Former N.C. Rep. Mike Stone paid a $12,800 penalty to the North Carolina State Board of Elections, according to documents publicly available online.
Stone, a Republican who represented parts of Lee and Harnett counties from 2010 to 2014, made the payment on May 18. Correspondence from the Board of Elections to Stone’s campaign committee indicates the penalty was the forfeiture of “cash contributions in excess of the maximum allowable amount of $50” and that most of those improper cash donations were reported in the third quarter of 2012.
Known to many readers of this blog as a longstanding friend of the Rant, the former Sanford City Councilman was first elected to the state House in the Tea Party wave of 2010 and quickly became a magnet for controversy over a variety of issues, including video poker machines, making municipal and education elections in Lee County partisan (subscription required), campaign contributions from questionable video poker interests, and more.
He was re-elected in 2012 but lost by eight points to N.C. Rep. Brad Salmon in 2014.
After paying the penalty, Stone’s campaign committee – which is apparently still active despite his not being a candidate for office in 2016 – shows just under $7,000 cash on hand.