Rogers personally hires -- and pays -- staffer to help raise cash for convention

As co-chair of the Charlotte host committee, Jim Rogers has a lot invested in making sure the Democratic convention is a success.

And since July, he’s invested even more.

That’s when Rogers, CEO of Duke Energy, hired a full-time staffer to help him raise money for the convention. She works for Rogers, not for the host committee, which is charged with raising nearly $37 million for the convention.

"Jim Rogers hired someone to assist his DNC fundraising work out of his own pocket," says Duke spokesman Tom Williams. "Their focus is on … meetings and calls with contributors, scheduling and other pre-work that goes into this fundraising effort. The intent is to also maximize the value of his time spent in this effort since (Rogers) has responsibilities to Duke Energy and other business activities."

He declined to give the staffer’s name.

Jim Morrill