COLUMBIA - A Time magazine article this week calling Gov. Mark Sanford one of the nation's three worst chief executives might have left him feeling like a neighbor was bad-mouthing him.

That's because John Huey, editorial chief of the Time Inc. constellation of magazines, is a Sanford neighbor on Sullivan's Island. Huey gave $250 to Sanford's 2002 gubernatorial bid, Time Inc. spokeswoman Dawn Bridges confirmed Monday.

The Republican Sanford says "there's more than a little irony" with the article, including neighbor Huey's top editorial role at Time.

The fact that Sanford appeared in the article should make it clear that "personal relationships and donations do not affect" coverage, Huey said through Bridges.

Huey "was very aware of" the article and signs off on all major articles in the magazine, Bridges said.

But Sanford isn't taking the article as a personal shot from a neighbor and donor. Huey is a neighbor who "I would bet disagrees with (what) folks in his Washington bureau came up with in a story," Sanford said.