Greenville's legislative clout took another hit Thursday when Rep. Lewis Vaughn, R-Taylors, said he wouldn't seek a 10th term.

"There comes a time when you have to move on," Vaughn said. "I realized there will always be one more thing to do in the House, but it's time to let someone else tackle the problems for District 18."

Vaughn, 71, is chairman of the Greenville County legislative delegation and its longest-serving House member. He is also chairman of the House Operations and Management Committee and is a member of the powerful Ways and Means Committee, which writes the state budget.

House District 18, in east central Greenville County, covers most of Greer and Taylors.

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Vaughn's decision will create the second 2006 vacancy in the Greenville delegation. Rep. Dan Tripp, R-Mauldin, a 10-year veteran, said late last year he wouldn't run again.

House Speaker David Wilkins, R-Greenville, resigned in June after 25 years in the House, the last 10 as speaker, to become U.S. ambassador to Canada.

In addition, health reasons have kept Sen. Verne Smith, R-Greer, away from Columbia since the session began Jan. 10 and have raised questions about his continued service. Smith, a major voice in the delegation, was first elected in 1972. He is chairman of the Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee.

Vaughn's departure is likely to set off a scramble for a seat that hasn't been open since 1988.

County GOP Chairman Ed Foulke said Phil Shoopman, an environmental engineer and former first vice chairman of the Greenville County party, had expressed interest.

"Absolutely," said Shoopman, 37. "I'm looking forward to it, but those are oversize shoes to fill."

Tony Trout, a freshman Greenville County Council member, said he plans to run.

Greer Mayor Rick Danner has been mentioned in GOP circles as a possible contender for Smith's seat if the senator retires. Danner couldn't be reached for comment about possible interest in Vaughn's seat.

Vaughn's intentions were a closely held secret.

Rep. Bob Leach, R-Greenville, Vaughn's Columbia roommate of many years, said he didn't know about it until he received a cell phone call, "and I'd just let Lewis out of the car at home. He never said a thing."

The departures mean that in a 19-month span from June 2005 to January 2007, Greenville County will have lost 53 years of legislative seniority with the loss of Wilkins, Vaughn and Tripp. If Smith is unable to return because of his health, that rises to 87 years.

In its own right, the shift mirrors that of South Carolina's U.S. Senate situation, going from the two most senior members to the most junior from January 2003 and the retirement of Sen. Strom Thurmond to January 2005 with the retirement of Sen. Ernest F. Hollings. Between them, they had 86 years in the Senate.

But in a macro sense, it reflects Greenville's declining political power base despite being the state's most populated county, the heartland of the dominant Republican Party and an economic powerhouse.

From 1979 to 1995, Greenville's Dick Riley and Carroll Campbell occupied the Governor's Office, and Nick Theodore, also of Greenville, was lieutenant governor from 1987 to 1995. As Campbell left office, the GOP took control of the House and Wilkins became speaker.