Opinion: Construction Fueled Leach’s 2020 Campaign
Reviewing James A. Leach's 2020 election campaign finance reports make it crystal clear to me—and others—he needs to go.
On Oct. 3, 2020, a $5,400 check came into the 2020 Committee to Elect James A. Leach from the President & CEO of Metcon. An identical amount, likely from the Owner/President/CEO of SFL+A, arrived that same Saturday. The windfalls blew in barely six weeks after the News-Journal reported the original architects contracted to design an $8 million pool had been released. SFL+A was subsequently hired to perform that work, with Metcon and J&K General Contractors later joining in to build what is now the James A. Leach Aquatic & Recreation Center wearing a $30 million price tag.
Let’s be perfectly clear: There is nothing wrong in making political contributions to a candidate if you believe they will serve the community best. The right to participate in this democracy isn’t unjustly suspended if you’re the CEO/President/Owner or employee of any firm. Both donations are legal, ethical, lawfully filed with HCBOE and commendable. It takes money to get into office—even Hoke County’s Commission cesspool.
It’s also OK if you like to swim, but this coincidence leads one to question how far does election-year generosity swing James A. Leach votes. A quick look at the people who donated to his campaign in 2020—sorted by profession—indicates the construction industry fuels nearly 100 percent of his political aspirations.
Architects top that list with the above-mentioned pair of donations totaling $10,800. Not far behind are attorneys, $7,000. Deeds need to be cleared, after all. Real estate professionals chipped in $3,200, developers $1,000 and engineers come in last at $900. Ominously, there’s not a single blue-collar worker, or family, on the list. Lack of support from the taxpayers who really pay the bills and are ultimately affected daily by his decisions, speaks volumes about an aloof leader out of touch with constituents.
That pair of $5,400 contributions—the maximum legally allowed that year according to a North Carolina State Board of Elections web page—arrived one month before the election. They are included in the Leach election committee’s third-quarter finance report, which closed Oct. 1. But that paperwork didn’t arrive at the Hoke County Board of Elections (HCBOE) until Dec. 29, 2020. That’s two months after the polls had closed and he’d already won. The official documents, with dates, amounts and names, were released to me late Friday.
The President & CEO of Metcon wrote one of the $5,400 checks to the Committee to Elect James A. Leach. I was able to verify his position with the company by comparing documents filed with North Carolina’s Secretary of State (NCSOS) to the address listed on the election finance report.
The second $5,400 donation, which arrived the same Saturday, is listed on the election financial disclosure as coming from an architect from Raleigh. The Owner/President/CEO of SFL+A shares that name, lives in the same city and is also an architect. Unlike the Metcon executive above, the personal address listed on the election committee report does not appear in any NCSOS filings for SFL+A. I’ll let you decide whether it’s the same person or simply a namesake living in the same city and working in the same profession willing to write a sizeable check to a politician down in Hoke County.
Metcon and SFL+A are currently contracted by the county to expand the high school. Metcon, in partnership with J&K, has broken ground for a new $42,768,687 courthouse. Combined with the Tajma pool, the three projects add up to roughly $150 million in construction in a few short, inflation-filled years.
Leach has attached himself onto the Hoke County Commission for 32 years and is hoping to extend his fiduciary reign of terror for another four. After reviewing his 2020 election campaign report, it’s obvious to the time has come for his blood-sucking politics to come to an end.