Case against NC Realtor Association heard by NC Election Board

The State Board of Elections soundly rebuked the North Carolina Association of Realtors (NCAR) at a hearing March 4 on a complaint filed by Raleigh real estate agent Becky Harper. Harper was represented by attorney Michael Weisel who showed for the first time how the statewide Realtor organization spent $2.7 million in member dues to defeat the transfer tax in the 24 counties that tried to use this tax to fund local priorities such as schools and protection of open space. Weisel said the massive Realtor expenditures were a preview of what's to come now that limits on corporate campaign contributions have been eliminated by the US Supreme Court in the Citizens United case...

Harper filed her compliant in 2008 calling the mandatory Realtor dues an involuntary political contribution. Records show that the NC Association of Realtors transferred dues revenue directly into a 527 organization called the NC Homeowner's Alliance, and then sent out negative political mailers against local and state candidates. BOE Chairman Larry Leake called the "assessment" statewide Realtors were forced to pay "immoral," and suggested that NCAR needed to take a "hard look" at this at their next meeting.

Weisel researched the election filings in all 24 counties that had transfer tax referenda on the ballot. He found that in most counties, there were no contributions to the anti-tax committees from local citizens. All of the funding came from Realtors and Homebuilders, and the campaigns were apparently managed out of the NCAR headquarters in Greensboro. The Board of Elections was troubled by the incomplete election records and ordered all future referenda committees to file their reports in Raleigh.

Harper said that even though her complaint was dismissed, she believed the hearing sent an important message. Since residential Realtors are forced to join NCAR to get access to the MLS database, Harper contends that the Realtor lobby raises political money from a captive membership. "We need new laws about disclosure and about forced political contributions," she said.
In the news:

Realtors association electioneering could foreshadow troubles to come 

"In January, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that laws interfering with corporate political spending violate the free speech clause of the First Amendment. The ruling, in the case known as Citizens United, would appear to gut the North Carolina laws prohibiting corporate contributions to political candidates, though its exact effects are hotly debated..." Read more

-Bob Geary, Independent Weekly

Critics say NC Realtors 'home tax' efforts could signal future politics following court ruling