Politics

Remembering Horry County Council Past Decisions

A small agenda item for Tuesday’s Horry County Council meeting brought reminders of how special interests and ego often combine to replace common sense in the public decision making process.

The item was second reading of an ordinance to make a slight adjustment to the Multi County Business Park ordinance of 1999 as amended in 2000.

Under consideration was abandonment by Horry County of the last several years of an exclusive option to purchase land from Burroughs and Chapin near the Myrtle Beach International Airport.

On the surface it seems like a fairly innocuous item.

Until we remember the MCBP was essentially a $79 million giveaway to B&C for basically nothing in return for the county. It was the most contentious issue of its day, passed three readings by a slim majority, and, within the next few years, 10 members of council either left office or were defeated at the ballot box.

The MCBP ordinance was the ultimate example of local elected officials bowing to the demands of special interests at the expense of ordinary voters and it cost many of them their elected position.

The piece of land in question was needed for construction of a second runway at Myrtle Beach International.

The second runway concept was part of an airport plan of the early 2000’s that included a $500 million airport terminal on the west side of the runways. This was a time when council egos envisioned MBIA as a major gateway airport for national and international tourists that were going to flock to Myrtle Beach.

The concept was absolutely ridiculous and a pure flight of fancy (ego) on the part of a majority of county council for several years until the entire plan fell victim to its own faults.

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Council Against Horry County Sheriff Merger

If the decision is left up to the politicians, the Horry County Sheriff merger with the Horry County Police Department won’t happen.

Horry County Council is building a case that it’s too costly and they don’t know who the next sheriff will be.

Restated the case is: the same voters who elected current council members aren’t to be trusted when it comes to electing a sheriff.

The county is also pointing to an approximately $650k price tag to repaint and remark the vehicles and buy such things as new badges and uniforms to replace the current HCPD stock.

I have a quick suggestion. The $650k is approximately the same price as the proposed new mobile command center county council and HCPD want to purchase. Quit with the Inspector Gadget mentality and the money is found.

The amount of public money Horry County Council and HCPD have wasted on gadgets and radios over the last 15 years is abominable. These are two groups who should never use spending public dollars as an excuse not to do something that makes sense, considering the number of things they have spent public money on that do not make sense.

The real issue, however, is what can be done to eliminate the culture of corruption that has existed in HCPD ranks, especially command ranks, over the last two or so decades.

Obviously hiring a new chief is not the answer. Four new chiefs have been hired over that period (two internal, two external) with little to no change.

The decision on whether or not to merge the Sheriff’s department with HCPD is one that the people should decide in a referendum.

And, the argument that we don’t know who will follow our current sheriff Phillip Thompson is bogus. We don’t know who is going to succeed our current council members either.

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Final AvCraft Chapter?

The Horry County Transportation Committee voted earlier this week to write off $113,687 in unpaid rent from AvCraft Technical Services that the county will never collect anyway.

AvCraft filed for bankruptcy in March 2015 after an 11 year history of failing to make good on its promises to Horry County.

This should be the final chapter in the saga of local and state politicians, especially Horry County Council, looking at AvCraft through rose colored glasses in the name of economic development.

Since arriving to much hoopla in 2004, AvCraft was consistent in only two areas – it consistently failed to meet job goal promises and it consistently requested and received rent reductions on the three hangars at Myrtle Beach International it rented from the Horry County Department of Airports.

After eight years of failing to meet goals, Horry County Council tried one last time in January 2012 to help AvCraft save itself with the recommendation of the Myrtle Beach Regional Economic Development Corporation.

One of the main items in that agreement was a $1.25 million reduction in rent on the county hangars over a five year period. This came after three earlier rent reductions, agreed to by the county, failed to make AvCraft profitable.

The following four comments made after the 2012 incentive package was approved demonstrate how far from reality politicians and their economic development arms exist from reality:

“I am thankful for the company’s commitment to Horry County and proud of our economic development team for this terrific announcement.” – Rep. Tom Rice.

“It’s another great day in South Carolina, and we are going to celebrate AvCraft’s decision to expand and create 150 new jobs in Horry County.” – Gov. Nikki Haley.

“AvCraft is a tremendous asset to our community, and this project is just the beginning for aviation-related businesses locating and expanding in the Myrtle Beach region.” – Doug Wendel, MBREDC board chairman at the time.

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Primary Elections Draw Few Voters

We had primary elections for local and state offices in Horry County yesterday and 90 percent of the voters stayed home.

In Horry County, it was basically Republicans voting as Democrats only had three races to vote in, one senate race and two house races, with most of those three districts in other counties.

Luke Rankin easily won the Senate District 33 Republican nomination and Senate District 34 will see a runoff between Reese Boyd and Stephen Goldfinch. Boyd won the Horry County portion of the district, but with Georgetown and Charleston precincts included came in two percentage points behind Goldfinch.

Rankin is an incumbent while Boyd and Goldfinch are vying for an open seat.

As an aside, incumbent Hugh Leatherman easily won the Republican nomination for Senate District 31, making Gov. Nikki Haley zero for three in her endorsements of candidates on the Grand Strand and in the Pee Dee.

There were no contested Republican House races in Horry County.

Angie Jones and Renee Elvis swept to easy victories in the Horry County Treasurer and Horry County Clerk of Courts races for the Republican nomination. Both races were for open seats.

Gary Loftus easily secured the nomination for Horry County Council District 4. Other county council Republican nominations went to Paul Prince in District 9 and Danny Hardee in District 10.

Loftus and Prince are incumbents while District 10 was an open seat.

Scott Thompson and David Cox will face off in a runoff election in two weeks for the Republican nomination for Horry County Board of Education District 4. Other Board of Education Republican nominations went to John Poston in District 8, Chris Hardwick in District 9 and Shanda Allen in District 11.

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Political Spin in the Treasurer’s Race

This election cycle has had more crazy rhetoric, bogus claims and political spin than most.

The older I get, the less patience I have for political spin and interpretations of statements and the written word, by politicians, that make no sense.

What is fact and what is fiction in the political arena is quickly confused and expanded when it gets into the world of social media.

A perfect example of this is the attempt by Angie Jones to explain why she resigned from the Treasurer’s office while still attempting to be elected the next treasurer.

The press conference by Jones last Friday was an attempt to change the message from why were tax penalties removed from her brother’s tax bill to alleged mistreatment of Jones in the Treasurer’s office.

The press conference statements are contradicted by an earlier statement by Jones when she announced her candidacy.

From the Angie Jones June 10, 2016 Press Conference:

“As most of you know I have resigned from the Horry County Treasurer’s office to accept a position in the Horry County Clerk of Court’s office… I will no longer subject myself to the hostile work environment and malicious attacks that I have endured over the last several months.

“This all began in February 2016 when I was approached and was asked to give up my job title so that my opponent could run his campaign as the current Deputy Treasurer. I was assured I could keep my salary and the only change would be my job title. I refused and it has been a nightmare from that point forward.”

From a March 11, 2016 article on Angie Jones in the Horry Independent announcing her candidacy:

“Of course, I’d never run against Roddy. We made a good team.”

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Hypocritical Attack Ads Target Reese Boyd

Reese Boyd is making a strong run for the open SC Senate District 34, enough that the Stephen Goldfinch campaign and its cohorts are resorting to absolute hypocrisy in these final days of the campaign.

Reese Boyd and Stephen Goldfinch are both seeking the Republican nomination for SC Senate District 34 in Tuesday’s Republican Primary voting.

If you are following politics at all in this primary season, you have seen, either in your mailbox or on Facebook, Reese Boyd being called a fiscal liberal.

These attacks are coming in mail and on broadcast media from something called the Citizens Alliance for Fiscal Responsibility, which, from everything I can determine, is run by Tom Swatzel of Swatzel Strategies LLC.

Swatzel Strategies has also received payment from the Stephen Goldfinch campaign for campaign consulting. There is an obvious direct tie between the PAC and the Goldfinch campaign.

If Citizens Alliance for Fiscal Responsibility is acting as an independent PAC, even under the Citizens United decision it must have no direct coordination with the campaign.

Why is Boyd being attacked as a fiscal liberal? Because Boyd has refused to sign Grover Norquist’s Taxpayer Protection Pledge.

I support Boyd in not signing Norquist’s bogus pledge, which has never been anything more than a gimmick for elected legislators to claim they are fiscal conservatives.

But, the hypocrisy currently being practiced by the Goldfinch campaign is much worse than just mislabeling Boyd because he wouldn’t agree to forfeit his decision making power if he is elected to the senate.

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Angie Jones Press Conference Answers NO Questions

(Above pic Angie Jones, left with Lois Eargle)

A press conference held Friday by Angie Jones, a candidate for Horry County Treasurer in the Tuesday June 14, 2016 Republican primary election, left unanswered questions as to why Jones resigned her position as Deputy Treasurer just five days before the primary.

Jones will begin a position in the Horry County Clerk of Courts office Monday morning. Jones mother, Nancy Jones, is currently Deputy Clerk of Courts.

Jones claimed she resigned from the Treasurer’s office because of a hostile work environment toward her since February.

I believe that reason it total political spin and has nothing to do with why Jones resigned.

According to several sources within Horry County Government, prior to her resignation Jones was the subject of an internal investigation on alleged removal of penalties from a tax notice sent to her brother.

After receiving inquiries earlier in the week from local media about documents supporting the allegations, Treasurer Roddy Dickinson reportedly looked into the allegations.

Jones resigned from her Deputy Treasurer position Thursday and the only comment Dickinson would make was to confirm her resignation.

Jones’ press conference Friday was to supposedly address Jones’ resignation. This was the perfect time for Jones to address the investigation and answer questions about it. She didn’t.

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Realtors Support Devon Blackwell

Horry County Council District 10 candidate Devon Blackwell secured the support of the Coastal Carolinas Association of Realtors last week.

Each election cycle, CCAR interviews candidates and announces support with a letter and campaign contribution for various local and state candidates.

CCAR chose Devon Blackwell as the candidate it is supporting in the Horry County Council District 10 Republican Primary.

“I am very proud of being chosen by the association of realtors,” Blackwell said.

Blackwell said District 10 is the largest council district in area in Horry County. He understands the needs of different neighborhoods within the district will differ. He said he will be responsive to all his constituents to meet their needs.

Blackwell supports infrastructure improvements, especially roads and drainage, throughout District 10. He also said he supports reviewing the many regulations on small business to make sure the county is not being hindering the opportunities for small businesses to be successful.

Blackwell said his approach to spending public money will be guided by the question “would you spend your own money for this?”

Blackwell’s opponent in the primary is Danny Hardee, a long time businessman in the Mt. Vernon community in District 10, but who appears to have his primary residence at the Floral Lake subdivision in Surfside Beach, which is not in District 10.

Hardee’s campaign touts his service on the now defunct Horry County Airport Advisory Board and Horry County Solid Waste Authority Board.

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Horry County Sheriff Referendum Appears Dead

It appears that decisions have been made out of the public eye that no referendum will be put to the people on whether to consolidate the Horry County Police Department and Horry County Sheriff’s Department.

An advertisement for applications for the position of police chief was posted recently on the Horry County website.

This would not have been done if there was any chance Horry County Council would vote to authorize a referendum on whether the two departments should be consolidated.

Sources familiar with the views of council members say there are only two votes among council members that would support placing a referendum before the voters.

There appeared to be a majority opinion among county residents that the Sheriff’s Department should take over HCPD in order to fix it. One wonders why county council members are so out of contact with the citizens they represent.

With the decision to forego a referendum and hire a new chief, the responsibility for fixing the many problems at HCPD rests squarely on the shoulders of Horry County Council members.

If the voters approved consolidation of the two departments, something I believe would have happened if a referendum were held, it would have solved another potential problem for Horry County Government that it has strived to ignore through the years.

The problem is one of dual taxation where residents of the various cities within Horry County pay tax millage to fund HCPD while not getting the benefit of police services from the county police.

HCPD is currently funded from the county’s general fund from county wide millage collected from property owners throughout the county.

HCPD is currently funded from the county’s general fund from county wide millage collected from property owners throughout the county.

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David Cox and Shanda Allen for Horry County School Board

When Horry County voters go to the polls for primary balloting next week, two candidates for Horry County School Board, David Cox and Shanda Allen, stand out in their respective races.

David Cox is currently the school board vice chairman. He has represented Horry County District 9 for two terms. Having recently moved to Market Common, Cox is a candidate for the Horry County School Board District 4 Republican nomination.

Cox has gained valuable experience during his two terms on the school board. He wants to bring that experience to the citizens of District 4.

“Four out of the five new schools we contracted for last fall will be built in District 4,” Cox said. “I believe my experience on the school board can be valuable to the parents and students of District 4 as it goes through significant change in the next 12-18 months.”

Cox is a fiscal conservative who has helped hold the line on tax rates for Horry County residents. During his eight years of service, the school board has reduced tax rates by 18 mils while maintaining the building and maintenance requirements of one of the fastest growing school districts in the state.

In addition, Horry County high school students have continued to increase their SAT and ACT scores, as well as earning tens of millions of dollars of scholarships to colleges.

“I am proud of my eight years of service on the school board and hope the citizens of District Four will vote to allow me to continue to bring my experience to board decisions for the benefit of all the students in Horry County,” Cox said.

Shanda Allen brings considerable experience to her candidacy for the Horry County School Board District 11 Republican nomination.

She was a substitute teacher in Horry County Schools for 10 years, giving her significant knowledge of the classroom needs of both teachers and students.

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