islandpacket.com - The Island Packet Online

Search Everything in the Lowcountry and the Coastal Empire.

Council's message clear: Curb special-interest bills

Incumbent legislator gets torpedoed by local leaders

Add Comment

Six members of the Hilton Head Island Town Council are mad as hell and not taking it anymore.

In a show of hard-ball politics not ordinarily seen here, they poked a stick in the eye of a local legislator last week -- and at the same time sent a message to other legislators that we need more leading and less following in the General Assembly.

Good for the Town Council members. It's been a long time coming. It's an encouraging sign that folks back home expect -- no, demand -- accountability from people they send to the legislature. We hope, too, that it's a sign that this year's campaign season will be more robust, with issues more clearly defined and more energetically debated.

The legislator with the injured eye is Rep. Richard Chalk, a Republican who was elected two years ago to represent Hilton Head Island. But Chalk has been working harder for special interests than for Hilton Head, Mayor Tom Peeples said at a news conference Thursday. So Peeples, along with five other Town Council members, said Chalk must go. The councilmen will back Tom Herbkersman, a political newcomer who's challenging Chalk in the June 13 primary election for the District 123 House of Representatives seat.

It was an interesting development for a couple of reasons: Incumbents seeking re-election usually are assured of the support of people who helped get them in office the first go 'round, and often gain wider support in re-election campaigns because they're known quantities and have name recognition. Also interesting is the fact that the six council members who came out against Chalk are, like him, Republicans. Lining up against an incumbent in so organized a fashion suggests stresses among local Republicans.

The council members -- one of whom had even contributed money ($200) to Chalk's re-election campaign earlier this year -- have had enough. They took exception to several things he has done, particularly his support of legislation that would erode "home rule." That is the principle -- and the law of the land in South Carolina -- that local governmental bodies are entitled to make decisions that have local impact, rather than having the state meddling in local affairs.

Chalk ran afoul of the council members when he supported a bill making it more expensive for local governments to force billboards to be removed. Most other legislators also supported the bill, voting to override

Gov. Mark Sanford's veto. The Town Council members say -- and we agree -- that that's exactly the kind of nonsense that must be stopped in its tracks. Such measures weaken rules put in place by the town to protect Hilton Head Island's character and lifestyle. And Hilton Head isn't alone: Bad laws like that one can affect every locality in the state.

Town council members also objected to Chalk's positions on property tax reform and "takings" legislation.

As Peeples correctly observed, "What's being represented is special interest groups." Anyone who's watched the legislature over the past few years would have to agree.

One issue that didn't come up is Chalk's support of attorney Carmen Tevis Mullen, elected by the legislature this session to be a judge in the 14th Judicial Circuit. Chalk was the only member of the Beaufort County legislative delegation who voted for Mullen in the first round of balloting by legislators. It's unclear whether Mullen will actually get the judgeship because of questions about whether she meets the qualifications for the position. Chalk's rationale for his vote -- she just seemed like the best candidate for the job, he said at the time -- seemed lame.

For his part, Chalk says his problems are the result of the press misreporting his votes, leading to misunderstanding among his constituents. This is typically where politicians go when they're free-falling -- the press did it to me.

We don't think that legislators should be knee-jerk supporters of everything favored by their constituents. But on the other hand, it's hard to feel sorry for one who doesn't seem to care what the folks back home think. Herbkersman, brother of Rep. Bill Herbkersman, R-Bluffton, says he would be a better listener.

That would be a good idea. After all, as Mary Ann Peeples, wife of the mayor and Tom Herbkersman's campaign manager, said, "We'll be watching carefully."