Judging from recent emails, things are not going well for the big “Battle.” At least one official in Currituck is asking questions and wanting to see documentation of exactly what the county is getting for its money.

Note how casually Steinburg speaks about throwing The Outer Banks under the bus for the benefit of Asheville itself. *That’s YOUR representative at work, folks.* WHY would Currituck County award a no-bid contract worth $50,000 to a personally owned corporation, registered at his personal residence, with little-to-no experience for providing the service in question?

In order to be eligible for funding, the event must be held in Currituck County and the majority of attendees must be from outside of the County. This is not the case with the basketball tournament slated to happen in Ashville.

Bob Steinburg and his crew LOVE to tell you what’s wrong with everybody else. (They’ll even make it up if they have to.) But a lot of problematic facts are piling up to help illustrate how PHONY so much of that truly is.

Did Currituck officials seriously think it was a good idea to grant no-bid taxpayer money to someone who has no experience in doing what they’re asking him to do? This was his rookie adventure.

Apparently, the folks in power in Currituck County are hearing from the little people about the decision to fund The Steinburg Invitational basketball tournament IN ASHEVILLE:

As for Phelps, Steinburg said, “What voters need to know about Cole Phelps is he’s a tax-raiser and a gun-grabber. Just ask the NRA.” There we go. That’s the Bob we all know and, um. “love.”

County bureaucrats are exposed as having engaged in a sketchy contractual deal with an outside company. The county commissioners were unaware. Grassroots activists cry foul. Bloggers rage.

Currituck County has paid a private company owned by state Rep. Bob Steinburg $50,000 to promote and market an NCAA basketball tournament the county is sponsoring in Asheville this fall called the “Battle in the Blue Ridge.”