Your paper recently printed an editorial concerned with how the brother of the new speaker of the state House of Representatives has associated with a lobbying firm. The editorial, "Please, not pro-family," raised questions regarding access to the House Speaker Bobby Harrell by a family member. I am writing this to say that anyone who questions the integrity of Bobby Harrell does not know Bobby the way I do.

I have served with Speaker Harrell for 10 years and have been friends with him for much longer. Bobby has always made himself available to the press and anyone (House members and the public) who felt they had a viewpoint that needed to be heard. The speaker and I have discussed this subject and I am certain that his brother, John Harrell, will receive no greater access or consideration than other people interested in issues before the General Assembly.

In fact, as was stated in the recent Greenville News article, the speaker and his brother were on the opposite sides of a recent issue concerning the S.C. Ports Authority and the new Jasper County port. John Harrell's client wanted a landlord-tenant relationship with the S.C. Ports Authority, and Speaker Harrell publicly opposed this relationship because he did not believe it was in the best interest of our state. So much for special access.

I am puzzled as to why it is automatically assumed that there is a problem here. We are right to be cautious because of our state's past history, but we have a very strong Ethics Act that clearly states the rules and lays out guidelines for situations like this, and John Harrell knows his relationship to Speaker Harrell will always be closely examined. He will be subject to the Ethics Act and face close scrutiny just like former Sen. Ernest Holling's son did as a lobbyist when his father served, just as Strom Thurmond Jr. will and just as Baylen Moore (son of state senator and gubernatorial candidate Tommy Moore) is now.