A year ago, after the Jan. 6 attempt to topple our democracy, Duke Energy claimed they “strongly believe in and support the democratic political process.” Duke CEO Lynn Good stated that “we must not allow pressure for results to undermine our ethical commitments” and claimed that the company has “the highest ethical standards” and that they were “pausing” their contributions to those that voted against certifying the 2020 election.

As a long-standing Duke customer for the past 45 years, I am deeply disappointed to learn that Duke Energy continues to make financial contributions to four U.S. representatives from North Carolina who voted against certifying the presidential election.

These representatives are George Murphy (3rd), David Rouzer (7th), Richard Hudson (8th), Dan Bishop (9th), with Hudson and Murphy receiving $5,000 each. What does it say about Duke’s values when they are continuing to donate political funds to those who would overturn a fair national election?

I’ve tried to contact Duke Energy by phone and email about this but received no response. So I am now publicly appealing to Duke Energy to stop making contributions to politicians who have failed to uphold our democracy. Their customers deserve better.

— Eileen Hanson-Kelly

Salisbury