Tag: tom rice

Tom Rice and Jobs, A Lotta Talk With Few Results

Tom Rice and Jobs, A Lotta Talk, Few Results

“To date, Tom Rice’s job creation has been a lot of talk with little results, much like the rest of his campaign.”

Horry County Council passed final reading of the county’s FY 2013 budget Tuesday night after some last minute electioneering attempts by council chairman Tom Rice.

On a day when two of his fellow council members endorsed opponent Andre Bauer, Rice was looking for at least a couple of sound bites from Tuesday night’s regular council meeting to carry forward into the last week of his campaign.

Prior to the council’s Committee of the Whole meeting two weeks ago, Rice had e-mailed a list of changes he wanted to make to the budget before third reading. During the COW meeting he received little positive response from fellow council members.

Finally, Fireworks in 7th Congressional District

Political fireworks are finally being launched in the 7th Congressional District primary races.

To date, the complete lack of buzz about the race district wide has been its most noticeable characteristic. Now that 10 of the original 14 candidates have been eliminated, we are finally getting down to some “good ole Pee Dee politickin.”

The biggest issue right now is if there will be a Democratic runoff election between Gloria Bromell Tinubu and Preston Brittain. The S.C. Election Commission will certify the election results from the primary Friday. There are two possibilities, one that Tinubu will be ruled the winner outright or two that a runoff will be held.

At issue are the nearly 2,300 votes Ted Vick received in Tuesday’s voting, two weeks after Vick dropped out of the race. Vick’s name remained on the ballot. With the Vick votes included in the vote totals, Tinubu captured 49 percent of the total vote and a runoff would be required. Without the Vick votes included, Tinubu took 52 percent of the total which would give her the win outright.

Depressed Voter Turnout is Primary Story

Depressed Voter Turnout is Primary Story

South Carolina held elections Tuesday and almost nobody bothered to show up. Voter turnout, or lack of it, was the story of Tuesday’s primary elections. Less than 10 percent (9.88%) of registered voters statewide bothered to come to the polls.

Low turnout was expected as continuing stories of candidates being struck from the ballot over the last two months dominated the news, but, under 10 percent is horrible. The old Communist Bloc in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union had more voter excitement in the past than this election generated.

Even Horry County with the new 7th Congressional District, four contested House races and one contested Senate race to vote for barely broke through the 10 percent voter turnout threshold.

In the new 7th Congressional District, Gloria Bromell Tinubu may have avoided a runoff and won the Democratic nomination outright after nearly 8,000 votes for Ted Vick were tossed out of the ballot count. Vick dropped out of the race two weeks ago when he was arrested for DUI and weapons possession in Columbia.

Light Goes Out at CASA

I was saddened last week to read that SLED is investigating Citizens Against Spouse Abuse for misappropriation of funds.

My first thought was ‘there goes another point of light, extinguished through the selfishness of public policy.’

On second thought, I realized this has nothing to do with public policy, because in today’s political environment, there is no public policy. There is government policy, business policy, even wine policy but the public doesn’t deserve a policy.

President George H.W. Bush warned this was coming in his inaugural address nearly 24 years ago:

Republican Debate Turns Into Brawl

MB Republican Debate Disaster

The rough and tumble nature of Horry County politics was on display for all to see Thursday night at the debate for 7th Congressional Republican candidates.

Sponsored by the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, Grand Strand Business Alliance, WMBF-TV and WPDE-TV, the debate turned into a shouting match when five of the candidates felt they were being ignored by the questioning media panel.

The candidates were apparently split into two groups by some entity controlling the questions. The top four polling candidates, Andre Bauer, Chad Prosser, Tom Rice and Jay Jordan, received the bulk of the questions during the first hour of the debate while the remaining five, Randal Wallace, Katherine Jenrette, Jim Mader, Renee Culler and Dick Withington, were virtually ignored.

After the apparent questioning trend was set in the first half hour of the debate, Wallace cut in to complain, “I filed to run for Congress and I’d like to answer a question.”

Tom Rice and Jobs, A Lotta Talk With Few Results

Tom Rice and the Failed Campaign Ploy

Obvious campaigning with the Horry County budget didn’t work for county council chairman and 7th Congressional District candidate Tom Rice Wednesday as his fellow council members saw through the attempt.

During a council Committee of the Whole meeting, Rice suggested a series of proposed budget changes that appeared to be designed more for their voter appeal than county fiscal stability.

The county budget for FY2013 has passed two readings and will be up for third reading at the regular council meeting scheduled for June 19, 2012.

During budget discussions, workshops and readings since January, Rice has opposed proposed pay raises for county workers while he advocated building a reserve fund for projected budget deficits beginning with FY2014.

Brittain Gains Important Endorsements

Seventh Congressional District Democratic candidate Preston Brittain gained five major endorsements yesterday, pushing him to the front of the field of four contesting the upcoming June 12th primary for the new U.S. House seat.

Congressman Jim Clyburn, former Congressman John Spratt, former Governor Jim Hodges, and state Senators John Land and Vincent Sheheen announced their support for Brittain’s candidacy through a conference call Tuesday.

Each candidate praised Brittain’s understanding of the needs of the entire district as well as his desire to bring the Interstate 73 project to fruition.

The endorsements by five of the most important and recognizable Democrats in the state appear to make Brittain the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination.

Will Haley be Next Political Casualty of 2012?

In this strangest of all political seasons, the number of political casualties continues to rise by the week as new disclosures are made about challengers and incumbents. And it is not over yet by a long shot.

Over 200 state and local candidates for elective office have already been removed from the June 12th primary ballots and more seem destined to be disqualified in the upcoming weeks.

Two front running candidates for the new 7th Congressional District seat ended their campaigns after being arrested for what can only be called “extremely stupid acts” on their part.

Now, Gov. Nikki Haley’s ethics, while a state representative, are getting a second look and it appears that there is a lot more fire than smoke in the complaint against her.

Statement from Bauer on Raising Debt Ceiling

In a Republican debate May 22 in Georgetown, SC (Congressional race in South Carolina’s new 7th district) Tom Rice was the only candidate who said he would raise our nation’s debt ceiling for a local pork project.

Today’s statement from Andre Bauer on raising the debt ceiling…….

“I have pledged that I would not vote to raise our nation’s debt ceiling. We cannot afford it. Our children and their children do not deserve being burdened by our increasing debt and careless spending. We must have the capacity to say NO…and we must do it now. I congratulate the other Republican candidates for agreeing with me during last night’s congressional debate in Georgetown,SC.

However one candidate said that he was in favor of raising our debt ceiling, Tom Rice. This is a major area in which Tom Rice and I differ tremendously. As a conservative, I will say no to spending we cannot afford. Apparently, as a moderate, Tom Rice believes that more spending whether it be a project in South Carolina or a “bridge to nowhere”…is not a big deal.

Taxes, Coastal Kickback and the Primaries

Two of the most extraordinary events I have ever seen occur so close to an election happened this week in Horry County.

The Myrtle Beach city council announced early in the week it will seek to have state legislators eliminate the sunshine provision on the one cent tourism promotion tax so that it can continue indefinitely. Did you ever see politicians want a tax to end even when sunshine provisions are included with it?

One day later, lobbyist Mark Kelley, who includes the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, Coastal Carolina University and the Horry County Board of Education among his clients, sued the Sun News for reporting Kelley’s proximity to certain events in what has become known as the “Coastal Kickback Scandal.”