Editorial: The Wright decision

It’s too early to tell if state Rep. Thomas Wright will be joining his old buddy and former Speaker Jim Black in the big house.

But it’s clear Wright has no business in the N.C. House of Representatives.

The embattled Democrat, who faces criminal charges for mishandling more than $300,000 in loans and political and charitable contributions, was expelled by his peers in the General Assembly last week. Although his attorney has promised an appeal, Wright has bigger problems than salvaging his political future.

He is scheduled to stand trial later this month and, if convicted, could face prison time.

In the court of public opinion, Wright has been cooked for some time. Earlier this month, a legislative panel determined he hid more than $180,000 in campaign contributions, stashed more than $8,500 in charitable donations in a personal account and coaxed a state employee into helping him secure a questionable bank loan, according to the Associated Press.

Rep. Rick Glazier, a fellow Democrat, said Wright filed almost two dozen incorrect campaign finance reports during the past seven years and never corrected them.

“In the end, there is nary a substantive (campaign finance reporting law) in the statutes that was not violated repeatedly by Representative Wright,” he said.Only five of 114 legislators voted against Wright’s expulsion, making him the first state lawmaker since 1880 to be shown the door by his colleagues.

From city hall to the halls of Congress, public servants who cannot adhere to the highest ethical standards and meet stringent financial reporting requirements must be removed from office.

And those who profit from their misdeeds at the expense of the public’s trust deserve everything they get — and then some.