Joe Sinsheimer Quotations

I feel very strongly as a partisan Democrat that this will be a major issue in the 2006 election.

We shouldn't have to wait for state or federal indictments to get rid of Jim Black.

It's past the time for study commissions and committee meetings. If the governor wants to lead on ethics, he can do two things - call for Jim Black to step aside as speaker of the House, and rescind Bill Culpepper's appointment to the Utilities Commission for taking a contribution from a regulated utility after he was appointed.

Slowly but surely, you're seeing the culture of fear dissipate in Raleigh.

I believe if we had elections right now, that Democrats would lose control of both chambers of the legislature because of the scandal. I feel like I'm acting in the party's best interest. By getting rid of him now, we don't have to deal with it.

The easiest connections for Republicans to make in the fall are how much money Democratic House members have taken from Speaker Black and how vociferously House members have defended Speaker Black.

The lottery is what started it all. It left an ugly taste in people's mouth. Then the thing everybody talked about for 10 years how a lottery would introduce corruption to the state was happening.