Author: Paul Gable

Rodney Berry’s Vision for Senate District 30

Republican candidate Rodney Berry will square off against five-term incumbent Democrat Kent Willians in tomorrow’s election for SC Senate District 30.
Berry brings a unique set of qualifications and experience to the race which could help pull District 30 up from its current economic problems. He is a past mayor of Marion, a former Administrator of Dillon County government, has 10 years of experience working with Congress and is currently a contractor for economic development for Dillon County.
“For the past 20 years the two main counties in this Senate District have ranked in the top 5 poorest counties in South Carolina,” Berry said. “We can’t keep accepting losing and finishing at the bottom.”
Berry was a principal negotiator in the economic development initiative that resulted in the Dillon Inland Port which has provided over 2,000 new jobs to date. He plans to use his experience in economic development initiatives to benefit the entirety of District 30.
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The RIDE IV Ballot Question – Do You Want Road Improvements or Not?

The decision by voters on Tuesday on whether to approve the RIDE IV referendum for road improvements in Horry County may be the most important decision they make on the general election ballot.
Unlike the politicians for whom they decide to cast a ballot, politicians who will pass with time, the roads, which will be built if the referendum is approved, will serve not only the present generation of voters but also future generations. Or Not!
Horry County Council chose to ask voters to approve a 25-year, one-cent sales tax to raise approximately $6.6 billion for road improvements and additions. It is currently estimated that Horry County is deficient to the tune of approximately $4.5 billion in road improvements needed to service today’s needs and population. Approval of the 25-year referendum will allow the county to issue bonds, funded by future revenues, to speed up construction of needed improvements. Former RIDE projects were funded on a pay as you go basis.
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Considerations for SC Senate District 30 Voters

The most competitive race in this year’s general election for the South Carolina Senate is taking place in Senate District 30, which includes Marion and Dillon counties and parts of Florence, Darlington and Horry counties. Five term incumbent Democratic senator Kent Williams is being challenged by Republican Rodney Berry.
What makes the race so competitive is Berry is not the normal type of challenger attempting to gain name recognition in the district. Before filing for office, Berry already possessed name recognition in the district at least equal to the incumbent Williams.
A graduate of Dillon High School, Berry was Captain and MVP of the Wildcats football team. He went on to graduate from Presbyterian College where he also starred on the football field serving two years as captain of the team and being named an All Decade linebacker for the 1990’s.
Berry served four years in the United States Marine Corps including being named as Parris Island Top Recruit and Company Honor Man. After his service to the country, Rodney entered the newspaper business founding the Dillon County Shopper, Marion County Penny Saver and his most successful venture of all “She Magazine”.
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HIC Poplar Church Rezoning Request Raises Questions

Horry County Council will consider second reading of a rezoning request combining two parcels off Hwy 701 at its regular meeting tomorrow. The rezoning request brings several questions.
One of the parcels, owned by HIC Poplar Church LLC, contains 93.75 acres, which are filed with the Horry County Registry of Deeds as a “Special Warranty Deed” including 12 “Permitted Exceptions”.
According to S. C. Secretary of State records, Poplar Church LLC was created January 12, 2024. The purchase of the property from Timbervest Partners III South Carolina LLC was completed January 23, 2024, according to the Special Warranty Deed.
Timbervest Partners originally purchased the property as one of 59 distinct parcels from Burroughs and Chapin in January 2013, all included in a 193 page Special Warranty Deed document.
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Mica’s Law, Funding Issues and the Rankin Campaign for Reelection

A proposed Mica’s Law and the need for it were the topic of conversation by Attorney Regina Ward as a guest on the TALK 94.5 Liz Calloway Show today.
References were made to Ward’s press conference last week bringing light to much needed action by the General Assembly to pass coercive control legislation to close a gap in current domestic abuse law.
The latest form of the legislation was filed in the SC Senate in December 2021. It died in the Senate Judiciary Committee chaired by Horry County Sen. Luke Rankin.
Calloway said the show reached out to both Rankin and his opponent in tomorrow’s Republican Primary for Senate District 33, Autry Benton. According to Calloway, Rankin referred the show to a statement he made after the press conference in which he called that event a political stunt. Benton said he would take Mica’s Law legislation and run with it, if elected.

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The Mica’s Law Press Conference Was Not a Political Stunt

The recent Mica’s Law press conference held by Conway Attorney Regina Ward and the reaction to it by District 33 Sen. Luke Rankin provided a microcosm of why voters are increasingly fed up with government and why change is needed in Columbia.
Mica’s Law is named after Mica Miller, a client of Ward’s who, reportedly, suffered from coercive control domestic violence before she tragically took her own life in a state park in North Carolina on April 27th of this year.
Ward criticized both houses of the SC General Assembly for ignoring bills which were filed in two consecutive legislative sessions, The bills dealt with providing law enforcement authority to investigate a form of domestic violence known as coercive control.
During her remarks, Ward mentioned that Rankin is Chairman of the Senate Judiciary, where the proposed legislation was left to die without any work being done on it. Ward’s press conference was covered extensively locally.

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The Contradictions and Dead Ends in the Rankin Campaign

Senator Luke Rankin’s answers to a local media outlet about what he could accomplish in Columbia for the citizens of Horry County were contradictory at best while appearing to leave voters at the same dead ends they are experiencing now.
On the hottest topic in Horry County at present, roads and other infrastructure needs, Rankin reportedly pointed to his 32-year seniority in the Senate as a huge asset.
Rankin was quoted as saying, “Being in a leadership position you can bring more money home for roads, for schools and for projects we’ve had here, across the county itself and particularly in District 33,” and “I’m proud to have been able to show the folks of Horry County that seniority does pay off.”
Rankin proceeded to contradict himself later in the article when he reportedly said it was impractical to rely on additional funding from the state level to push forward new projects. He was quoted as saying, “The idea, as nice as it might sound, somebody else (the state budget) needs to pay for our way is like waiting for the Great Pumpkin in the Charlie Brown series. That Great Pumpkin ain’t coming to pay for roads we desperately need.”

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Rankin Claims Victimhood From Mica’s Law Press Conference

Senator Luke Rankin responded to Attorney Regina Ward’s press conference yesterday about a proposed coercive control bill (Mica’s Law) with a Facebook post saying Ward was taking a political cheap shot against him.
Does Rankin actually believe that a press conference aimed at helping a coercive control bill to become law is in South Carolina is all about him?
Ward only mentioned Rankin as Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, where the bill died in the Senate, in passing during her press conference. But, Ward did note that Rankin thought enough of the problems of domestic abuse to falsely charge his 2020 opponent for the District 33 Senate seat with committing domestic abuse.
Maybe the political stunts are being confused.

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Does Luke Rankin Really Have Your Back?

In a moment of supreme irony a new television ad proclaiming “Luke’s got your back” hit the airwaves shortly after a press conference was held in Conway questioning “Where was Luke” with regard to a bill that may have helped save the life of Mica Miller.
Regina Ward, the attorney representing the family and estate of Mica Miller, spoke with the press yesterday about the failure of a “Coercive Control” bill to even get out of the Judiciary Committee of the SC Senate and the SC House over a period of four years.
Mica Miller was the estranged second wife of Pastor John-Paul Miller when she took her own life on April 27th of this year at the Lumber River State Park in Robeson County, North Carolina. Mica’s death has been ruled a suicide by the Robeson County Coroner.
Mica was reportedly in the middle of divorce proceedings with her estranged husband John-Paul when she took her life. Since her death, details of how Mica’s life was manipulated by her estranged husband through a form of domestic violence called “coercive control” have come to light.

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Tina Hardee Seeks to Improve Services if Elected as Next Auditor

Tina Hardee is seeking election to the position of Horry County Auditor in order to provide better service by the office to citizens of the county.
Hardee is one of two candidates on the ballot for Auditor in next Tuesday’s Republican Primary election. The winner of the primary will effectively become the next elected Auditor as no Democratic candidates have filed for the office.
An 18 year veteran of service in the Horry County Treasurer’s Office, Hardee is extremely familiar with the necessity of close coordination between the Auditor, Treasurer and Assessor offices for better service.
“The workflow together needs to be better,” said Hardee. “Anything we can do to make it easier for the taxpayers should be done.”

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