Sanford in spotlight tonight

Governor to deliver fifth State of the State address

By AARON GOULD SHEININ

asheinin@thestate.com

When Gov. Mark Sanford delivers his fifth State of the State address tonight, legislators will listen as much for tenor and tone as for policy points.

And, given last week’s news the Republican governor has more than $1.7 million in campaign cash left from his 2006 re-election campaign, lawmakers also will be listening closely for hints as to how he will spend the money.

Sanford filed his final 2006 campaign finance report Friday. It showed he spent about $7.2 million of the $8.46 million he raised to defeat Democrat Tommy Moore in November. His former campaign manager, Jason Miller, said Sanford would use the money “to promote the legislative agenda he campaigned on.”

Miller, now Sanford’s deputy chief of staff for coalitions and strategic planning, did not offer details. But, he said, the money would, in part, “assist those in the legislative process who support” Sanford’s vision.

That line has piqued the interest of legislators, many of whom have spent the past four years locked in a cycle of bickering with the governor, making up, and bickering with him again. That oft-antagonistic relationship has resulted in few of Sanford’s top legislative goals being accomplished.

Since the State of the State is the time when governors traditionally offer details of their legislative agenda, many in the House and Senate are curious to hear more about Sanford’s second-term agenda. But, some warn, he should not use that $1.7 million to try to scare them.

“It has happened in the past where governors have tried to use intimidation as a factor, and it hasn’t worked,” said Senate Education Committee chairman John Courson, R-Richland.

Even some of Sanford’s top supporters in the General Assembly want to hear the governor say he wants to work with them, not against them, to accomplish his goals.

“I’ve pretty much voted with him a lot,” said Rep. Jeff Duncan, R-Laurens, one of Sanford’s top allies in the House. “We have the beginning of a two-year session, and I want him to send a message out that I can get behind. If he doesn’t, I’m going to work for the betterment of South Carolina without him.”

Rep. Nikki Haley, R-Lexington, another major Sanford-backer in the House, wants to hear Sanford talk about ways to continue improving the quality of life in South Carolina. “But,” she added, “I’d like him to show how he’s going to work with the Legislature better — and to mean it.”

The Republican governor’s legislative agenda has not changed much since he was elected governor in 2002. Sanford still wants lawmakers to spend less, save more, tax less, restructure government to give the governor more direct control over the state bureaucracy and to change the state’s system of workers’ compensation insurance.

Sanford’s office is not giving away many details of tonight’s speech. But it will offer details of his agenda, press secretary Joel Sawyer said.

“That’s the primary goal of the State of the State, to lay out exactly where you’re coming from and policies and priorities for the coming year. It’s going to cover largely the same things he talked about the last four years and in the re-election campaign: restructuring state government, improving business soil conditions and enhancing quality of life.”

But Sanford does have a chance tonight to get previously recalcitrant lawmakers to support his agenda, said Sen. Larry Grooms, R-Berkeley.

“Words can move people,” Grooms said. “Even hardened people. The governor’s inaugural address, it was moving in some ways. In some ways, it was not.

“He needs to convince members of the Legislature that his vision is right for the people of South Carolina, not for the governor, but for the people of South Carolina.”

Reach Gould Sheinin at (803) 771-8658.

SANFORD ON S.C.

A look back, year by year, at Gov. Mark Sanford’s State of the State speeches

2003

First State of the State laid out the five precepts that have guided Sanford’s policies: government accountability, sustainable spending, education, creating wealth, and quality of life.

Called for:

• Tougher drunken driving law

• Caps on enrollment at elementary, middle and high schools to encourage “neighborhood schools”

• Government restructuring

Key quote: “Let me make this, my first State of the State, one that focuses not on more money for programs but on the root causes. Root causes, the structure of our government, have contributed to the situation we find ourselves in.”

2004

• Said top priority was job creation

• Said he wanted families to get tax credits to send their children to private schools

• Personally challenged S.C. residents to exercise more and eat better

• Again called for government restructuring

Key quote: “We need jobs, and we need to improve our economy, and I don’t think we can afford to delay. This is my number one priority, and I strongly ask for your help.”

2005

• Urged lawmakers to cut state’s income tax to 4.75 percent from 7 percent

• Reiterated call for tuition tax credits for parents to send children to private schools

Key quote: “It is again a time for choosing, between a tax system that holds us back and a tax system that allows us to better compete with the rest of the world.”

2006

• Mentioned columnist Thomas Friedman’s flat-earth theory of economics at least five times

• Did not mention tax credits for parents of students attending private schools

• Called for cap on college tuition increases

• Asked for constitutional amendment to limit state spending

• Called on lawmakers to increase the number of black judges

Key quote: “It used to be that if you were born in a country like Burma ... you were just flat out of luck. You may well have had one of the brightest minds in the world, but unless you got a ticket out of the place, there was no way to capitalize on your intellect.

“Now, with globalization and the Internet, you can stay right there and export whatever your brain has to offer to the rest of the world.”