Posted on Sun, Jul. 23, 2006

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Election night digs

THE BUZZ

“I did not take a shot at them. If I wanted to shoot at them, they’d be dead.”

— Rep. Wallace Scarborough, R-Charleston, after being arrested and charged with two counts of assault with intent to kill last weekend. Scarborough said his pistol accidentally fired after he confronted two utility workers in the backyard of his parent’s Charleston home.

Want a plush oceanfront pad from which to follow the returns on election night? Got $2,400? Then you could rent Gov. Mark Sanford’s Sullivan’s Island beach home for election night, Nov. 7.

The Sanfords rent out their six-bedroom, five-bath abode for weeks at a time. But they don’t think they should have to pay the higher property tax rate that goes to nonowner-occupied homes in South Carolina.

First lady Jenny Sanford has filed a pre-emptive challenge with Charleston County in an attempt to get the lower, 4 percent assessment ratio used for owner-occupied homes, The Associated Press reported last week. The Sanfords live in the Governor’s Mansion in Columbia and have rented out the Sullivan’s Island home, assessed as being worth $2 million, for several weeks a year since 2001, according to AP.

The difference in taxes between the 4 percent ratio and the 6 percent for most rental property, would be about $7,500, the wire service reported.

The Sanford beach home is rented through East Island rentals. During peak summer weeks, it goes for $4,900 a week. But in the off-season, including late fall and winter, it can be yours for $2,400 a week.

Imagine watching Sanford’s fate unfold on election night from the comfort of his own home.

Those interested can check out the realty company’s Web site at www.eastislandsrentals.com/properties/new/1725-atlantic.

Judging from the pictures on the site, the Sanfords must have renovated the, um, rustic basement that served as Sanford’s campaign headquarters in 2002.

KNOTTS THROWS IN THE FORK

Without claiming to know his chances of success or what his candidacy could have meant to the fall election, The Buzz is disappointed state Sen. Jake Knotts, R-Lexington, abandoned his quixotic bid to get on the ballot for governor.

Nothing says South Carolina politics like the robust, populist Knotts, all drawl and jowls. But we also could think of no better image than Knotts and his campaign staff, consisting of Rod Shealys Jr. and Sr., hunkered down at a wing-and-beer joint in West Columbia to pour over petitions, maps and voter lists.

It’s hard to say whether Gov. Mark Sanford or Democratic candidate Tommy Moore was more disappointed or relieved by Knotts’ decision. Some thought Knotts would have taken anti-Sanford votes away from Moore, a state senator from Aiken. Others thought Knotts and Sanford would have split the Republican vote, allowing Moore to slip into the Governor’s Mansion.

Either way, the real losers are the area’s barbecue caterers who could have looked forward to keeping the Knotts campaign machine fueled on pork — the fleshy kind, not the budgetary kind.

MCCAIN’S MAN BEHIND THE WHEEL

The Straight Talk Express has picked up an S.C. driver.

Chris Allen has been hired to be the full-time S.C. field director for U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.

Allen has worked for Gov. Mark Sanford for the past several years. He has been Sanford’s “body man,” akin to being his right-hand man. Allen would get people on the phone for the governor and handle daily details, and he often accompanied Sanford on the road.

As field director for McCain, Allen will organize the potential 2008 presidential contender’s operation. That could mean securing and opening offices around the state, handling travel and logistics, and organizing volunteers and staff.

WHAT THEY MAKE

Go to http://www.thestate.com/ for an updated, searchable list of salaries for state employees earning more than $50,000 a year.