Author: Paul Gable

Ethics Reform – Not So Fast

A House bill on ethics reform passed the important second reading vote Tuesday, which will allow it to pass with a majority vote in the Senate, if one can be arranged, before the end of the current legislative year.

However, before we get too excited about ethics reform occurring in South Carolina, let’s consider some of the provisions of the proposed legislation.

The bill would do away with the House and Senate Ethics Committees and replace them with a Joint Committee on Ethics to hear complaints filed against members of the General Assembly.

The committee would be made up of sixteen members, eight legislators and eight members of the public.

The makeup of the legislators would be four senators, two each elected from the majority party and the largest minority party in the body. Four house members will be elected to the committee in the same manner.

The eight public members would be elected four each by the House and Senate with two each from the majority caucus and the largest minority caucus in each body.

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Chad Connelly and the SCGOP

A heated battle for the chairmanship of the South Carolina Republican Party has brought some interesting details to light as the contest enters its final days.

Last week, current SCGOP chairman Chad Connelly and the party were named defendants in a lawsuit alleging Connelly slandered Cherokee County GOP member Brian Frank in an e-mail and during a speech to upstate party members. Frank has been active in supporting Sam Harms, Connelly’s challenger in the upcoming chairman’s election at the SCGOP convention Saturday.

An e-mail from Harms claimed he was denied access, by SCGOP headquarters, to the list of county delegates to the state convention from 44 of the state’s 46 counties. Apparently this denial was in the hope that Harms’ campaign for chairman would be hurt by this denial.

An e-mail from Connelly, allegedly endorsed by 90 county party officials and members, claimed to “set the record straight” on Connelly’s record in his two years as chairman. However, while claiming facts about Connelly’s actions while chairman have been distorted by his opponents, Connelly’s e-mail contains its own distortions.

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Myrtle Manor Notoriety

Myrtle Beach’s very own Reality TV show ‘Welcome to Myrtle Manor’ received some unexpected notoriety in the last few days when three of the cast members were arrested in a 48 hour period.

Amanda Adams was arrested for DUI Friday morning followed by the Sunday morning arrests of Lindsay Colbert for DUI and Taylor Burt for Criminal Sexual Conduct with a minor.

The show’s ratings have reportedly been tanking in the last several weeks prompting some to speculate that these run-ins with the law are publicity stunts. However, it’s hard to see DUI and criminal sexual conduct with a minor as publicity stunts.

If attention getting publicity is what the show needs to rebound with viewers, why not bring in the Anna Nicole Smith connection?

After all, cast member Gina Thompson Shelley (the hairdresser) has close ties with the Smith saga that played out after Smith died in a room at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Seminole, FL in February 2007.

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Making Municipalities Fiscally Responsible

With over thirty municipalities throughout the state in violation of South Carolina’s law requiring them to turn in a yearly audit to the State Treasurer, one might say something is not working!

The current law gives municipalities thirteen months to turn in an audit after the end of the fiscal year. If they don’t turn it in by the end of the thirteen months, then the Treasurer is supposed to halt all payments to the municipality until they are in compliance.

Obviously, the system is not working and something needs to change.

In light of this problem, Reps. Goldfinch, Clemmons, Hardwick, H.A. Crawford, Loftis, Barfield, Bedingfield, Hamilton, V.S. Moss, Rivers and G.R. Smith are sponsoring H. 4031. This bill seeks to promote more fiscal accountability on the municipal level.

A common excuse that the municipalities use for not having an audit is lack of funding. The bill requires that all municipalities include funding for an annual audit in their budget; that takes care of that!

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Malice Aforethought

It’s not a unique event, but the SCGOP and its Chairman Chad Connelly will be defending another lawsuit in the coming weeks, this time over the verbal bombs Connelly has been dropping on fellow Republican Brian Frank over the last week.

According to party records, the SCGOP has spent approximately $366,000 in legal fees during the nearly two years of Connelly’s tenure as chairman. This is all expense that diverts the party from its primary mission of getting candidates elected.

However, that’s another story.

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Brian Frank – Chad Connelly’s Chosen Villain

As a result of a controversy created by Chad Connelly as he seeks to be re-elected as state party chairman at next week’s SCGOP convention, I decided to take a closer look at Connelly’s designated antagonist Brian Frank.

As we reported yesterday, Connelly viciously attacked Frank through e-mails last week and during the Cherokee County GOP meeting Monday night (captured on video).

The only apparent reason for these attacks is that Frank has been actively supporting Connelly’s opponent for the post of state party chairman, Sam Harms, primarily through the use of You Tube and Facebook.

During Connelly’s diatribes, he has inferred Frank is similar to the recent ‘Boston bombers’, accused him of “rant(ing) endlessly hateful stuff” and said Frank “has threatened me and my family.”

It is interesting to note that Frank attended the Cherokee County GOP meeting Monday night without speaking to Connelly. When Frank was prevented from taking video of Connelly’s speech, he chose to leave the meeting. It was only after Frank’s departure that Connelly, pointing to Frank’s empty chair, gave his 47 second rant against Frank, which was captured on video by another individual.

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SCGOP In-Fighting — Updated

With a little more than a week to go until the SCGOP state convention, things are beginning to get a little personal.

S.C. Republican Party chairman Chad Connelly sent out an e-mail rant against upstate member Brian Frank late last week, at a time when you would think Connelly would be concentrating on the upcoming convention and his hopes for re-election as state party chairman.

Actually, maybe he is.

Connelly’s e-mail inferred that Frank may fit into the same category as the two Boston bombers, “As we close in on the end of our conventions and in light of the world in which we live where terrorists try their best to blend in with our culture, we cannot take anything for granted and cannot allow ourselves to associate with people who rant endlessly hateful stuff.

“I want to warn those of you in upstate meetings where I have seen this person that you do not need to let him near your meetings.”

Maybe the most telling part of the e-mail is where Connelly named Frank as a primary supporter of Sam Harms who reportedly is challenging Connelly for the state party chairmanship.

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Surfside Beach Dog Park – No Barking Allowed!

Just when you think you’ve heard it all, some elected official does a little thinking and comes up with the brilliant idea of outlawing barking at the Surfside Beach Dog Park.

We know ‘elected official thinking’ is an oxymoron, but the proposal by Surfside Beach town council member Randle Stephens is, frankly, nuts.

He has submitted a resolution, which would outlaw the name “Barc Park”, at the town’s dog park, because it encourages barking by the dogs visiting it. Stephens also submitted an accompanying sign that reads “Please be courteous and respectful to your dog park neighbors. No dog barking and loud noise.”

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New Look for Myrtle Beach Pavilion Site?

Nearly seven years after the Myrtle Beach Pavilion Amusement Park was torn down, a proposal has surfaced to bring rides back to the nearly vacant site.

According to recent media reports, Strates Shows of Orlando, FL is working with site owner Burroughs & Chapin, Inc. to open a three month, summer season carnival on a portion of the former Pavilion property.

On the surface, bringing rides back to that traditional downtown area of the oceanfront seems like a good idea. It always seemed a bad idea that former B&C president Doug Wendel wanted to do away with the Pavilion in the first place.

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The Mark Sanford Comeback

Everybody has an opinion on whether the latest “trespassing” chapter in the ongoing Mark Sanford political resurrection saga will hurt his chances of winning the May 7th special election for the S.C. 1st Congressional District.

Quick answer – No, Mark Sanford will be going back to Washington.

This is not a criminal trespass charge, but, rather, a complaint reportedly filed by Jenny Sanford’s lawyer to be heard in family court two days after the special election.

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