Author: Paul Gable

Rice, Lazarus and I-73 in June Republican Primary

The entry of Mark Lazarus to challenge county chairman Johnny Gardner for the Republican nomination in the coming June primaries brings an interesting aspect into the political discussion.
Lazarus joins Congressman Tom Rice as the two major proponents of Interstate 73 construction with local tax dollars in the Republican camp.
Both candidates will use political consultant Walter Whetsell to run their campaigns. It was Whetsell’s Starboard Communications that supposedly conducted a poll for the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce a few months ago that alleged nearly 80% of the approximately 600 voters contacted statewide supported construction of I-73.
The poll itself remains an issue of question in that it presented the results the Chamber desired without publicizing any of the actual questions used or details of where the respondent voters live.
Nevertheless, Chamber President Karen Riordan used the poll to promote the Chamber’s desired propaganda about I-73. With the pollster running the campaigns of two of the biggest races in the area, we can expect a barrage of I-73 propaganda to play a major role in the utterances of Rice and Lazarus.
There is an additional component to the I-73 issue. Both Rice and Lazarus have consistently promoted the need for local tax dollars to be given to the SC Department of Transportation for construction of the road. In one of his last acts as chairman in 2018, Lazarus convinced county council to appropriate approximately $30 million per year to SCDOT for I-73 construction.
Gardner, who defeated Lazarus in 2018, was able to get council approval to cancel that appropriation before any county money was sent to the state.
Rice, even when he was a welcomed member of the Republican House caucus, something that changed when he voted to impeach former President Donald Trump, was generally unable to acquire any significant federal dollars for I-73 construction. Hence his decision to press for local tax dollars as he continues to push for the road.

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The Crawford Factor in County Vote on $11.5 Million Bond Issue for CCU

(Above photo Cam Crawford being sworn into office by his wife Heather Crawford)

It is ironic that Horry County Council is considering second reading of an ordinance for a $11.5 million bond issue for Coastal Carolina University tonight.
The request for the bond issue came to council from the Horry County Higher Education Commission, a quasi-governmental, non-funded (by state government) entity created by the SC General Assembly in 1959, before county governments existed, to oversee the use of county tax millage for Coastal Carolina University. Its members are recommended by the county legislative delegation and appointed by the governor.
The Higher Education Commission currently is funded at the rate of 0.7 mils on every property tax bill sent out in the county. It is unclear in the ordinance if the bonds will be repaid from the revenue generated by the current millage rate. CCU also receives revenue from the one-cent sales tax for education levied in the county. That tax will be up for renewal by referendum in November 2022.
The bond issue is not unique through history since 1959, but several factors call it into question at this time. Recently, the news of county council member Cam Crawford’s November 2019 termination of employment from the university made headlines.
According to a story written from the documents provided by CCU, Crawford was the subject of a Title IX complaint by a female student, who also worked part-time in a position Crawford supervised. The female student reported “discriminatory behaviors relating to physical contact with student employees, kissing of a student employee’s head, and additional behaviors of a sexual nature.” After investigating the complaint, the university concluded, “evidence does support a finding that Mr. Crawford violated University policies UNIV-466 Title IX Statement of Non-Discrimination and UNIV-468 Sexual Misconduct Policy.”
The termination was kept under wraps for two years before surfacing last month. According to stories published in two local newspapers, Freedom of Information requests on the termination were treated differently by CCU. One newspaper received documented information about the termination while the other was told no documents existed related to its FOIA request.
To date, there has been no explanation from CCU as to why similar FOIA requests received totally opposite responses.

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Fry Campaign Filled with Terminological Inexactitudes

The New Year begins a five-month sprint for the 7th Congressional District Republican nomination among 10 announced challengers to incumbent Tom Rice.
Much nonsense will be heard from the various campaigns as candidates attempt to attract the attention of voters.
However, to date, the campaign of state Rep. Russell Fry has been the King of Terminological Inexactitudes, to use a phrase first coined Winston Churchill in 1906 to describe lies in parliamentary debate.
Then, a recent video appeal for campaign donations, featured on his @RussellFrySC Facebook page, sounded absolutely desperate in its appeal for money. I have heard many comments about the video including how the timing was bad, the appearance was awful and the desperation in the plea for money was apparent.
In an effort to concoct some type of appealing image to voters, Fry’s campaign pronouncements have been full of catch phrases designed to appeal conservative voters.
It took Fry eight months after Tom Rice voted to impeach former President Donald Trump to first denounce Rice’s vote. To hear Fry tell it now in campaign videos, he is the prime defender of America First values to which Rice is a traitor.
But Rice and Fry are cut from the same cloth. Both have staked their political careers on catering to the whims and wishes of the Myrtle Beach cabal. Fry was very happy to share the stage with Rice several months ago during a Chamber staged event promoting Interstate 73.
No politician can possibly be true to conservative fiscal values and also support the I-73 boondoggle. But Fry has always been a Chamber politician, just look at his donors through the years. If Rice doesn’t win reelection, the Chamber would like Fry to be the one to replace him to keep an elitist Chamber agenda voice in Congress, even though that has not meant any significant federal money for I-73. A vote for Fry is as much a vote for the elitist Chamber agenda as a vote for Rice.

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More on Crawford Dismissal from CCU

One week ago, local media posted stories on events surrounding the dismissal, in November 2019, of Horry County Council member Cam Crawford from his position at Coastal Carolina University.
According to the stories and documents released by CCU, an investigation into Title IX complaints by a female student who also worked under the supervision of Crawford was conducted by the university. Findings from that investigation supported ‘continuous physical contact with student employee supervisees, which included hugging and touching of hand and/or arm,’ and evidence supporting ‘kissing of a student employee’s head’.
Crawford responded to questions from the media claiming the woman misinterpreted his “Southern mannerisms”, that he did not believe he did anything wrong and that there were political motivations behind the media being informed of his dismissal from CCU.
Nevertheless, a female student registered a complaint with the university, the university conducted an investigation and Crawford is no longer employed by CCU.
Crawford’s response brings to mind statements by former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo when Cuomo resigned as governor after 11 women came forward claiming Cuomo had sexually harassed them.
Cuomo was quoted in media as stating, “As an Italian, I have always kissed and hugged in a casual way, I’ve never crossed the line with anyone… I accept full responsibility, I slipped, but there are political motivations behind the accusations, and I am sure New Yorkers will understand,”
Strikingly similar statements from two politicians on opposite ends of the political spectrum, except Cuomo took responsibility while Crawford did not.
But the similarities between the two cases end there. Once women began stepping forward with accusations against Cuomo, stories continued in the New York media, Cuomo’s former political allies distanced themselves from him and ultimately Cuomo resigned as governor.
In Horry County, Crawford’s leaving CCU employ remained a secret for two years and there has been virtually no comment from other local politicians.
Freedom of Information requests to CCU from two local newspapers were handled completely differently. According to a story in the Sun News, the newspaper filed a FOIA request with the university in October 2021, requesting documents related to “any disciplinary action taken by Coastal…including notices of termination or suspension, reprimands , etc.” as well as “any complaints or other documents submitted to Coastal by students, staff, professors, administration or the public regarding Mr. Crawford, his employment, his job performance and his conduct/behavior.”

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Developers, I-73 and a Déjà Vu Lazarus Candidacy

Recently Horry County Council unanimously approved changes to development density allowed in the Commercial Forest Agriculture zoning classification and former county chairman Mark Lazarus began calling developers looking for support for another run at county chairman.
Lazarus, then the incumbent, lost the 2018 county chairman race to Johnny Gardner in what was one of the biggest upsets in Horry County political history. And he lost it on his own merits, or maybe demerits, is a better term.
Lazarus is the former chairman most allied with the development community in the history of county government. As chairman, Lazarus convinced county council to purchase approximately 3,700 acres of undevelopable wetlands in the Carolina Forest area, at a cost of approximately $12 million taxpayer dollars, paid to a well-known Richmond, Va. developer. The excuse was the county needed to establish a wetlands mitigation bank for future road projects.
Since leaving office on January 1, 2019, Lazarus has been busy lobbying council members for a number of re-zonings of CFA land, especially in the Hwy 90 area.
I don’t know if Lazarus believes he can alter the changes to CFA density if he wins back the county chairman seat, but, considering the unanimous vote by council to change CFA density allowance and continuing pressure from the citizens to reject questionable development, it is not possible that he can.
After Gardner took over the chairman seat, he was able to convince council to institute impact fees on new development to help pay for the cost of new infrastructure and other capital needs associated with that development. Following the discussion among council members during its last meeting, those fees will be expanded to transportation and stormwater impact fees in the coming fiscal year to help pay for much needed upgrades to roads such as 90, 905. 701 and 9 and associated flooding mitigation efforts.
Lazarus preferred to raise property taxes and existing county fees, including leading the passage of the largest single property tax increase in county history in 2015, rather than promote an impact fee law counter to the wishes of his donors and supporters in the development community.

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County Change to CFA Zoning Will Bring Lawsuit in New Year

A virtually overlooked vote by county council during its final meeting of 2021 is guaranteed to bring a class action lawsuit against the county in the New Year.
Council member Gary Loftus called for reconsideration of Ordinance 142-2021, which had been passed on third reading at the November council meeting as part of the consent agenda.
The ordinance dealt with eliminating multi-family housing from the Commercial Forest Agriculture zoning classification.
Upon reconsideration, an amendment was approved with the final effect of eliminating multi-family housing (apartments and condominiums) from CFA zoned parcels and reducing the overall calculations for the number of units which could be built on the parcel from three to two per acre. Town homes may still be constructed in CFA.
The amendment also limited calculations for density to be restricted to non-wetland acreage in the parcel. CFA zoning until the passage of the amended ordinance had been limited to three units per acre, multi-family and/or town house, with the total acreage in the parcel, wetland and non-wetland, allowed in the density calculation.
Council passed the amended ordinance unanimously on the reconsideration vote.
According to several council members contacted by GSD, the change was made to eliminate the threat of construction of three multi-family and/or town home units on CFA parcels if rezoning requests for single-family units were turned down by council. According to those sources, council had become tired of developers using the threat of building more units on the land under current CFA zoning if the single-family rezoning proposals were rejected.
Many of the remaining CFA zoned parcels in the county can be found along the Hwy 90, 905, 701 and 707 corridors, which have been areas of new development resisted by citizens’ groups. A number of re-zonings from CFA to single-family developments have already occurred, especially in the 90 and 905 corridors, raising public opposition to further re-zonings.
A number of small farmers still in possession of CFA zoned parcels, as well as developers who have already purchased similar parcels from farmers, could be affected financially by the reduction in overall density stipulated in the new, amended ordinance.
GSD has learned that representatives from those groups are already in the process of working with attorneys to file a class action lawsuit against Horry County because of reduced value of CFA zoned parcels caused by the new ordinance.

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Crawford Disclosures on CCU Termination Raise Political Concerns

Recent disclosures in a story by MyHorryNews.com about issues surrounding the termination of employment of Horry County Council member Cam Crawford at Coastal Carolina University raise a number of questions about the way of politics in Horry County.
The report stated, according to public documents acquired through Freedom of Information Act request, Crawford was terminated for alleged sexual misconduct with a student who was also an employee of the department in which Crawford worked. This misconduct included unwanted touching and kissing on the head.
The student reportedly reported these incidents to Crawford’s supervisor and the university instituted a Title IX investigation into Crawford’s actions. According to the documents received through FOIA, the report stated the results of the investigation concluded, “the evidence does support a finding that Mr. Crawford violated University policies UNIV-466 Title IX Statement of Non-Discrimination and UNIV-468 Sexual Misconduct Policy.”
Crawford was quoted in an email response to comment by MyHorryNews.com as stating, “Political correctness or standing too close to someone’s safe space should not cost anyone their job, but that’s what happened. My southern mannerisms, friendly gestures, and normal greetings amongst friends were used against me. The cancel culture phenomenon cost me my job.”
Several of the local political hacks, commenting on the story on Facebook, supported Crawford referring to the story as a political hit job.
What is striking about the comments made by Crawford, including a formal statement he requested the university include in his file, is that nowhere was he quoted as expressing regret or an apology for his actions causing discomfort to the student employee involved.
Whatever Crawford did, he made a young student and employee (male or female) under his supervision feel uncomfortable by his actions. The Southern mannerisms Crawford so quickly invoked also include apologizing for causing such discomfort regardless of your original intent.
Crawford owed the victim a public apology, which never came.
Instead, within days of being notified of the investigation, Crawford reportedly had a law firm send a letter to the university requesting secrecy.

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Second Reading of Illegal Fireworks Ordinance Before County Council Tuesday

(The above image courtesy of TheStreet)

Horry County Council will consider second reading of an ordinance that would allow council to designate fireworks free areas by resolution.
How this ordinance made it to second reading is a mystery considering it totally ignores state law.
State law, section 23-35-175 (C) states, “an owner, a lessee or managing authority of real property may establish a Fireworks Prohibited Zone by (1) filing a Discharge of Fireworks Prohibited Agreement with the law enforcement agency having jurisdiction over the subject property.”
The only thing counties are allowed to do under state law with regards to fireworks prohibition is extend into public land a fireworks free zone after a request from an adjacent property owner who has already established a fireworks prohibited zone on his property by completing the above procedure.
Yet, the county ordinance states, ““County No Fireworks Areas shall be any geographic location, as determined by County Council, wherein the prohibition against fireworks under this section is deemed appropriate. Such areas may be designated only by Resolution of County Council and must state with adequate specificity the area encompassed as to be readily identifiable by the general public and Horry County officials and employees.”
The question is why wasn’t county staff, particularly the county attorney, not aware of the contradictions of state law contained in the proposed county ordinance?
According to sources familiar with this ordinance, council member Bill Howard initiated the process for this ordinance at the behest of some constituents. It’s fine to work on behalf of your constituents’ desires, but it’s even better if it is done within the law.
There has been a recent pattern with the county acting in violation of state law. It was recently discovered the county stormwater fees were illegally raised on open space, agricultural and forested lands earlier this year, after a county resident sent a copy of state law to county staff. The county is now in the process of having to determine who paid the increased fees on prohibited types of land and provide refunds to those owners.

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North Myrtle Beach Council Members Vote for I-73 Funding – Or Did They?

North Myrtle Beach City Council voted at last night’s meeting to provide $1.7 million annually to construction of Interstate 73 contingent on so many variables it really isn’t a provision at all.
Among the contingencies required for North Myrtle Beach to provide any money to I-73 is a requirement for the other cities and counties that would supposedly benefit from construction of the highway to also contribute money for construction of the road.
In addition, North Myrtle Beach restricted use of any money it may provide to actual construction costs. Specifically prohibited from use of any money provided by North Myrtle Beach are right of way acquisition, engineering and legal services, construction documents, environmental studies and reports of any kind. Funds from North Myrtle Beach may not be used on SC 22 or any other roadway and actual construction must begin before December 31, 2024.
Despite the headlines of local television stations last night, the North Myrtle Beach resolution contains so many restrictions and prior requirements from other local governmental agencies in three counties as to make it virtually meaningless.
The North Myrtle Beach resolution varies widely from a proposal by Gov. Henry McMaster during a press conference at the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce in October 2021.
According to the governor’s proposed $1.6 billion funding plan, the state will be asked to provide $795 million for the I-73 project all of which will be spent in Dillon and Marion counties. The federal government will be asked to provide $450 million, most of which will be spent in Marion and Dillon counties. Local governments in Horry County were asked to provide $350 million for construction of the road in Horry County. None of the cities in Dillon and Marion counties nor the county governments themselves were asked to provide any money toward construction of I-73.
The governor’s plan only included funding for construction of what is really an interstate spur road from I-95 south of Dillon to the eastern terminus of the road at the end of the current SC 22 in the Briarcliffe area.

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New Rezoning Request to Answer How Bumgardner Tract will be Developed?

The ongoing debate about overdevelopment in Horry County often pits citizens against developers with Horry County Council in the middle.
The public desire to slow down development when developers request a property rezoning and the complication of underlying zoning in most areas of the county could be described in Winston Churchill’s words as “a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.”
Such a rezoning request is currently in the works in Horry County with respect to a proposed rezoning of what is known as the Bumgardner Tract off of Hwy 707 between St. James High School and Blackmoor Golf Club.
The property owners, the Wall family of Horry County, are asking Horry County Council to rezone approximately 721 acres (none of which is wetlands) of a 1,421 total acre tract from Commercial Forest Agriculture (CFA) to basically single-family zoning with a little multi-family and commercial zoning included.
If the rezoning request is approved, the development agreement shows approximately 3,700 housing units at final buildout, approximately 80 percent single family homes.
The possibility of 3,700 new homes replacing what is now mostly trees immediately set some citizens’ heads spinning with a desire to stop the rezoning.
What those opposing the rezoning apparently do not understand is that development of the property cannot be stopped. The current CFA zoning already allows for the construction of approximately 4,300 multi-family units.
I have spoken to representatives of the property owner and have been assured the multi-family units will be constructed if the rezoning request to single family is not approved. In today’s housing market in Horry County, the developers are confident 4,300 multi-family units could be sold as easily as single family homes in the area in which the property is located.
The enigma, if you will, is not how development on the property can be stopped, but rather what type of development will be constructed.

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