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Wilbur Hobby, Democratic candidate for NC Governor
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David P.
Oct 6, 2022, 1:20:10 AM10/6/22
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Wilbur Hobby (1925–1992) was an American labor unionist. He was the president of the North Carolina chapter of the AFL-CIO from 1969 to 1981. Hobby also was active in NC politics, running unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for Governor in 1972.
Hobby strove to provide security and stability to the working lives of ordinary people, something he never had as a child. He used politics as a means to this end, but he entered the field at a time when segregationist forces were still very strong in the South. Hobby attempted to counter this by promoting a populist message that crossed racial lines that he hoped would become part of mainstream political conversation in North Carolina. However, his career ended in scandal with a conviction on felony corruption charges in 1981.
Hobby continually ran into the same racial issues in politics, particularly when he served as southern director of the AFL-CIO's Committee on Political Education (COPE) from 1958 to 1969. The Durham United Political Education Committee (DUPEC) allied with conservative businesspeople to eliminate Hobby's and his allies' control of the Democratic Party. DUPEC accused Hobby of "selling their jobs to the NAACP".
Throughout North Carolina, white unionists flocked to segregationist gubernatorial candidate I. Beverly Lake in the 1960 election, and many supported Alabama Governor George Wallace in the 1960 and 1964 Presidential elections. Hobby used his position at COPE to fight back against the segregationists, rallying support around candidates including Al Gore Sr. in Tennessee and Claude Pepper in Florida. He also spearheaded the AFL-CIO's endorsement of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in the South, a position that initially ran counter to many of the candidates he backed. Hobby said, quite bluntly, "Civil rights are not [just] Negro rights. Civil rights are the human rights of every citizen".
What ultimately brought down Wilbur Hobby was not electoral defeat; it was the criminal justice system. There were some early warning signs that Hobby did not always play by the rules: during the first day of his gubernatorial campaign he pledged to not accept donations of more than $200 from any group, but he took in $10,000 from the AFL-CIO the next day. Hobby's opponents also accused him of spending too much on himself as AFL-CIO President, leading a lavish lifestyle while not truly representing the workers.
Hobby's executive career came to a sudden end in 1981. Using connections with new, union-friendly governor Jim Hunt, Hobby secured $1,000,000 in funding for job training programs under the federal Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) between 1977 and 1979. Hobby initially got funds awarded to Precision Graphics, a printing company he headed. Hobby and his business partner, Mort Levi, recognized the need for computers at the union and hoped to cut out the middleman by founding Precision Data together in early 1979. Precision Data proceeded to purchase several expensive computers with multi-year payment plans. Despite having no substantive capital, employees, or history as a company, Precision Data, under Hobby's direction, applied for a CETA contract to help train women to gain data skills. The board in charge of approving such contracts met the application with skepticism, and instead decided to award it to Precision Graphics, whom they felt were better equipped to use the funds. Suddenly in financial trouble, Precision Data began leasing its computers to Precision Graphics for hefty fees. Over the course of the next few months, it became apparent that funds were being intentionally diverted from Precision Graphics to Precision Data, most notably a $28,000 payment for "transportation of students" that never occurred.
A year later, state and federal audits that found substantial funds unaccounted for (around $34,000). This led to indictments for Hobby and Levi for defrauding the federal government. The two were convicted at trial. Hobby served a year in jail and paid a $40,000 fine. He also lost his position as North Carolina AFL-CIO President.
Upon his release, Hobby returned to the same machine-oiling job at American Tobacco that he occupied 35 years earlier. He remained there until his retirement in 1986. Hobby was bedridden for about 4 years before his death on May 9, 1992 at the Durham V.A. Hospital after a long illness, involving a weak heart and lungs due to his obesity and diabetes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilbur_Hobby
Hobby strove to provide security and stability to the working lives of ordinary people, something he never had as a child. He used politics as a means to this end, but he entered the field at a time when segregationist forces were still very strong in the South. Hobby attempted to counter this by promoting a populist message that crossed racial lines that he hoped would become part of mainstream political conversation in North Carolina. However, his career ended in scandal with a conviction on felony corruption charges in 1981.
Hobby continually ran into the same racial issues in politics, particularly when he served as southern director of the AFL-CIO's Committee on Political Education (COPE) from 1958 to 1969. The Durham United Political Education Committee (DUPEC) allied with conservative businesspeople to eliminate Hobby's and his allies' control of the Democratic Party. DUPEC accused Hobby of "selling their jobs to the NAACP".
Throughout North Carolina, white unionists flocked to segregationist gubernatorial candidate I. Beverly Lake in the 1960 election, and many supported Alabama Governor George Wallace in the 1960 and 1964 Presidential elections. Hobby used his position at COPE to fight back against the segregationists, rallying support around candidates including Al Gore Sr. in Tennessee and Claude Pepper in Florida. He also spearheaded the AFL-CIO's endorsement of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in the South, a position that initially ran counter to many of the candidates he backed. Hobby said, quite bluntly, "Civil rights are not [just] Negro rights. Civil rights are the human rights of every citizen".
What ultimately brought down Wilbur Hobby was not electoral defeat; it was the criminal justice system. There were some early warning signs that Hobby did not always play by the rules: during the first day of his gubernatorial campaign he pledged to not accept donations of more than $200 from any group, but he took in $10,000 from the AFL-CIO the next day. Hobby's opponents also accused him of spending too much on himself as AFL-CIO President, leading a lavish lifestyle while not truly representing the workers.
Hobby's executive career came to a sudden end in 1981. Using connections with new, union-friendly governor Jim Hunt, Hobby secured $1,000,000 in funding for job training programs under the federal Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) between 1977 and 1979. Hobby initially got funds awarded to Precision Graphics, a printing company he headed. Hobby and his business partner, Mort Levi, recognized the need for computers at the union and hoped to cut out the middleman by founding Precision Data together in early 1979. Precision Data proceeded to purchase several expensive computers with multi-year payment plans. Despite having no substantive capital, employees, or history as a company, Precision Data, under Hobby's direction, applied for a CETA contract to help train women to gain data skills. The board in charge of approving such contracts met the application with skepticism, and instead decided to award it to Precision Graphics, whom they felt were better equipped to use the funds. Suddenly in financial trouble, Precision Data began leasing its computers to Precision Graphics for hefty fees. Over the course of the next few months, it became apparent that funds were being intentionally diverted from Precision Graphics to Precision Data, most notably a $28,000 payment for "transportation of students" that never occurred.
A year later, state and federal audits that found substantial funds unaccounted for (around $34,000). This led to indictments for Hobby and Levi for defrauding the federal government. The two were convicted at trial. Hobby served a year in jail and paid a $40,000 fine. He also lost his position as North Carolina AFL-CIO President.
Upon his release, Hobby returned to the same machine-oiling job at American Tobacco that he occupied 35 years earlier. He remained there until his retirement in 1986. Hobby was bedridden for about 4 years before his death on May 9, 1992 at the Durham V.A. Hospital after a long illness, involving a weak heart and lungs due to his obesity and diabetes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilbur_Hobby
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