While beer fight brewed in NCGA, $$$ from beer interests flowed to Tillis Senate campaign

by Brant Clifton, The Daily Haymaker,  January 2, 2014 

In September, craft brewers and beer distributors were knocking heads over state regulations some viewed as favoring the interests of large beer distributors over these small brewers:

North Carolina politicians in Raleigh like to say they’re pro-jobs and pro-business. 

But what happens when lawmakers are forced to pick sides between new, small businesses growing jobs and big legacy businesses trying to hold on to the market share they’ve got?

 Would it help you to know that the big legacy companies give hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions and the new small businesses are not yet organized?  

There’s just such a battle brewing in North Carolina over beer – and who gets to distribute and market it. It pits a growing number of small craft brewers against big distributors. And the big distributors who are among the largest campaign contributors have state lawmakers on their side.  [...]

Hmmm.  During this debate, Thom Tillis was serving as speaker of the House, determining what DOES and DOES NOT get a hearing in committee and on the floor.  While all of this was going on in Raleigh, cash from adult beverage distributors was piling up in the speaker’s US Senate campaign treasury.

On August 15, the Tillis Senate campaign got $2600 from the VP of Charlotte-based Adams Beverages of NC. On June 19,the campaign got $2000 from the chairman of Greensboro-based  R.H. Barringer Distributing Company. On September 9, Tillis for Senate got $1000 from a Goldsboro-based board member of R.A. Jeffreys.  

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