Gov. Sanford Endorses Tim Scott
July 31, 2007

Columbia, S.C. – Gov. Mark Sanford today called on the General Assembly to look outside of its ranks to find a qualified, reform-minded Treasurer who will be committed to continuing reform of the Budget and Control Board and of the Treasurer’s office. In doing so, the governor asked the legislature to select Charleston County Council Chairman Tim Scott for Treasurer. If elected, Scott – a financial services professional and longtime chairman of the Council – would become the state’s first black constitutional office holder since Reconstruction. In addition, Gov. Sanford said that if the General Assembly opts to choose a new Treasurer from within its own ranks, his endorsement would go to Senator Greg Ryberg.

Due to the resignation of Thomas Ravenel, the General Assembly will now have the opportunity to pick someone to fill the remainder of his term as Treasurer, serving until 2010. The governor said appointing Scott or Ryberg would be consistent with the voters’ call in November for reform of the Budget and Control Board, particularly in light of the recent GEAR report that highlighted $550 million in potential savings at that agency.

“We believe it’s very important for the General Assembly to cast a wide net when looking for a new Treasurer, because we don’t believe it makes sense to look inwardly at only 170 people when you’re talking about an office that’s statewide in nature,” Gov. Sanford said. “We also believe the General Assembly has an obligation to stay true to what voters said last November – that South Carolinians deserve a greater degree of accountability from the Budget and Control Board and the Treasurer’s office. As well, South Carolina hasn’t had a black Constitutional officeholder since Reconstruction, and I think the legislature has a historic chance to change that when filling this post.

“That being said, while we’re endorsing the idea of going outside the legislature and picking Tim, it needs to be remembered that Senator Greg Ryberg has been both a consistent advocate of these ideas and was the number two vote-getter in last year’s Treasurer primaries. To that end, if the General Assembly opts not to take this chance to elect an African American for this post, we believe that Senator Ryberg is the person who should be elected, given his spot as the number two vote-getter in the 2006 primary.”