Politics

Revenues, Expenses and the HCSWA Budget

The HCSWA budget is in its final preparations before being included in the overall Horry County Government budget as it is every year.

While the Horry County Solid Waste Authority budget has been included as a section of the county budget since its inception in the early 1990’s, Horry County Council has paid little to no attention to it when approving its annual fiscal year budget.

This year is different. Some council members are actually paying attention to the HCSWA budget.

That is a good thing. It was prompted by the initial request of the HCSWA for an increase in tipping fees at the county Hwy 90 landfill.

Tipping fees are the cost, ultimately paid by the citizens of the county, of burying waste in the ground.

To its credit, the HCSWA has essentially charged the same tipping fee, with some minor variations, since 1992. To its detriment, for many of those years, the tipping fee charged to the citizens of the county was too high.

I remember one former executive director of the HCSWA commenting over a decade ago that so much money (from tipping fees) was coming into the authority coffers, it didn’t know what to do with it all.

A lot of the excess revenue got wasted on purchases of land that was not needed, public relations campaigns, lobbying fees, attorney fees, even bugs that theoretically would extend the life of the landfill, but, in fact, died.

While some of this sounds funny, millions upon millions of public dollars were wasted by a succession of HCSWA boards and the indifference of county council.

Now, the HCSWA is in somewhat of a cash crunch, somewhere between $500k-$1,000k projected shortfall in the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2016.

The first inclination of the HCSWA staff and board was to raise tipping fees. County council said “NO”.

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First Republican Candidate Poll

Grand Strand Daily has acquired a copy of results from a recent poll on some of the Republican candidates in Horry County and several key races in this election cycle.

Polls such as this are not uncommon this early in the primary period as PACs, campaigns, business groups and donors are interested in where respective candidates are starting and what work must be done to make them viable.

Grand Strand Daily is in no way associated with this poll, but was able to obtain a copy of the results.

According to information provided, polling was conducted over four days. Only registered Republican voters who participated in at least two of the last three Republican primaries were contacted. A total of 347 interviews were completed for the poll sample.

The polling was very limited to ascertain only name recognition and favorability factors for the candidates listed.

Results from the poll questions were as follows:

Questionnaire

I am going to read a list of 12 declared candidates for elective office in Horry County in 2016. Please tell me if you have ever heard of or are familiar with this person. If you do not know this person, just respond ‘Don’t Know’. If you do know or have heard of this person, please tell me if you view this person ‘Favorably’, ‘Unfavorably’ or ‘No Opinion’.

Candidate Don’t Know Fav Unfav No Opinion

Robert Seth Rabon 68%/236 42 12 57

Lois Eargle 31%/108 169 69 109

Scott Pyle 49%/170 94 23 60

Luke Rankin 29%/101 166 51 29

Dennis DiSabato 56%/194 69 41 43

Angie Jones 69%/239 23 65 21

Jonathon Hyman 76%/263 44 12 28

Gary Loftus 42%/145 80 42 80

Dick Withington 61%/212 12 79 44

David Jordan 58%/201 68 31 47

Rene Elvis 72%/250 36 48 13

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Devon Blackwell Kicks Off Campaign

Devon Blackwell kicked off his campaign for Horry County Council District 10 with a barbeque meet and greet in the Red Bluff area earlier this week.

Blackwell is looking to replace incumbent Jody Prince who is retiring from council at the end of this year.

While the evening brought some rain to the hunting camp where the event took place, a good crowd of friends and supporters were on hand.

Blackwell is a first time candidate for political office but is a fifth generation native of Horry County with deep roots in the District 10 communities.

Recently retired from Horry Telephone Cooperative after 35 years with the company, Blackwell said the time is right for him to run for office.

“I have always been interested in politics, especially at the local level,” Blackwell said. “But, I wanted to wait until I retired to run for office. I have already found out campaigning is a full-time job.”

Blackwell said infrastructure, especially roads and drainage, were a concern to his district and throughout the county. He supports making sure first responders are adequately trained and have the equipment necessary to carry out their mission.

In addition, Blackwell said he supported community service projects to clean up litter throughout the county not just the main roads.

Communication with his constituents will be a top priority for Blackwell.

“If you call me with a problem, it is my obligation, as a council member, is to research the issue, then, communicate back to my constituents,” Blackwell said.

With regard to the expenditure of public funds, Blackwell said he will be guided by the question ‘would you spend your own money for this?’

Blackwell said his district, which is the largest land area of all the council districts, has different needs for different areas.

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Vote for Reese Boyd III for SC Senate District 34

Tired of “Business as usual” in the South Carolina Legislature?

On June 14th, 2016 South Carolina residents living along a large stretch of the coastline will vote for the Republican candidate to replace the retiring Ray Cleary in SC Senate District 34.

This is an important election in that it will send a signal to the SC legislature on whether SC residents are happy with the current status quo of tax and spend Republicans, or similar to the national presidential contest, want to see meaningful change in SC politics.

The current Republican controlled SC House and Senate have failed the taxpayers of South Carolina.

Roads – they have voted for a gas tax increase, yet the DOT has already received more money than it had in 2012 – their budget has grown by $708 million. Most people close to this issue know that the roads will not improve by giving the politicians more money. What is needed is a restructuring of the SCDOT and taking the road improvement prioritization process out of the hands of politicians.
Economy – The most recent U.S. unemployment rate was 5.1%. Horry County’s rate was 7.4% and Georgetown County’s unemployment rate was 8.3%. Reese will work to reform our tax code and bring about economic growth.
Taxes – South Carolina government is growing – at a rapid pace. You won’t hear a lot about increase in taxes, except for the Gas Tax, but the number of taxes and the additional burden on individuals and businesses are growing each year. Reese will fight efforts to raise our taxes, and push for tax simplification and tax relief for working South Carolina families.
Second Amendment Rights. The legislature tried unsuccessfully to pass “constitutional carry” in South Carolina. Currently there are 23 States planning to introduce “constitutional carry”. We need to vote for someone who truly supports the 2nd

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7th Congressional District GOP Convention Report

The 7th Congressional District GOP Convention held in Florence on Saturday April 9, 2016, to select a new 7th C D Chairman, Vice Chairman and Secretary as well as Republican National delegates (6) to the National Convention in Cleveland on July 18-21 2016 at the “Q” Arena, was hectic.

There is no question Horry County who had 39 voting delegates with 3 alternates (42 total) who attended, came home with only 2 elected National delegates–Alan Clemmons delegate and Gerri McDaniel alternate.

Meanwhile Florence County, who only assembled 23 attending delegates, received the lion share of National delegates and an alternate. There’s no question that the members of the delegation from Florence out maneuvered Horry County as they pooled their votes, having only 6 people running and had 3 delegates making it to the top.

Horry County had 19 delegates running, which cut into its vote count. Consequently no one received more than 20 votes. Hard ball won the day. The other National delegate went to Jerry Rovner of Georgetown who is the present chairman of the 7th CD. With regards to Clemmons and McDaniel they had the good fortune of getting some votes from other delegates.

Some of Horry’s convention attendees are blaming Chairman Robert Rabon for the blow out. To be fair it is NOT Rabon’s fault, and anyone suggesting or saying it is just doesn’t know the facts. Prior to the meeting Chairman Rabon urged the Party members who were going to go to Florence, to only select 6 delegates and as such with 39 voters; the 6 that were chosen would have won handily.

Rabon tried to caution the delegation about this, but it landed on deaf ears. Hopefully, Horry County will learn from this experience and be better organized in the future; no one enjoys losing especially when they are holding all the aces.

At the opening of the meeting at 10:15 AM the chairman of the 7th C D Jerry Rovner gave a extra-ordinary powerful message, one of which was right on point, the essence of which was:

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Large Crowd Comes Out for Jonathan Hyman Campaign Kickoff

(Pictured above Rep. Jeff Johnson (left) and Jonathan Hyman (right).

Over two hundred people attended Jonathan Hyman’s campaign kickoff event at Arnold Johnson’s shed on Hwy 701 South. Hyman is running for Horry County Treasurer.

Johnson said the event drew a larger crowd than others he has hosted and the crowd was at least as large as the one that showed up for Tom Rice’s campaign kickoff for chairman of Horry County Council in 2010.

“I have no doubt Jonathan will do a good job as Treasurer,” said Johnson. “I remember when (former Treasurer) Johnny C. Allen hired him. Johnny always had good things to say about Jonathan.”

This was the kind of event that former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Tip O’Neill alluded to when he said all politics are local. Families from the community came out to support Hyman with the adults enjoying good food and fellowship and the children playing ball outside.

The event was not short of political officeholders and candidates either. S.C. Senate Luke Rankin and S.C. Rep. Jeff Johnson were in attendance.

Rankin said the first thing he thinks of when he hears Hyman’s name is humility, competence and temperament.

“Jonathan is well groomed for this position,” said Rankin. “There will be no surprises. He knows how to carry out the duties of Treasurer.”

Johnson said he wished Hyman well in his campaign for election.

“He is a great guy,” Johnson said. “I go to church with him and know what type of person he is and what a wonderful family he has.”

Former Treasurer Johnny C. Allen said, “I hired him 16 years ago because I knew he was a good, smart kid. I am happy he asked me to endorse him, which I am pleased to do. Jonathan will be an asset to Horry County as its next Treasurer.”

Current Treasurer Roddy Dickinson said it was time for him to retire and pass on the office.

“I have no regrets and I’m looking forward to be able to do other things in life,” said Dickinson. “I am happy to endorse Jonathan for Treasurer. Jonathan works well with people and will make a great Treasurer. He has respect and understanding for others and that is very important in dealing with the public.”

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Robin Gause Announces Run for Council District 4

Robin Gause, 51, a longtime resident of Burgess, has announced her candidacy for the Horry County Council District 4 seat.

Gause, the busy mother of a son and five daughters, with 10 grandchildren, comes from a medical background, having taught childbirth education, pre-natal and breastfeeding classes to hundreds of women. She was, for seven years, a “guardian ad litem,” a special court-appointed guardian for children and mentally impaired people during legal activities that affect their lives.

This is her first run for political office. She is currently precinct president of Marlowe 3, and has been active in Democratic Party matters for many years. She was born and raised in Hampton, South Carolina, west of Charleston. Her husband Sam is retired.

The District 4 seat is currently held by Republican Gary Loftus. The District includes southern Myrtle Beach and the Market Common, and the southwestern corner of Horry County, including the area around Burgess on the western side of Route 707, plus smaller portions of Socastee north of the Route 17 Bypass.

Gause said she has the knowledge and skills to serve the community and to bring structure, innovation and unity to all of Horry County.

“Roads, economic development, education and jobs” are the major issues of the council campaign, she said.

Route 707 is being widened, but county council needs to address other issues with the road, according to Gause. “There are sidewalks going in, but we need more. There are a lot of accidents, and we need more traffic lights.”

Gause feels strongly that the county must do everything it can to increase education of county children and adults at every level, “so everyone can compete on a level playing field.” To do so, she says, the county council must work closely with the school district.

Since Horry County is a major tourist destination, much of local employment is seasonal. That being the case, the county and the school system need to provide programs for increased training and education.

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Jonathan Hyman Announces Candidacy for Horry County Treasurer

(Above Jonathan Hyman with wife Nicole and children Jay and Carly)

Jonathan Mark Hyman, native of Horry County and Conway resident, recently announced his candidacy for Horry County Treasurer.

Hyman is a 1994 graduate of Conway High School. In 1998 he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with a focus on business management and finance from the Wall School of Business at Coastal Carolina University. Following graduation, he pursued a career in Real Estate Appraisal and has been appraising residential and commercial real estate for nearly 17 years.

Hyman is a certified real estate appraiser and has partnered in appraisal firms and managed apprentice appraisers. He is currently a candidate for the MAI designation from the Appraisal Institute. He manages his own appraisal firm and is also a real estate consultant for Valbridge Property Advisors where he provides comprehensive valuation & advisory services.

Hyman has also been employed with Horry County Government since 2000. He was first hired in the Code Enforcement Department to enforce building code laws. Shortly thereafter, he was recruited by long-time Horry County Treasurer, Mr. Johnny C. Allen, as a Revenue Collector in the Treasurer’s Office.

Hyman has served in the Horry County Treasurer’s office for approximately 15 years under the leadership and guidance of current Treasurer, Roddy Dickinson, and his predecessor, Johnny C. Allen. With the full endorsement and support of both Dickinson and Allen, Hyman is excited to announce his decision to file the necessary paperwork to serve as your next Treasurer of Horry County.

Hyman is a member of the Coastal Carolina Association of Realtors, the Appraisal Institute, the Horry County Republican Club and the South Strand Republican Club.

Hyman and his wife, Nicole, have been married for nearly 16 years and have two children Jay (10) and Carly (7). They are faithful members of Juniper Bay Baptist Church where Jonathan actively serves as a sound system technician and Royal Ambassador Leader.

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Political Candidates and the Details

Filing of political candidates for local and state political offices ended Friday and the craziness, foolishness and inattention to detail that marks politics has already struck.

Already one candidate, Dick Withington, has been arrested and released on bail and the story surrounding that incident will play long after the June 2016 primaries are gone.

Withington was arrested for accepting money to drop out of the Horry County Council District 4 race in line with an email he sent to four members of county council soliciting the money. Withington claimed statements to local media that he accepted the money either as proof that he was being bribed or as a mysterious campaign contribution.

Despite the arrest, Withington has promised to continue with his campaign for county council as well as his campaign for SC Senate District 34.

If we assume the old political adage that any publicity is good publicity, Withington is already leading in the name recognition area for the two races in which he is a candidate. Somehow, I don’t think that rule applies in this case.

In the 2012 election cycle, failing to file a Statement of Economic Interests at the same time that Statement of Intention of Candidacy papers are filed cost over 50% of candidates that year a place on the ballot.

Failing to file an SEI at the proper time will no longer keep a candidate off the ballot (the state law was changed in the 2013-14 legislative year). But, that failure can draw fines for a candidate from the Ethics Commission.

It only took me a spot check on the SC Ethics Commission website of two Horry County Council races to find failure to file an SEI is still a problem.

In the special election for Horry County Council District 7, Republican candidate Mike Roberts filed an SEI properly while Republican candidate Robert Shelley was several days late in his filing. The Democratic side was even worse. Candidate Orton Bellamy filed his SEI properly while candidates Harold Phillips and Lee Sherman have yet to file an SEI.

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Southerners Don’t Care How You Did It Up North

Certain events in the local political arena over the last year have made me understand much more completely why Southerners say, ‘We don’t care how you do it up north.’

Tip O’Neill told us all politics are local. What he didn’t tell us is it takes a transplant a long time to truly understand all the intricacies of ‘local.’

As a transplant from the north myself 32 years ago, I know there is a certain amount of resentment someone from the north can expect to experience after relocating permanently to the south.

I always attributed it to that ‘Civil War thing.’ After all, if your ancestors were on the receiving end of one of the biggest ass kickings in military history from my ancestors, you have a right to be a bit resentful.

There is also a significant difference in the general way the two regions view the political spectrum of ideologies, which I felt was a major reason Southerners didn’t want Northerners messing about too much in their politics.

Can’t blame anyone for that attitude.

Some transplants from the north have operated effectively in the local political arena. Loftus comes immediately to mind in local politics and Mark Kelly on the state level in earlier times.

However, it’s certainly a fact that the most effective politicians during my three plus decades of direct observation in Horry County have been those home grown natives with deep roots in the local area.

Most transplants who have tried their luck at running for local political office have been unsuccessful, except when one transplant was running against another transplant, which has happened, if rarely.

Much of that limited success can be attributed to ‘We don’t care how you do it up north.’

Recently, however, several transplants from the north have truly demonstrated how not to do it in local politics.

Yesterday, one local transplant, Dick Withington, was arrested for trying to get another transplant, incumbent Horry County Council District 4 member Gary Loftus, to pay Withington not to oppose Loftus in the upcoming election for Loftus’ seat.

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