Tag: Primary election

Budgets, Elections and Micromanagement in Horry County

There are six weeks to go before county voters will go to the polls to vote in local, state and federal primary elections.

The race which seems to be drawing the largest amount of attention throughout Horry County at this time is the Republican Primary contest for Horry County Council Chairman between challenger Johnny Gardner and incumbent Mark Lazarus.

At the same time, Horry County Council is considering its budget for Fiscal Year 2019, which begins July 1, 2018. Four weeks ago, Grand Strand Daily ran a story about the proposed FY 2019 budget calling it an election year budget because of provisions in the proposed budget that appear to be included just to attract voters to incumbents.

Unfortunately, this type of focus on the budget at election time does not serve the best interests of council or the citizens.

According to multiple sources within county government, decisions for Horry County are being micromanaged by a partnership between Lazarus and County Administrator Chris Eldridge.

This partnership proposed an average three percent merit raise for all county employees with somewhat larger raises targeted to public safety personnel (police, fire and EMS) in the FY2019 budget.

This is not to say the proposed raises are unjustified. However, this type of targeting and its associated hype during council’s Spring Budget Retreat appear to be more about the votes of county employees than the needs of the county. County employees along with their families, neighbors and friends comprise a large voting block.

The micromanagement partnership focus appears to be on the wrong issues, however.

Despite the proposed raises, Horry County Professional Firefighter Local 4345 of the International Association of Firefighters and Coastal Carolina Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 12 endorsed the candidacy of Gardner in the upcoming June 12, 2018 primary.

Bob Kelly Alleges Conspiracy By Opponents

Bob Kelly, the loser of the recent Horry County District Three special general election, attempted to set a new low in Horry County politics during the campaign.

Shortly after securing the Republican nomination for the election, Kelly filed papers with the SC Attorney General, Horry County Solicitor and SC Ethics Commission alleging a criminal conspiracy among all of his primary opponents and various other politicos in the county.

According to those papers, Kelly was assisted by his campaign manager Jim Wiles in these attempts to spur investigations.

Kelly told us many times during the campaign that he was a 25 year veteran of law enforcement in New Jersey and, according to Pennsylvania Bar Association postings, Wiles is a suspended former lawyer.

However, the attempt to describe a conspiracy in Kelly’s submission to the above named agencies reads more like a plot line for a new “Dumb and Dumber” sequel.

The alleged conspiracy revolves around robocalls that claimed to be sent by “The Friends of Bob Kelly” during the primary election.

Robocalls to cell phones are illegal by federal statute (although that didn’t seem to stop the Republican presidential candidates from making them during the recent SC primary campaign). Violations of the federal statute come under the investigative purview of the Federal Communications Commission.

Robocalls are not illegal according to any South Carolina statute.

Nevertheless, Kelly asked the Attorney General and Horry County Solicitor to bring a “charge of felony conspiracy with multiple counts … of misdemeanor harassment” against a list of people including all of his Republican primary opponents.

It must be noted that Kelly offered no evidence, other than supposition, that his opponents were involved with the robocalls and his alleged criminal conspiracy.

It’s almost as if Kelly is saying, I had a dream the other night that my opponents were involved in a conspiracy against me. Therefore, they should be charged with criminal conspiracy.

Special Election Set for Horry County Council District 6

Special election dates have been set for Horry County Council District 6 to fill the unexpired term of Bob Grabowski.

Filing for the special election will open April 17, 2015 and close April 27, 2015. Candidates will file with the respective party they wish to contest in on the primary ballot.

The special primary elections for District 6 will be held June 16, 2015.

Primary Election Day

It’s Primary Election Day in South Carolina.

Get out and Vote! Polls open at 7 a.m. and remain open until 7 p.m.

This is your chance to have a say in who governs and on what issues over the next several years.