Governor Mark Sanford

November 24, 2009: The Governor was introduced by Past President Amy Jenkins.

The Governor began by stating that he would be doing a virtual town hall meeting, specifically related to his thoughts and our thoughts about job creation and the economy, and to give one or two thoughts or words of wisdom on the states legislative agenda. (Having said this, the town hall meeting approach never really materialized). Following this, the Governor stated: “I apologize for letting you all down. I disappointed a lot of people.” He then asked the question: “Where do we go from here?” He answered this question by saying that “it all depends on what we do next.” He said that change occurs when the people make certain issues important, make them a priority, and keep talking about them. He noted that the next legislative session will run from January through June of 2010, only six months, then he will be leaving office.

The Governor said that there are three major issues that are on his mind and his agenda.

1. Restructuring, that is, taking the budget and making a Budget Control Board and converting it into an administrative board instead. He said that the Budget Control Board needs to be given the tools necessary to do their work effectively and then for the people to hold them accountable to their task. He asked: “Who’s really in control, who holds the buck at the end of the day? There’s a lack of accountability in our current system.”

2. In the future, the Governor and Lt. Governor should run on the same ticket.
The Governor asked the question: “Could this be the year that we give back to the people who elect the constitutional officers?” He said that the construct is flawed, that it was set up in such a way as to assure that a black man would not be elected. He said that this was an unusual government structure.

He asked each of us to pick one of these three priorities and begin talking about it with our friends and associates. The Governor discussed the states spending and looking into the future. He said that “We’ve been having parallel universe discussions and have lost several years time in the process.” He noted that we are on an unsustainable track of spending. He said: “A dollar comes in and it’s going to get spent … someone’s going to spend that dollar.” He wants to set spending limitations. He wants to change the fundamental dynamics of the system. He said that the state needs to do a better job of asset allocation. Governor Sanford spoke briefly about economic development. He said that Boeing came here because of the favorable economic conditions in South Carolina. He asked: “What can we do better as a state?” He said that he wants to reform the Employment Security Commission. The Governor then allowed about 5 minutes to take questions.

Submitted by Bill Christian, Keyway Committee