The activities of Governor Mark Sanford have pointed out some glaring problems when it comes to South Carolina’s Governor. The Sanford arguments aside, there are some measures that can be taken to insure someone is in charge if some sort of disaster happens and that things such as airplane usage and old campaign funds are addressed.
First, let’s address the problem of an absent Governor, or someone with his or her authority. While events such as a hurricanes can be seen coming days in advance, events such as the train wreck involving cars with deadly gasses in them in Aiken County a few years ago cannot be. One does not know when a train accident, nuclear accident or terrorist attack could happen. During those times, there are measures to invoke emergency powers that only a Governor, or someone acting as Governor, can take.
For that reason, VUI proposes the following. First, the Governor must let the Lt. Governor and the Governor’s security detail know when the Governor will be out of the state of South Carolina and how to contact him in the event of an emergency. Further, if the Governor is unable to be contacted, the Lt. Governor should become Acting Governor until the Governor is no longer incommunicado. The Lt. Governor should have the same standard. The Lt. Governor must communicate to the Governor when he will be out of the state. At no time shall both the Lt. Governor and Governor be outside the state of South Carolina at the same time. (I realize that political conventions could cause one of them to sit at home instead of hobnob with national party leaders, but so be it.)
As for plane travel, the Governor of South Carolina shall travel first class on any commercial flights. I know some will gnash their teeth at such a suggestion, but the Governor is the representative of South Carolina to the world, and as such, he should not spend hours eating stale peanuts in coach and meet potential international investors in the state after a flight with little sleep. On the other hand, the use of the state plane should be limited to state emergencies and other extraordinary state duties. There is no place in South Carolina a three hour drive cannot get the Governor to. Speaking to the Wahalla Rotary Club does not merit a ride in the state airplane, nor does going to one’s hometown for the holidays.
As for using campaign funds from previous elections, the solution is simple. Once a campaign is over, the fund can remain operational for six months to clear up campaign debts and outstanding invoices. After that, campaign accounts and fundraising for those accounts must close. Thus, if someone is re-elected Governor in 2014, six months after that re-election, that account must be closed and all fundraising and spending stopped. It is absurd that current law allows a candidate to raise and spend money supposedly for an office in which that candidate cannot run for.
The above suggestions are raw and are open to discussion and improvement. But, they are a step in the right direction to make sure we never go through another Governor related fiasco as we have in 2009.
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