Politics

WestJet Deal Still Haunts County

A 2013 contract between WestJet Airlines and Horry County Government is still costing the county three years later.

Boiling the deal down to its essence, Horry County Council agreed to guarantee WestJet a 15 percent profit on a new airline route established for the 2013 summer tourist season. The county placed a maximum payout of $1 million on its guarantee.

At the time the deal was struck, we heard pronouncements from members of county council such as it was ‘almost guaranteed that this deal would not cost the county one cent.’

Instead the county owed WestJet $500,873 at the end of 2013 in order to live up to its contractual obligations.

A meeting of the Horry County Administration Committee, held on October 11, 2013, agreed to a payment plan whereby the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce would pay WestJet the total amount due and the county would repay the Chamber out of its 5 percent set aside funds from county accommodations tax.

At that time, a balance of approximately $250,000 was in the county’s set aside account. The remainder would be repaid to the Chamber from county set aside accommodations tax funds in the coming years.

The Administration Committee approved a resolution at its meeting Tuesday to allow for continuing repayment of those funds.

The deal with WestJet raises several points about the functions of county government.

This was a bad deal from the beginning. County government has no business guaranteeing a private business a profit that includes the use of any county tax funds, property or otherwise.

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Public Need and Safety Means Nothing to Coastal Conservation League

The Coastal Conservation League (CCL) continues its objection and delaying tactics regarding the International Drive Paving Project in Horry County, a project direly needed by the residents along the Highway 90 corridor portion of the County.

Early this year, the League, through its legal arm, the South Carolina Environmental Law Project (SCELP), brought a request for contested case hearing before the South Carolina Administrative Law Court. On July 7, Judge Ralph King Anderson rendered his decision in the case. He ruled that CCL failed the burden of proof in every one of at least nine (9) arguments they put before him.

Of greatest importance to the residents, was Judge Anderson’s ruling that: “The proposed road will significantly improve the health and safety of a substantial part of the County’s population by:

allowing quicker access by emergency responders;
• allowing quicker access for them to trauma centers, emergency rooms, and other critical health services; and
• improving firefighting capabilities and hurricane evacuation.”
Yet, despite the Court’s overwhelming repudiation of CCL’s arguments and expression of the public need for this roadway, listen to the response from CCL and their legal team:

Amy Armstrong, SCELP attorney for CCL, in a WPDE interview, “we want him (Judge Anderson) to reconsider.” And if he doesn’t, Armstrong says they’ll appeal again.

Nancy Cave, North Coast Director for CCL, in a televised interview, quote “we expected this decision” This statement begs the question, if you expected to lose in a court of law, why did you bring the case in the first place? Is this what your contributors expect – spending tens of thousands of dollars on a case you have no expectation of winning? If you didn’t expect to win, what is the real motive behind these actions?

Dana Beach, Executive Director of CCL in the Sun News, July 15: “The Judge failed to rule on two key points: the extent to which construction will protect or improve water quality, and whether the project complies with policies on fill material”. Mr. Beach is obviously oblivious to Judge Andersons ruling. “Water quality” is referenced fifty two (52) times in the written decision.

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Economic Incentives and the Kingman Airline Services Deal

The recent announcement by Horry County officials that Kingman Airline Services will be expanding its business to Myrtle Beach International Airport is one in which enthusiasm must be tempered.

The announcement was accompanied by sparkling pronouncements from such dignitaries as Gov. Nikki Haley, Horry County Council Chairman Mark Lazarus, Myrtle Beach Mayor John Rhodes and the like.

Local media was quick to pick up on this announcement to shout ‘180 jobs coming to Horry County’ without the qualifying ‘we hope’ that this type of deal requires.

We’ve heard this type of fanfare before – do you hear AvCraft and PTR Industries among others? I do.

It’s only four short years since we heard the last “It’s a great day in Horry County” when the last AvCraft deal was announced by many of these same players.

The initial reaction I heard from several callers who contacted me was, “Is this AvCraft 2.0?”

On the surface it sounds a lot like it. A small Arizona company plans to open an aviation maintenance and repair facility (MRO) at Myrtle Beach International.

It promises to provide 180 new jobs to the area over a five year period. For that promise, Horry County and the Myrtle Beach Air Force Base Redevelopment Authority is providing a total of $250,000 in incentives (read cash payments).

According to sources familiar with the deal, the payment of the $250,000 will be phased over the five year period of the agreement and will depend on Kingman meeting targeted employment levels along the way.

Kingman will be leasing one of the former AvCraft hangars from Horry County Department of Airports. I do not know the rental amount. However, I have been assured by several county officials familiar with the discussions that the rent will be in line with market value and more than AvCraft paid.

In addition, Horry County will be spending an estimated $100,000 to repair the fire suppression system in the hangar and to repair the hangar doors.

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SC Supreme Court Slaps Down Alan Wilson

By a 4-1 margin, the SC Supreme Court ruled yesterday that Attorney General Alan Wilson had no authority to remove solicitor David Pascoe from a continuing investigation into corruption in the SC General Assembly.

The investigation began in 2014 and is reported to center around misuse of campaign funds and abuse of power for personal gain by what is called in yesterday’s opinion the “redacted legislators.”

The Attorney General recused himself from the case for possible conflict of interest in July 2015 and his office turned the investigation over to Pascoe. Pascoe, from that point, was acting as the “state’s highest prosecutor.”

The key finding stated, “The initial correspondence from the Attorney General’s Office to both Pascoe and Chief Keel in July 2015, stated, without reservation, that the Attorney General’s Office was recused from the redacted legislators investigation, leaving only Pascoe as the state’s highest prosecutor in that matter.”

In addition, the Court found transferring the case to Pascoe included the right to order a State Grand Jury investigation into the case. “Pascoe has met his burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence he was vested with the authority to act as the Attorney General in the (probe), and that this authority necessarily included the power to initiate a state grand jury investigation.”

In March 2016, Wilson attempted to remove Pascoe from the case, attempting to replace him with a different solicitor who refused to take Pascoe’s place. At this point, Wilson attempted to politicize the issue by smearing Pascoe in the media.

Central to the issue was an attempt by Pascoe to initiate a Grand Jury investigation, something Wilson claimed only he had the authority to do. The Court tore apart Wilson’s interpretation of the State Grand Jury law.

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Council to Hear SkyDive Myrtle Beach Officials

SkyDive Myrtle Beach officials will address Horry County Council next week in an attempt to make members aware of the many inconsistencies in Horry County Department of Airports claims that were used as an excuse to close down that business at Grand Strand Airport.

The case for closure of SkyDive Myrtle Beach by Horry County is built around 112 alleged safety violations by the business, none of which are safety violations or violations of any other kind, according to FAA regulations.

Nevertheless, Horry County officials made what appear to be false claims to the FAA and the FAA, relying on the integrity of Horry County officials went along with the farce.

A preview of the address was sent to members of council and other Horry County officials by SkyDive Myrtle Beach last week.

Two statements at the beginning of the address tell the story:

“The County has attempted to style complaints in email only to the FAA, in order to have the FAA believe that something very dangerous is occurring at CRE.” (CRE is the FAA designation for Grand Strand Airport.)

And

“Not one FAA official has actually examined this process and the Director’s Decision was erroneously written, relying on the fact that the County was acting in good faith and being truthful, which they have never done in this case. You continually deny my due process with the Department of Airports, by denying my hearing before the Department, which is mandated in the County’s illegal Minimum Standards.”

In other words, the county is up to its old tricks of assuming ‘the law doesn’t apply in Horry County or, if it does, interpreting the law any way the county desires to justify its actions.’

The county depends on its deep pool of taxpayer dollars as a reserve to defend lawsuits brought by those same taxpayers attempting to seek justice.

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How Far Away from Continental Congress

Two hundred forty years ago the Continental Congress was preparing to declare the American colonies’ independence from Great Britain.

Recently, the Donald Trump campaign for president sent an email to members of the British Parliament soliciting donations to his campaign war chest.

Forget for a moment that it is illegal to solicit or accept contributions from foreign nationals for a presidential campaign. In 1776, the American colonies couldn’t wait to get rid of the British government. Now Trump wants financial donations from Members of Parliament to help get him elected.

I’m sure the Trump campaign emails were just a very foolish mistake by a bunch of neophytes attempting to be professional political consultants.

But, they demonstrate just how far American politics has moved from the serious thinkers who founded the country as part of the Continental Congress to the sound-biters and other intellectual dwarfs who now populate the political scene.

When the Founding Fathers considered ratification of the Declaration of Independence, they waited a month until they could get unanimous approval (actually 12 yes and an abstention by New York) of the document.

Now, our Congress can’t even get unanimous approval on a motion to adjourn.

If any of our current members of Congress were around in 1776, I doubt they would have been allowed to refill inkwells on the delegates’ desks for fear they would screw it up.

The blame for the gridlock of an ineffective government doesn’t stop with our elected officials, however.

Locked into the electronic social networking groups that now pass for most interpersonal relationships, the American people gravitate to those who think most nearly the same as they do.

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Select Committee on Benghazi Releases Damning Report

Washington, D.C. – Select Committee on Benghazi Chairman Trey Gowdy (SC-04) released the following statement after the committee’s Majority released a mark of its investigative report:

“Chris Stevens, Sean Smith, Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods were heroes who gave their lives in service to our country. Their bravery and the courageous actions of so many others on the ground that night should be honored.

“When the Select Committee was formed, I promised to conduct this investigation in a manner worthy of the American people’s respect, and worthy of the memory of those who died. That is exactly what my colleagues and I have done.

“Now, I simply ask the American people to read this report for themselves, look at the evidence we have collected, and reach their own conclusions. You can read this report in less time than our fellow citizens were taking fire and fighting for their lives on the rooftops and in the streets of Benghazi.”

The committee’s proposed report is just over 800 pages long and is comprised of five primary sections and 12 appendices. It details relevant events in 2011 and 2012.

Rep. Mike Pompeo (KS-04) released the following statement regarding these findings:

“We expect our government to make every effort to save the lives of Americans who serve in harm’s way. That did not happen in Benghazi. Politics were put ahead of the lives of Americans, and while the administration had made excuses and blamed the challenges posed by time and distance, the truth is that they did not try.”

Rep. Martha Roby (AL-02) released the following statement regarding these findings:

“Our committee’s insistence on additional information about the military’s response to the Benghazi attacks was met with strong opposition from the Defense Department, and now we know why. Instead of attempting to hide deficiencies in our posture and performance, it’s my hope our report will help ensure we fix what went wrong so that a tragedy like this never happens again

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Committee Guarantees Independent Horry County Police Department

In a neatly orchestrated discussion to reach a predetermined conclusion, the Horry County Public Safety Committee determined an independent Horry County Police Department would remain the rule in the county.

Said in a slightly different way, there will be no opportunity for the voters to express themselves through a referendum on whether to merge the police department with the Horry County Sheriff’s Department because council is unwilling to give them the opportunity.

Horry County Attorney Arrigo Carotti told the committee it would require a three reading ordinance of council followed by a binding voter referendum to merge the departments.

Carotti said the ordinance had to be passed by August 15, 2016 in order to appear on the November 2016 general election ballot. Carotti said there was only one meeting of Horry County Council before the August date and special called meetings of council were only intended to address urgent issues between council meetings.

Obviously, there is no urgency on the part of council to allow the voters the opportunity to vote on the issue of a merger.

Carotti said low voter turnout consistent with special elections, the other possible alternative for a referendum, would not give a fair representation of the wishes of voters on the issue.

By that logic, there should not be any primary elections nor special elections for vacant offices because the wishes of the voters are not fairly represented by the 10 percent or less of voters who turn up at the polls to vote in them.

You can see this is not an issue that council is willing to take to the voters and this little dog and pony show was carefully designed to avoid that possibility.

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The Brexit Vote and US Elections

The recent UK vote on whether to remain in or leave the European Union, dubbed Brexit by UK media, may provide some insights into the upcoming US presidential election.

While the Brexit referendum result was a vote against stagnant economy, it was also a vote against the liberal immigration policies of the European Union and against the political establishment in the UK in general.

The Brexit referendum is not binding on the UK Parliament, however, and may be overturned in Westminster when the smoke clears.

David Cameron, Conservative and Jeremy Corbyn, Labour, the two major parties in UK politics, campaigned to remain. Now both look to be losing their position as party leader.

For that matter, Nicola Sturgeon, leader of the third largest parliamentary party, Scottish National, also campaigned to remain. But, Scotland voted 62% to 38% to remain in the European Union and may have another referendum to leave the United Kingdom if the UK moves forward to leave the EU.

The most visible face of the Leave movement was conservative politician Boris Johnson. Johnson has been in UK politics since 2001 as a Member of Parliament (2001-2008), Mayor of London (2008-2016) and Member of Parliament 2015 to present.

Johnson has been called Donald Trump with a Thesaurus and the similarities are many.

Like Trump, Johnson has been the focus of controversies that would have sunk most politicians but he came out of them with a smile on his face.

Like Trump, Johnson is considered boorish, racist and xenophobic by opponents, but he is able to reach across the political divide to attract non-conservative support.

Like Trump, Johnson’s support comes not from the political establishment in the Conservative Party, but rather from the rank and file voters.

In other words, like Trump, Johnson is a polarizing figure able to take advantage of the emotions of an angry electorate.

For that matter, Corbyn’s support comes from the rank and file Labour voters while the party establishment is far from solidly behind his leadership.

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Vote for Reese Boyd in Senate District 34

The right choice to represent the people in Senate District 34 unquestionably is REESE BOYD.

Reese is a fair-minded, no nonsense politician. He is a leader who will vote for the best interests of his constituents, not for the Columbia BOSSES and special interests who line campaign coffers of his opponent.

Reese Boyd was born in Conway, graduated from Davidson College & University of S C School of Law. He is a member of the: Horry County GOP, South Strand Republican Club, the Grand Strand Opera Workshop, Palmetto Family Council. Reese lives in Murrells Inlet with his wife Lee, and two children Leila & Reese IV.

Despite what you have heard from his opponent and third party PACs who support his opponent, Reese Boyd is the true AND ONLY Conservative in the runoff election for Senate District 34.

Reese Boyd supports:

Term limits
Less government bureaucracy and interference in people’s lives
The Southern Evacuation Lifeline
Overhaul of Medicaid in the state
A real plan to fix the state’s roads
Fixing the erroneous FEMA flood plain maps
Protecting our beaches
During this campaign, Reese has been subjected to vicious attacks by his opponent and his opponent’s supporters, all of which are untrue. His opponent’s campaign is a classic example of – if you have nothing good to say about yourself, attack your opponent.

In this election, you have a clear choice between Reese Boyd, a conservative who will look out for the interests of his constituents, and his opponent who only looks out for himself.

I URGE YOU, to GO to the polls on Tuesday June 28th and vote again for REESE BOYD. He is an honest, true blue champion of the people, a person you can trust and the right man to be our NEW Senator.

Thank you for your consideration.

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