy Rep Jonathan Jordan??

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from the Institute for Southern Studies,

A CASE STUDY IN INFLUENCE

Perhaps it's not surprising that Rep. Jordan buckled to Pope's pressure: The GOP lawmaker from North Carolina's 93rd district is a case study in Pope's outsized political influence in the state.

When Jordan first ran for office in 2010, he was one of two dozen Republicans that benefited from a flood of money Pope poured into elections, helping the GOP capture the state legislature.

That year, Jordan received $16,000 in campaign contributions from Pope and his close family, the maximum allowed by law. On top of that, three groups backed by Pope -- Americans for Prosperity, Civitas Action and Real Jobs NC -- shoveled more than $91,500 into election spending on Jordan's behalf, bringing Pope's total investment in launching Jordan's legislative career to more than $107,000.

But Pope's connection to Rep. Jordan goes back even further. In the late 1990s, Jordan spent two years as research director at the John Locke Foundation, one of a network of conservative groups in North Carolina largely funded by Art Pope's family foundation.

And Locke and other Pope-backed groups have spearheaded the attack on North Carolina's judicial program from the very beginning.

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