11/15/07
The Gov
Sanford touts change during visit to Manning
By Eric Goold

CLEVE DOWELL/Manning Times

Governor Mark Sanford speaks to a group of citizens at the Manning IGA last Wednesday, holding a town hall meeting and getting input about issues that pertain to the city and county. Pictured are Andy, Lamar and Cathy Kennedy and Governor Sanford.

Governor Mark Sanford visited Clarendon County last Wednesday morning as part of a two-week, whirlwind tour around the state.

Sanford’s stop in Manning was just one of a 30-plus city “Harvest Tour” in which he visits with citizens in informal, almost town hall-type sessions and talks about their issues with government.

For Manning, that meant a visit to the local IGA and a meeting with city and county officials, employees and customers at IGA, and basically anyone who happened to walk in the door while Sanford was there.

The Republican governor greeted everyone with a warm handshake and a hearty hello as they came in to shop.

“Basically what I’m doing is moving around the state, particularly to some of the smaller towns and communities, having these kind of roving, spontaneous town hall meetings,” said Sanford, who dressed casually in a leather jacket and did not wear a tie. “I’m here to pick up some of your pearls of wisdom and maybe offer some of my own.”

A gathering of local officials including County Administrator Bill Houser, City Administrator Rebecca Rhodes, Clarendon School District 2 Superintendent John Tindal and many others listened to Sanford speak for about 10 minutes and then offered comments and questions for the governor.

Rhodes talked about the rapid growth that has occurred in Clarendon County over the past few years and the subsequent issues that need to be addressed because of it, like expansion of water and sewage and the need to improve infrastructure.

Sanford seemed surprised to hear about all of the recent rapid growth around the county.

“I’m glad he decided to come to the rural areas of the state,” said Rhodes. “Usually his focus is on the larger urban areas around Greenville, Columbia and Charleston. Most of the future growth in South Carolina is going to occur in the rural areas, so it was good to see that he was at least interested in what we had to say.”

Lamar Kennedy, owner of the IGA and President of the Clarendon County Chamber of Commerce, talked to the governor about the rising cost of providing health care for employees, especially for small business owners.

“I was impressed that small businesses were an area he talked about,” said Kennedy. “It was gratifying to see that he was interested in hearing our opinions. For him to realize the importance of small businesses in the state I think is special.”

Sanford raised a number of issues in his speech, focusing on the need to curb government spending and his desire to see changes in the structure of government.

“The government ought to grow, but no faster than your paycheck,” he said. “Change occurs fast in the private sector, but change is a slow and convoluted process in government. Maybe by putting more dollars into the private sector we can encourage change elsewhere.”

Sanford seeks the little ways that government can make the playing field a little more competitive, which means improving the quality of life for average citizens.

He mentioned three specific areas that need to be worked on when the state legislature convenes in January: education, health care and enforcement of DUI laws.

“I’m a conservative’s conservative,” said Sanford.