Politics

Stumbo vs. Goldfinch for Republican AG Nomination

When Stephen Goldfinch announced his campaign for Attorney General, he told the Coastal Observer newspaper he had prosecuted “hundreds” of cases as a JAG officer in the SC National Guard. Throughout the campaign, that number expanded to “thousands” on at least one occasion.
The Attorney General is the state’s top prosecutor. Evidently Goldfinch felt the need to establish his credentials as a prosecutor. But, the numbers don’t add up.
David Stumbo, Goldfinch’s opponent in tomorrow’s Republican Primary runoff for the Attorney General nomination, has been the Solicitor for the state’s 8th Judicial Circuit for over a decade.
According to military justice statistics, the average JAG officer conducts 3.5 prosecutions per year. An exceptional JAG prosecutor may conduct as many as 20 prosecutions per year. These numbers are for full-time active duty JAG officers in the four service branches.
Goldfinch joined the National Guard in 2019, merely seven years ago. IF, and it’s a giant if, he matched the total number of prosecutions per year of an exceptional active duty JAG officer, Goldfinch would only total approximately 140 prosecutions to date – noy hundreds, certainly not thousands.
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Stephen Goldfinch’s National Guard Injury Story

On August 1, 2023, Sen. Stephen Goldfinch’s office issued a press release stating the senator had been injured during a deployment to Africa with the SC National Guard. The injury was reported as non-life threatening.
It seemed strange the message would come from the Goldfinch’s political office. Follow up inquiries with the National Guard elicited the response that the injury was non-combat related and non-life threatening.
On August 2, 2023, Gov. Henry McMaster stated, during a press conference, he had spoken to Goldfinch earlier in the day.
“He’s doing okay. He’s going to have some surgery…He’s in good spirits. He’s gotten a lot of phone calls and texts,” McMaster said. The governor added any additional information should come from the National Guard.
A follow up news report on August 3, 2023 stated Goldfinch had been airlifted to Germany for further treatment.
Goldfinch was reportedly injured at Camp Lemonnier, which is located in the town of Ambouli on the south side of Djibouti-Ambouli International Airport. It is home to the Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa of the U. S. Africa Command.
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Stephen Goldfinch, Stem Cells and Attorney General Primary Runoff

The primary runoff election for the Republican nomination for South Carolina Attorney is next week, Tuesday June 23rd. The contest pits David Stumbo currently the SC 8th Judicial Circuit Solicitor against SC Sen. Stephen Goldfinch.
Whoever wins the Republican nomination will be the odds-on favorite to win the general election in November to become the state’s chief legal officer and chief criminal prosecutor.
It is important that voters know the background of a candidate seeking such an important position. To date, questions remain about a federal case involving Goldfinch and the improper handling of stem cells which was dismissed because of administrative neglect in 2017.
Grand Strand Daily contacted the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas Houston Division, for the documents on the case.
According to records from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas Houston Division, Goldfinch “aided and abetted by others known and unknown to the United States Attorney, caused the introduction and delivery for introduction into interstate commerce stem cells that were misbranded in that the stem cells and packaging did not contain directions for use.”
According to the charging document, the stem cells referred to, (harvested for research only), were instead sold to clinics to treat patients with severe diseases such as multiple sclerosis and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in violation of federal law.
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School Board Chairman Race

Two candidates are competing for the Republican Party nomination for school board chairman. Both are current members of the school board.
Melanie Wellons, the current board member for District 8 and Vice Chairman of the board is aHorry County native and graduate of Horry County Schools including Coastal Carolina University.
Wellons has worked closely with current board chair David Cox getting a close look at the intricacies of the county school system. She said she will do everything to ensure the district keeps moving forward. She will ensure the students, teachers and district staff have all the resources they need to keep moving forward.
Wellons said when she visits schools as a board member, she sees teachers who went to school with her and who went to school with her children striving every day to improve the education of current students. Wellons sees the desire of former students wanting to come back and teach the next generation of Horry County students as a strength of the system which must be continued.
Darrell Ricketts is the current board member for District 11. He unsuccessfully ran for board chairman four years ago.
Ricketts features his over 30 years as an educator, now retired, as his prime qualification to be elected to the position of school board chairman. Ricketts notes he has been in the classroom and administration. However, there are some things Ricketts leaves out of his curriculum vitae for election:
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Three Candidates Vie for School Board District 3 Republican Nomination

Three candidates are competing for the Republican Party nomination for the Horry County District 3 school board seat in next week’s primary election.
Tracy Winters is the incumbent board member. During her current four-year term, the board has passed fiscally responsible budgets, increasing teacher and staff salaries as well as the arts and athletic programs with no tax increases.
Winters also pushes transparency and accountability, continued fiscal responsibility, expanding course and extracurricular offerings to meet the diverse academic and career interests of students and a push for a second high school to serve the ever growing needs of the Carolina Forest area.
Challenger David Frierson spent most of his life as a pastor. Frierson presents himself as an outsider with no connection to the board or schools who can bring a new and fresh perspective to the board. Frierson advocates addressing the values students are learning particularly with “wokeism” (his word) he believes has come into the schools. He believes the board can help with moral problems and unacceptable behavior he says are going on in schools.
Challenger J. D. Davis is a retired Lt. Col. from the U. S. Army. After retirement, Davis served as JROTC Army Director for Horry County Schools and was a nine-year member of the City of Myrtle Beach Military Appreciation Committee. Davis wants to use his leadership skills and believes his commitment to serving students and families is not over.
Checking a little deeper into the campaign literature and advertising of the candidates, some discrepancies appeared with respect to the Davis campaign.
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Back in Action

Grand Strand Daily is back in action.
For the past year, Grand Strand Daily has been mostly quiet. This hiatus was mostly due to medical issues I have faced resulting in a heart attack and double bypass surgery. I have now recovered and am ready to get back into regular writing.
This election season looks to be different than normal with very few local primary contests on the June ballot, The governor, attorney general and state treasurer Republican primaries are hotly contested and will provide interest among voters.
The new Forward Party will contest some county council seats on November general election ballot, which may stir interest among voters.

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Spivey Family Lawsuit Moves Forward as Does Criminal Investigation Review

Circuit Court Judge Eugene Griffith, Jr. ruled last week that the second shooter, Kenneth Bradley Williams, in the September 9, 2023 fatal shooting of Scott Spivey, was denied stand your ground immunity in a lawsuit brought by the Spivey family.
This decision, along with the identical decision by the judge denying immunity to Weldon Boyd, the other shooter in the case, means the lawsuit will move forward.
Spivey was shot multiple times by Boyd and Williams at the end of an approximately nine-mile pursuit after Spivey apparently cut off Boyd’s vehicle on Hwy 9. According to an exhibit in the case, speeds exceeding 100 mph were attained in the pursuit.

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Attorney General Candidate David Pascoe Brings Campaign Message to Conway

Attorney General Candidate David Pascoe visited Conway last week to talk with voters about his anti-crime/anti-corruption campaign.

Pascoe is currently First Judicial Circuit Solicitor making him the chief prosecutor for Calhoun, Dorchester and Orangeburg Counties. Since the age of 15, Pascoe said all he wanted to do was be a prosecutor. He went to work as an assistant solicitor directly out of law school and first won election as First Circuit Solicitor in the 2004 election cycle.

However, Pascoe is better known as the appointed Special Prosecutor who investigated and convicted former Speaker of the House Bobby Harrell for ethics violations involving personal misuse of $325,000 of campaign funds.
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ICE “Cold” on Dan Liu Immigration Status and Felony Allegations

Above Photo – Chinese police raiding Yigian Funding office}

Dan Liu, owner of Founders Group International, which includes 21 golf courses and other properties in the Grand Strand area, was a participant in the recent One Flight Myrtle Beach Classic pro-am golf tournament. It was surprising to see Liu among the participants considering his questionable immigration status in the United States.
Some background:
Jane Zheng was a native Chinese working as a realtor with a local company in Horry County. Her niche market was other Chinese nationals with seemingly excess cash to invest in U.S. properties.
Zheng connected with Dan Liu, reportedly a managing partner in Yiqian Funding, a peer to peer lending company in China. Yiqian Funding (also known in China as “Easy Richness”} raised money from Chinese investors that was, theoretically, lent to businesses or other entrepreneurs or invested independently. Investors and the company supposedly made money on the interest paid on the loans and on the rise in investment assets.
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Bailey Bill Would Revert County Policing to Sheriff’s Department

A bill introduced into the S. C. House of Representatives this week by North Myrtle Beach Rep. William Bailey would abolish the Horry County Police Department and return all county law enforcement duties to the Sheriff’s Department, if passed.
This is not a new issue in Horry County, only the latest iteration evolving from the recent revelations in the case of the 2023 fatal shooting of Scott Spivey by North Myrtle Beach business owner Weldon Boyd and the initial handling of the case by Horry County police officers.
By the provisions of the 1895 Constitution of South Carolina, the elected County Sheriff is the chief law enforcement officer in each of the state’s 46 counties. However, through the years, the members of the General Assembly found a way around this provision by passing individual bills establishing police commissions, appointed by the respective county’s legislative delegation, to oversee policing in the county. These commissions established county police departments to assume many of the duties of the county’s Sheriff. At one time, as many as 19 counties in the state had police departments separate from the Sheriff’s Department. Today, only the Horry County Police Department remains.
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