RALEIGH, N.C. – A state Board of Transportation member under scrutiny for steering public money to projects near family properties is hosting a fundraiser for Beverly Perdue.

Louis Sewell and his wife are holding a campaign event Thursday for the Democratic candidate for governor.

The event is scheduled after a newspaper report this weekend questioned Sewell’s efforts to get $375,000 in transportation projects going near properties he or his son co-owned.

Transportation Secretary Lyndo Tippett has referred the situation to the State Ethics Commission.

Perdue told The Charlotte Observer on Tuesday she supports the ethics investigation. It was unclear whether she would attend the fundraiser.

Republican candidate Pat McCrory has said Perdue should return more than $30,000 in contributions from Sewell and family members.