Even with the looming shutdown of the Charleston Area Regional Transportation Authority, Sanford said an early, special referendum would attract too few to the polls.

"I think the best way to capture voter sentiment is by holding the referendum at a time when the maximum number of voters will turn out to vote," he said. "If you look at voter participation between a general election and a special election, there is a very, very significant difference."

Sanford agreed to help find $800,000 in state money to try to keep the buses rolling through November, but local leaders questioned if that would be possible.

County voters narrowly approved a half-cent sales tax in November 2002, but the S.C. Supreme Court later tossed out that vote because it ruled its wording was prejudicial. County Council then asked Sanford to call a special election, essentially a replay of a vote that was set aside.

The half-cent sales tax would raise about $1.3 billion over 25 years for roads and bridges, preserving green space and public transportation. In explaining his decision, Sanford contrasted that vast sum with the $2 million that CARTA needs right away.

"It's important not to let that $2 million issue drive what would amount to a $1.3 billion issue," he said.

The governor's decision is expected to force CARTA to scramble for another $1.2 million from Charleston County and the cities of Charleston, North Charleston and Mount Pleasant, all of which have expressed varying degrees of reluctance about scraping together more money for the beleaguered bus system.

"We've been keeping it alive for six months or so. Now we're talking about another seven months," North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey said Tuesday.

"I think it comes to the point where you have to say as much as we'd like to keep extending the life, to what degree can we afford to do that? Maybe people need to realize that without this half cent, there is not going to be a mass transit system."

Charleston County Council Chairman Barrett Lawrimore said he was unsure if the county could find more money for the bus system, especially because state law prevents most local governments from using property tax dollars to do so (the one exception is Greenville, which traditionally has paid for its buses that way).

"I don't know that local governments are able to come up with the portion he is calling for there," Lawrimore said. "We don't have a pocket of money at this time. I don't know of any source of funds the county has that is not tax dollars."

CARTA Chairman Patterson Smith said Tuesday he was disappointed by Sanford's decision but glad that the governor felt compelled to try to help keep CARTA rolling. "They recognize the vital public service performed by CARTA. That's a good thing. Whether or not that help is adequate, I don't know."

Summey said he views CARTA's survival chances this year at 50 percent.

"I never rule anything out until I talk with folks. It just keeps it lingering out there."

He said he would like to see changes to CARTA, from its top staff down. "I honestly think that in order for the referendum to pass, people are looking for some reorganization, and this gives us time for that reorganization to take place."

Sanford, who is from Charleston, said he has heard about CARTA's plight in human terms. He said he is close to arranging a $300,000 grant from the S.C. Department of Transportation and a $500,000 low-interest loan from the S.C. Energy Office.

"It is highly unusual for the state to help in a local issue like this, but I believe the impact to tri-county citizens justifies taking these steps, provided Charleston County and the affected cities would be able to match state contributions on the local level," he said in a letter to Lawrimore.

Lawrimore noted that even if state and local governments come up with $2 million to keep CARTA running through the November vote, more loans would be needed. Even if the half-cent passes later this year, it wouldn't be collected until May 2005. And local governments wouldn't receive any money until September 2005, so the bus agency's total need is more like $4.5 million.

The news also came as a blow to Mount Pleasant Mayor Harry Hallman, who had hoped an early vote would speed up the flow of money for new roads.

While CARTA's fate has monopolized much of the recent tax talk, 82 percent of the money would go toward new roads and bridges, including $75 million for the new Cooper River Bridge, plus preserving open space. Only 18 percent would go toward mass transit.

Other factors influenced Sanford's decision to call for a Nov. 2 vote.

He said that the cost of holding a special election wasn't in the Charleston County Board of Elections and Voter Registration's budget; he noted a referendum wasn't as urgent as filling a vacant elected office; and he also wasn't sure that state law would have permitted an earlier referendum. "At best, it was clouded," he said.

The county's lawyers believed state law allowed, even required, the governor to set an earlier vote, but Lawrimore said he would not favor any move to sue for permission to hold an earlier vote.

"He's made the call, and he's the governor, and he's decided to wait till the general election," he said.

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