Tag: Nikki Haley

Did S.C. Ethics Commission Break the Law?

A request for a judge to rule the S.C. Ethics Commission violated the state’s FOIA law has been entered in a lawsuit brought against the commission by the S.C. Public Interest Foundation.

The motion for summary judgment results from the S.C. Ethics Commission’s apparent attempts to hide the contents of a letter to Gov. Nikki Haley from commission attorney Cathy Hazelwood.

In the letter, Hazelwood requested Haley to reimburse the state for the cost of travel for Haley and her campaign staff to a fundraising event in North Carolina last year.

When the internet publication “The Nerve” requested a copy of the letter from the commission, it was reportedly told by commission director Herb Hayden, “No letter was sent to Gov. Haley.”

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More Atlantic Beach Problems for Nikki Haley

Gov. Nikki Haley’s recent trip to Atlantic Beach continues to garner negative headlines for South Carolina’s top elected official.

The governor failed in her attempt to have a “frank” discussion with the Atlantic Beach Town Council about ending the Memorial Day Bikefest.

After a short opening address by Haley in which she reportedly promised to help Atlantic Beach return to its glory days of pre-integration prosperity, Haley was met with silence from town officials.

However, that was not all that occurred during the meeting.

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Nikki Haley and Atlantic Beach Bikefest – Updated

The entire meeting took all of approximately 15 minutes – a complete waste of time.

To her credit, Haley refused to meet with the Atlantic Beach Town Council in executive session after arriving for the meeting, so a short open-session meeting resulted. A minor victory for freedom of information.

Haley addressed council for a short time, during which Haley said she would help Atlantic Beach return to the prosperity it enjoyed in the 1940′s if it would end its Memorial Day Bikefest.

Atlantic Beach Mayor Jake Evans said the town would appreciate any help that was offered, but Memorial Day Bikefest would continue.

Meeting adjourned.

You have to wonder what this was all about. Couldn’t there have been advance planning between Haley and Atlantic Beach officials so they actually accomplished something?

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Nikki Haley to Meet with Atlantic Beach Council

Gov. Nikki Haley and the Atlantic Beach Town Council are scheduled to meet at 10 a.m. Tuesday July 29th during a specially called council meeting.

To date, there is no official notice of the meeting, but it has been confirmed through media contacts.

The meeting is an apparent followup to Haley’s call for the Atlantic Beach Memorial Day Bikefest to end after the violence in Myrtle Beach two months ago associated with crowds for that event. Haley said she was going to meet with Atlantic Beach officials in June, but the meeting could not be arranged.

It has been reported that the meeting will be held in executive session. We don’t expect anything else of Haley who has made secrecy an art form during her time as governor.

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Ethics Reform – Not So Fast

S.C. Ethics Commission Limits Freedom of Information

Earlier this week, the S.C. Ethics Commission moved to restrict information flow to the media from agency personnel.

An announced new policy limits press inquiries and responses to Executive Director Herb Hayden taking the ethics commission attorney and deputy director out of the loop.

The new policy was announced by S.C. Ethics Commission chairman James Burns, a Gov. Nikki Haley appointee, during a commission meeting.

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Haley Visit Doesn’t Stop PTR Industries Layoffs

One week after Gov. Nikki Haley visited PTR Industries to celebrate the company’s first anniversary of the announcement the company was relocating to Horry County, PTR Industries is laying off workers.

Touted as a ‘Hail Mary long ball’ attempt to boost sales, the Haley visit appears to have fallen short.

PTR Industries decided to relocate to Horry County after Connecticut, its former home, passed stricter new gun laws in the wake of the December 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings.

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Casino Gambling Enters Political Discussions

Casino gambling emerged from the shadows and directly entered South Carolina political discussions yesterday when S.C. House Minority Leader Todd Rutherford disclosed his plan for funding road repairs in the state.

Rutherford said he plans to introduce a bill into the General Assembly next year to allow casino gambling in Myrtle Beach to create a revenue stream for roads.

From what we understand, Rutherford’s plan is for commercial gambling casinos not Indian gaming, but it fits into the overall discussions that have been going on around Horry County for the past six months or so.

Horry County’s so-called movers and shakers want casino gambling legalized. This is just another option.

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Atlantic Beach Bikefest, Money and Myrtle Beach

Much has been made about the extra money from accommodations tax that will be available to purchase the services of extra police for next year’s Atlantic Beach Bikefest.

Thanks to quick work in the General Assembly, approximately $2.3 million dollars will be allowed to be diverted from tourism marketing and promotion to law enforcement costs next year.

I have even heard some talk about some of that money being used for private security firms, such as Blackwater Security, if a few additional changes can be made to state law to allow it.

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Pat McKinney Drops Candidacy, Statewide Vote Recount Cancelled

An automatic statewide vote recount to finalize the second position in the Lt. Governor’s race was cancelled this evening when unofficial second place finisher Pat McKinney dropped out of the race.

McKinney, who finished in second place in unofficial vote tallies after Tuesday’s primary, led third place finisher Mike Campbell by 1,250 votes triggering an automatic recount because the margin separating the two was within a 1% margin of the total vote.

According to campaign manager Taylor Hall, McKinney decided to drop out of the race for personal reasons having lost his father and father-in-law within the last two months.

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Ethics Reform – Not So Fast

Watered Down Ethics Reform Bill Nears Approval

A very watered down ethics reform bill was reported out of conference committee Wednesday and received an overwhelming vote of yeas in the S.C. House yesterday.

The bill must be approved by the Senate before going to Gov. Nikki Haley’s desk for signature.

But, the key measure needed for real ethics reform in South Carolina was left behind by the conference committee.

South Carolina’s legislators just can’t allow themselves to be at the mercy of an independent ethics commission, so the House and Senate Ethics Committees remain as the investigatory bodies for the state’s legislators.

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