Four against Wright ouster have walked in his shoes

By Scott Sexton
Winston-Salem Journal

Three days after members of the N.C. House of Representatives voted 109-5 to show a crook to the door, Triad Democrats must be a proud lot.

Why? Because of the five who didn’t think that former Rep. Thomas Wright deserved to be kicked out despite mishandling more than $300,000, three hail from around here.

Reps. Larry Womble, Earline Parmon (both Democrats from Winston-Salem) and Earl Jones (a Democrat from Greensboro) joined with two other Democrats in voting not to oust Wright. The other two were Rep. Mary McAllister, a Democrat from Fayetteville, and Wright himself.

Taking Wright out of the equation, the four legislators who voted to watch Wright’s back have something in common other than party affiliation - every one of them has been accused of slipshod financial dealings.

Is anybody surprised that four people who have lived under the same cloud of public suspicion as Wright voted to cut him some slack?

“Wright has been charged but he’s not been convicted of anything in court,” Womble said Friday. “I’m not one to pre-judge. I’ve always been taught to wait and see and let due process work itself out.”