In a July 5 editorial, "Andre now the bagman," The Sun News cited very little fact and a large amount of conjecture in assessing the transfer of the Bureau on Senior Services to the lieutenant governor's Office on Aging. I'd like to take this opportunity to address some of the issues raised in the editorial.

First, let me be perfectly clear on the how and why of this transfer. The General Assembly in 2004 saw a need for South Carolina's senior population to be better served, something we can all agree is a worthy cause. Largely hidden in the S.C. Department of Health and Human Services, the Bureau on Senior Services was becoming an agency that many felt was growing more distant from its constituency. As the senior population continues to grow here in South Carolina, lawmakers recognized that an agency with this much importance simply could not move forward in its current form.

The Sun News' editorial also raised a number of questions about this decision before giving it even a chance to work. The General Assembly and Gov. Mark Sanford carefully studied this transfer before deciding on it, and to call their decision "an egregious exercise in cynicism" makes the transfer sound like a joke being played on the S.C. senior population. I can assure you that no one at the Statehouse sees the move in this way. Rather, visible accountability is the major reason this move was made.

As to points of my using this transfer for political purposes, I can only say that virtually all decisions in government are political in some respect - that's the nature of this business. I can, however, assure seniors and their families that we won't do things in this office to score political points; we'll do it because it's right. That said, if ambition, be it my own or someone else's, leads to better government, then that can only be seen as a win for seniors or any other constituency in our state. The fact is seniors now have one office that they know will do everything it can to help with problems, answer questions and provide vital services, an office that lets them know someone in Columbia really is looking out for their best interests.

Additionally, my conservative political beliefs have already led to an intense look at how administrative costs in the Office on Aging can be streamlined, which would thereby lead to more money being put into senior services. The need to be as efficient as we are effective will only become more pronounced as the senior population continues to grow here in the Palmetto State.

Political prestige comes and goes, as do our elected officials. There is, however, no escaping the fact that all of us are growing older. No matter what, I'll one day hand this office to someone else. What is done on my watch isn't just important to me, it's important to all of us.

My office is now the place Palmetto State seniors and their families can turn to for many of their needs. While that certainly opens me up to the criticisms of the media, I also hope it allows the lives of seniors to be improved as we move forward in South Carolina.