By Michael Randle
On November 5, 2002, Mark Sanford (red) was elected governor of South Carolina and he was sworn in on January 15, 2003. He served two terms from 2003 to 2011.
An outstanding writer of ours back then, Trisha Ostrowski, lived in Columbia with her husband Jay and their kids. Trisha previously worked for the South Carolina Department of Commerce in the marketing department.
Trisha and others in the state said I needed to visit Columbia pronto shortly after Sanford was elected because, according to them, he wanted to abolish corporate incentives altogether as he was known as “Frugal Mark.” They convinced the interim Chief of Staff or Secretary of the South Carolina Department of Commerce (“Scott somebody”) to invite me. I forgot his last name, but I do remember he was a banker.
Well, on the same day I arrived at the 1201 Main Street building, July 1, 2003, U.S. Senator Strom Thurman’s funeral procession — which was a huge funeral parade with the oxcart/hearse, flagged-draped coffin, horses, the whole medieval bit — ran right through town on Main Street below.
As Scott the banker (interim secretary) and I were looking down on Strom’s funeral procession, he asked me for some help on what was essentially an uprising by the local economic development professionals in the state. He knew that I had already invested enough of my time to meet just about every local economic developer in the South Carolina by 2003.
Scott said something like, “Mike, what if I was to tell you we are ending incentives to new and expanding industry.” I was stunned, but I was also warned he would say that.
You see, Mark Sanford wasn’t just frugal. Mark Sanford was cheap. I mean, the dude wore a frayed sport coat when he took the oath of office, the same one he wore on the campaign trail.
Sanford was so cheap, he told his kids to drink water with their Happy Meals. “No, you can’t have a Sprite!” That was the way Sanford said he would govern, including how he would practice economic development, as in zero incentives to prospective industry.
In fact, he told everyone in the Palmetto State that he was going to “govern with my Walmart smock on,” even though his wife, Jenny Sanford, was rich as Midas. She was the granddaughter of the founder of the power tool maker SKIL Corp.
Back to Mark Sanford’s alleged stinginess. Look, the guy proudly drove a 1983 Honda as governor, even though he and his family essentially lived on a plantation and had a pricey place on Sullivan’s Island.
I mean, was that a Tea Party thing?
Well, the “Walmart smock” practice of economic development statement freaked out the entire economic development community from the Upstate to the Pee Dee to the Low Country to the Savannah River Site. I fielded call after call from the locals and simply said to all, “Good luck with that strategy, dudes and dudettes. Alabama, Georgia and North Carolina are going to eat your lunch!”
Frank Newman
So, as I am discussing the situation with “Scott the banker,” in walks Frank Newman, the big dealmaker himself from the South Carolina Department of Commerce, all Wayne Sterling-trained-and-bred! You know the type, golf cleats attached to the bottom of your industrial park boots just in case the groundbreaking runs late.
Frank opens the door and tells “Scott the banker” and me: “Well, I am gone.” Scott the banker: “Okay, Frank, good luck!” Confused, I said, “You going to lunch Frank? I’ll take you out to lunch, if this Gothic Strom Thurman funeral will hurry up and end.” Frank: “No, Randle, I am gawwwwn,” as he closed the door. Frank quit SC DOC right there and then, right in front of “Scott the banker” and me.
I didn’t see Frank until a few years later. All I know is he is still fishing, whether it is on the lakes around the Midlands, down in the Low Country or in the Bahamas. Frank is also working for Deepal Eliatamby, the CEO of Columbia, S.C-based Alliance Consulting Engineers.
Sanford did one great thing. He took his Walmart smock off for one big deal. Near the end of his last term, the outgoing governor, South Carolina Commerce Secretary Bob Faith and Jack Ellenberg captured one hell of 787 airliner plant in Boeing in the fall of 2009. From what I heard, the total value of that incentive package topped $900 million with $270 million provided by the state upfront.
I bet Mark and Jenny’s kids got their Sprites with their Happy Meals after that one.
