Tag: Horry County District 3

Citizens or Special Interests – County Council Direction Will be Decided by June Primaries

The direction county council will take over the next several years will likely be determined by three contested races in the Republican Primary to be held on June 9, 2020.

Those three races are Horry County Districts 3, 4 and 6, currently held by incumbents Dennis DiSabato, Gary Loftus and Cam Crawford, respectively. Those three council members have consistently been stooges for the special interests in the county.

DiSabato, Loftus and Crawford were consistent “yes” votes for any initiative former council chairman Mark Lazarus brought to the table. The purchase of approximately 3,700 acres of wetlands off of International for $12 million of taxpayer money is one example that quickly comes to mind.

The parcel purchased by the county was part of a larger parcel purchased by a developer in Virginia years ago. The wetlands couldn’t be developed so the county purchased the land with the purported goal of establishing a wetland mitigation bank to be used when capital projects required mitigation credits for disturbing wetlands. No other parcel in the county was considered, no record of a request for proposals was sent out by the county.

The three stooges voted in lockstep to spend county money for land that was basically useless to the developer for the price of approximately $3,243 per acre.

After Lazarus was defeated for reelection, DiSabato, Crawford and Loftus were charter members for what I dubbed the Deep Six, council members who fought long and hard to keep former county administrator Chris Eldridge in office after Eldridge and county attorney Arrigo Carotti lodged groundless accusations of extortion against current chairman Johnny Gardner, who defeated Lazarus, Eldridge’s strongest supporter on council.

Anyone who watched the March 2019 special council meeting, called to remove Eldridge, will recall DiSabato launching into accusations against Gardner after an investigation by the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) concluded the accusations were without any merit.

The three stooges voted not to fire Eldridge in March, ultimately costing the taxpayers of Horry County $350,000 when council voted to buy out Eldridge’s contract in April 2019 rather than firing him one month before.

DiSabato, Crawford and Loftus have been consistent supporters of having county taxpayers fund construction of Interstate 73. Constructing I-73 remains a major goal of special interests in the county who will benefit financially from construction of the road.

Reader Slams Attacks on Bubba Owens

I saw some really nasty and what I felt was unfair mud-slinging in this race this year towards Mr. Bubba Owens from his competitors.

I hate mud-slinging!

Mr Kelly and his campaign manager Mr Jim Wiles brought up Mr. Owens past public records for prior years. (I think we all have a past).

In reviewing them it appeared to me that they were either dismissed or never proved to be true. I thought everyone was innocent until proven guilty.

Shame on you Mr. Kelly for allowing this to happen!

I hope and have so far seen that Mr. Owens has much more class than that. Usually though when you try pointing a finger at someone else you usually have 3 more pointing at yourself.

It is my assumption that Mr. Owens is a born and bred Horry County man. I will guess that Mr. Kelly is not.

I have many many friends from up North. They love it down here. Taxes are lower, cost of living is lower, the weather is better. Most of us get along fine and we love the friendships.

What most of us do not like is when people retire from up north, move to Horry County and then try to change our lifestyle which seems to always make the natives (our) taxes go up so that things can be done to the standards that you had up north.