Your SC politics briefing
Welcome to your weekly South Carolina politics briefing, a newsletter curated by The State’s politics and government team.
Joe Taylor, an outspoken force in politics and business in the capital city who was elected in 2021 to Columbia City Council representing District 4 and was appointed by then-Gov. Mark Sanford to serve as secretary of the Department of Commerce, has died. He was 64.
Taylor served as South Carolina’s commerce secretary from 2005 to 2011, the primary figure in state government promoting business development and investment in the Palmetto State.
Sanford praised Taylor’s work building the kind of business environment South Carolina enjoys today by attracting major international manufacturers to the state, particularly the Boeing airplane manufacturing plant that opened to North Charleston in 2011.
“His impact in our state was monumental,” Sanford said. “You can see that with deals like Boeing, which have impacted the lives of thousands upon thousands of people in our state, but frankly that was just the tip of the iceberg.
Columbia Mayor Daniel Rickenmann called Taylor one of the city’s “biggest advocates.”
”I can think of no person who cared more about Columbia, the Midlands, or South Carolina than Joe,” the mayor said. “He led with his heart and passion to help others. He was more than a colleague or a friend, he was family. I will deeply miss him and am very grateful to have known him.”
Infrastructure needs focus of Commerce ask
Despite announcing $10 billion worth of capital investment from companies planning to locate or expand in South Carolina this year, state economic development leaders say they need $100 million for infrastructure work to attract more business investment.
The SC Department of Commerce also wants to go through a rebranding effort, despite the recent successes that include multibillion-dollar investments in the electric vehicle industry planned for the state.
The requests are part of the agency’s annual budget request lawmakers will consider next year. Budget writers have $3.5 billion of one-time and annual dollars to spend next year.
Commerce says it needs the ability to be proactive when building out key infrastructure so it doesn’t have to wait for specific projects to come.
“This fund allows the state to be nimble and responsive as needs are identified,” spokeswoman Kelly Coakley said. “The ability to respond quickly is vital.”
Buzz Bites
▪ Two names in South Carolina’s legal community are being floated to succeed Judge Michelle Childs on the federal bench. They are federal Magistrate Judge Jacquelyn Austin of Greenville, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Beth Drake of Columbia in the federal office’s civil division, according to sources in the state’s legal community.
▪ Government prosecutors say the guilty verdicts against convicted former South Carolina bank executive Russell Laffitte should stand, saying that the defense has no grounds to overturn the jury’s decision.
▪ The governor’s office and SC Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services announced a new partnership to combat the addiction crisis that involves the state’s three research universities.
▪ State Rep. Brandon Guffey, a Republican newly elected to represent parts of Rock Hill, has filed legislation to crack down on people who try to extort others after his teenage son died by suicide when online scammers convinced him to send nude photos and then tried to export him for money, the Post and Courier reports.
▪ Marianne Williamson, a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate who dropped out of the race before South Carolina’s primary, is reportedly mulling a 2024 run against President Joe Biden, Puck news reports. The outlet reported that Williamson has been reaching out to former Bernie Sanders’ staffers as she seeks to build an operation in the Palmetto State. (In 2020, Biden won the state’s primary with nearly 49% of the vote.)
▪ Dr. Kenneth Rogers, who stepped down as director of South Carolina’s Department of Mental Health, has since been hired as the new psychiatrist as Clarendon Behavioral Health Services, the Sumter Item reports.
▪ Longtime former Aiken Mayor Fred Cavanaugh died this week, the Aiken Standard reported.
▪ South Carolina proved to be a popular spot to live in 2022, ranking as the third fastest-growing state for the year, new US Census data shows.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
Jan. 5
SC Supreme Court hears arguments over state’s execution methods
Jan. 10
First day of 2023 legislative session
Jan. 11
Inauguration Day
Jan. 12
Senate Education Committee meets at 9:30 a.m. to discuss “Education Scholarship Trust Fund” bill
Jan. 16
SC NAACP’s annual King Day at the Dome
Jan. 25
Gov. Henry McMaster delivers the annual State of the State address
Feb. 2/3
Democratic National Committee meets to decide presidential primary calendar
(Photo via AP)
Before we adjourn
A Trump-aligned SC congressman was ousted in a June primary after his impeachment vote of the former president.
A prominent judge in the state was considered for an open US Supreme Court seat.
And South Carolina, already important to the presidential nominating contest, was recommended by the nation’s top leader to be first in primary voting.
While those stories gained national headlines, lesser-known political news dominated front pages in South Carolina, from the turnover in state House leadership to the demise of an economic development project with an NFL team — news that will undoubtedly carry into the new year. As in every year, South Carolina had no shortage of big political news stories in 2022.
Click here for SC’s top politics stories of 2022. And, of course, happy new year!
We’ll see you in 2023!
Pulling the newsletter together this week was Maayan Schechter (My-yahn Schek-ter), senior editor of the The State’s politics and state government team. You can keep up with her on Twitter and send her tips on Twitter at @MaayanSchechter or by email mschechter@thestate.com.
To stay on top of South Carolina politics and election news, you can chat with us on Facebook, email us tips and follow our stories at scpolitics.com.
