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RALEIGH — Rep. Cary Allred  announced his resignation after facing weeks of questions about a speeding ticket and behavior at the legislature that has sparked an inquiry by the Legislative Ethics Commission. 

Although Allred still faces a court date for a 102 mph speeding ticket, his decision essentially ends and blocks from the public record any ethics inquiries by the General Assembly. 

The Burlington Republican submitted a letter to House Speaker Joe Hackney that he was resigning effective Monday, saying in an interview he “was sick” of the legislature and the legislative process. 

“I’m frustrated, and I’m tired of beating my head against the wall,” Allred said Friday when asked why he was resigning.

Allred, 62, served two terms in the Senate in the early 1980s and was serving his eighth in the House. Republican leaders in his House district are expected to select a replacement to finish  Allred’s term, which runs through 2010.

Allred is a former committee chairman but in recent years had been relegated to the role of loyal opposition, frequently tweaking Hackney, a Chapel Hill Democrat, and others in leadership positions. 

Allred was a feisty debater, known for offering amendments, railing against House rules and challenging statements by fellow Republicans and Democrats alike. Around the legislative complex, he was known for bringing his three dogs to the General Assembly during the legislative day.

But his resignation follows a turbulent month. 

On April 27, Allred was stopped for speeding by a state trooper on Interstate 40. Originally, the trooper issued only a warning, but after news of the traffic stop became public, the legislator was issued a summons for going 102 mph.

Allred said he showed his legislative identification card during the traffic stop. And by his own account, Allred had at least one Chelada — a mixture of beer, tomato juice and other ingredients — before heading to Raleigh that night. 

The same night on the floor of the General Assembly, Allred became more combative during debate than many of his colleagues considered appropriate.Some fellow Republicans said they smelled alcohol on his breath. And he was seen engaging a teenage page — a family friend — in what one colleague described as “a gruesome bear hug.”

All of that became fodder for a preliminary inquiry by the House Sergeant at Arms office and a closed-door meeting of the Legislative Ethics Commission, which could have recommended censure, expulsion or other sanctions. 

“Just having observed Cary over the years I’ve served with him, I thought he’d fight it harder,” said Rep. John Blust, a Greensboro Republican.

Blust said he had talked to Allred little in the past few weeks and never discussed the inquiries.  

“I don’t know what his reasons might be,” Blust said. “I’ve heard rumors about this other matter, but anything I say is speculation. At least this ends this whole episode.” 

That “other matter” is a separate complaint against Allred that legislative staffers have confirmed exists, but about which staffers and commission members have refused to comment or describe. 

The commission was expected to issue a report next week, but now the matter dies because Allred will no longer be a legislator.  

“It does not become public,” said Robin Johnson, general counsel to  Hackney. “The statute is very clear.” 

On Friday, Allred insisted that heading off the release of that report was not his reason for resigning. 

“I arrived at it on my own,” Allred said. “I just feel like leaving. I’m tired of the legislature. I’m tired of the legislative process.  But I think the ethics commission is stacked against me.”

When asked specifically about a second complaint,  Allred said, “I don’t know. There’s a lot of complaints.” 

During his stint in the state Senate in the 1980s, Allred wrote 1,100 physicians on his pharmaceutical company’s stationery asking for their thoughts on bills pending before a Senate committee on which he served. The same letter asked the doctors to remember his company and its sales employees. 

At the time, the committee ruled the letter “could be construed as a violation” of ethics laws and ordered Allred to write an apology.  

His recent troubles could have ended with more than an admonishment. The General Assembly has tightened ethics laws, and in 2008 expelled a member for reported ethical violations.

But until this week, Allred was defiant. When asked shortly after news of his speeding ticket became public if any of the ongoing inquiries would cause him to resign, Allred said, “Hell, no.” 

On Friday, he said that he had simply reached the end of his tolerance for living with speculation. When asked what was next, Allred said, “I’m going to take a vacation.” 

Contact Mark Binker at (919) 832-5549 or mark.binker@news-record.com