Update: I had thought the controversy had to do with a vote related to student voting, but this story explains it had to do with a potential conflict of interest:
“Gov. McCrory will be taking appropriate action by statute to remove him form the board,” said McCrory Communication Director Josh Ellis. “The governor did this because of serious issues involving his conduct as a board member.”
Foley is a Winston-Salem lawyer and, like the governor, a Republican. McCrory says he will rely on statutes that allow him to remove a board member for cause. In this case, McCrory says, Foley has created at least the appearance of a conflict of interest.
The board met in Raleigh Wednesday to hear a report on a case involving donations from video sweepstakes gambling companies to the campaigns of North Carolina politicians, including McCrory. That investigation stemmed from a 2013 complaint by Democracy North Carolina and involved the sweepstakes company IIT and its owner, Chase Burns.
According to a report released by the Attorney General’s Office earlier this month, Foley officially recused himself from the investigation but frequently pressured state board investigators for updates and early copies of the report at the same time his firm represented Burns and IIT.
“I never attempted to, and hand no reason to, influence the outcome of the investigation,” Foley said in a brief statement read by telephone at the beginning of Wednesday’s board meeting.