Former N. Charleston council members waited a year after their nomination
BY TERRY JOYCE
Of The Post and Courier Staff
After more than a year in limbo, the appointment of two former North Charleston City Council members to the state agency that handles reuse at the former Charleston Naval Base has been confirmed.
"I got my letter from Gov. Sanford," former Councilman Don John Hays said Friday, confirming his appointment to the Charleston Naval Complex Redevelopment Authority.
Earlier in the week, former Councilwoman Charlotte Gillespie said she, too, had received a letter from the governor welcoming her to the board.
North Charleston City Council nominated Hays and Gillespie a year ago soon after they were defeated in bids for re-election to council.
RDA board members are volunteers and receive no pay but must be appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state Senate.
Gillespie said the state Senate apparently confirmed her appointment shortly before it adjourned last week.
Both appointments were supposed to have started April 24, 2003, but the nominations weren't acted upon until recently.
The two former council members were nominated to replace Lonnie Hamilton III and James Deaton, both of North Charleston.
Gillespie, Hays and North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey all said that they didn't know why the confirmation process took so long.
Hamilton and Deaton both agreed to stay on the board until their replacements arrived.
The new appointments run through April 24, 2007.
North Charleston last year also nominated the Rev. Charles Jackson to replace the late Gene Ott, who died in a plane crash in November 2002.
Summey said Jackson withdrew for personal reasons and that he plans to nominate a replacement at the next City Council meeting.
The RDA board also has a Berkeley County vacancy.
RDA Executive Director Jack Sprott said he knew of no one nominated to fill that post.
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