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Governor target of blame in port block

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Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Tommy Moore blamed Gov. Mark Sanford on Monday for the legal stalemate blocking development of a port on the Savannah River in Jasper County.

Moore said Sanford should have been able to bridge differences between Jasper County and the South Carolina State Ports Authority, whose competing plans to build the port already have landed before the South Carolina Supreme Court and now are before a Circuit Court judge.

"This should never have become a battle between competing interests in South Carolina," Moore, a state senator from Aiken County, said. "The infighting that's going on damages our state and, unfortunately, is typical of the current governor's way of doing business."

State Democrats have taken the offensive in recent days against Sanford's record on job creation, blaming the governor for a state unemployment rate second-worst in the nation.

Moore included the Jasper port as part of an economic development plan he outlined last week. Jasper County officials have said the port could bring as many as 90,000 jobs.

Sanford's camp has defended the governor's record on jobs, saying 123,000 more South Carolinians are working than when Sanford took office in 2003.

Sanford spokesman Joel Sawyer brushed aside Moore's criticism Monday and said the port project is moving forward under the Ports Authority, which plans to spend $1.6 million this year on preliminary studies of the port site.

"We want to see the project done as quickly as possible and the Ports Authority is taking steps," he said. "Unless the Ports Authority indicates its unwillingness to move forward, this is the track we're going to continue on."

Jasper County Administrator Andrew Fulghum, who has emerged as a sharp critic of the Ports Authority, said Monday he was disappointed Sanford hadn't taken a more active role in the dispute.

"This is clearly a major project," Fulghum said. "I would have expected his office to serve as a facilitator to get this project moving. I thought they would take a more active role."

Jasper has argued it should be allowed to build the port, while the Ports Authority claims it has the sole right to operate ports in South Carolina.