Republican Gov. Mark Sanford announced people to fill his last 10 senior staff positions Wednesday, three of whom are black.

Although the 30 percent figure matches the state's traditional black population percentage, Sanford's spokesman said there was no attempt to link the final round of hires to any quota system.

"We think it's a team that is representative of South Carolina," said spokesman Will Folks. "This is a team committed to change and the concept of servant leadership."

Earlier this week, Sanford said he was having a hard time finding black people and Democrats willing to come work for him at a pay cut after he had campaigned on a promise to bring more blacks into state government. Sanford was also criticized by some black leaders for not following through.Sanford's African-American appointees include chief legal counsel Henry White, Health and Human Services director Darlynn Ruby Thomas, and budget director Ben Duncan.

Four of the selections are women, and some of the hires come from previous GOP administrations.

For instance, Sanford's pick for chief of staff, Fred Carter, worked for former Gov. Carroll A. Campbell from 1987 to 1991, as did Sanford's new deputy chief of staff for administration William "Eddie" Gunn.

Several picks, including Carter, a former College of Charleston professor, have ties to the Lowcountry.

Who's doing what on Sanford's staff

-- Fred Carter, chief of staff. Carter has been provided a sabbatical from his post as president of Francis Marion University, a job he took after serving as executive director on the S.C. Budget and Control Board. Carter also worked as senior executive assistant to former Gov. Carroll Campbell. From 1981 to 1987, he served as chairman of the political science department at the College of Charleston. As a professor on sabbatical, Carter will continue to draw his regular salary from FMU.

-- Chad Walldorf, deputy chief of staff for the Cabinet. Walldorf worked in the Reagan White House as a staff member in the office of political affairs, 1987-88. After graduating from the University of Virginia in 1991, Walldorf moved to Mount Pleasant and co-founded Sticky Fingers Restaurant Group, which has 10 locations in four Southeastern states. Walldorf will be paid $93,000 per year.

-- William "Eddie" Gunn, deputy chief of staff for administration. Gunn currently is the executive manager of capital improvements at the Budget and Control Board and has been interim director of the Department of Public Safety and director of the Probation, Parole and Pardon Services. From 1991 to 1995, he served as Campbell's executive assistant for Finance and Administration. Gunn will be paid $98,832 per year.

-- Henry White, chief legal counsel to the governor's office. White served as deputy general counsel to the Budget and Control Board since July 2002, and as assistant general counsel from April 2000 to July 2002. Before working for the Budget and Control Board, White practiced law at Sinkler and Boyd, P.A. in Columbia. White will be paid $93,000 per year.

-- Swati S. Patel, deputy chief counsel. From 1998 to July 2002, Patel worked for the S.C. House Judiciary Committee, first as staff counsel and counsel to the House Ethics Committee, and later as assistant chief counsel. Patel will be paid $65,000 per year.

-- Rita Allison, education director. A former S.C. state representative from Spartanburg, Allison will be paid $60,000 per year.

-- Darlynn Ruby Thomas, Health and Human Services director. Thomas has worked for DHHS since 1988, and since 1996 has had several duties, including chief of the Bureau of Health Services and Alternative Delivery Systems for the department. Thomas will retain some of her duties with DHHS in addition to being an adviser to the governor, and her $81,005 salary will be cost-shared between the governor's office and DHHS.

-- Bob Toomey, senior adviser for budget and policy. Toomey currently serves as the governor's interim DHHS director. He retired from his job as director of the S.C. Retirement Systems in February 2002 after serving in the job for six years. He previously served as the Budget and Control Board's director of the budgets and analysis division from 1993 to 1996. He will be paid $93,000 per year.

-- Ben Duncan, budget director. For the past three years, Duncan has served as director of finance and administration at the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism. Before that, he worked as director of administrative services for former Gov. David Beasley and as director of personnel for Gov. Campbell. Duncan will retain some of his duties at DPRT while serving as the governor's adviser, and his $84,326 salary will be cost-shared between the governor's office and the DPRT.

-- April Derr, constituent services director and executive assistant to the governor. Derr previously worked with Sanford when he was in Congress, first as his constituent services director and later as his chief of staff. She will be paid $70,000 per year.

Schuyler Kropf covers state and local politics. Contact him at skropf@postandcourier.com or 937-5551.