Rex joins governor's race as 'turnaround' candidate

by: Tim Kelly

Tue Sep 15, 2009 at 10:00:43 AM EDT

Vowing to be a "turnaround governor" state education chief Jim Rex is joining the race for the 2010 Democratic nomination for the South Carolina's top job.

"My turnaround mission will be to create jobs and a growing economy, a government committed to accountability and living within its means, a state committed to improving schools, and leadership that accurately reflects our values.  For too long, our government has been distracted and defined by narrow special interests, and it's time to put our people first," Rex said in announcing his candidacy.

Sources close to Rex have said that he's been frustrated for some time with a governmental structure that's slowed down some of his plans for reforming the state's public education system.

"When you have a governor who doesn't care about public education and a lack of leadership in the General Assembly, the superintendent's ability to affect real change is minimal," said one insider.

Even so, Rex's annoucement op-ed touts the accomplishments of teachers and students despite institutional obstacles.

"Last year, more than sixty thousand public school students attended new choices within the public school system - most of which didn’t exist three years ago. Over the past three years, we have doubled the number of students enrolled in public charter schools and nearly tripled the number of magnet programs, as well as become a national leader in single-gender education."

It’s clear that this new focus on innovation and choice is driving improvement.  Last month, the annual Diplomas Count report rated South Carolina number one in the nation on improvement in 'on time'graduation rates, and we remain number one in improvement on SAT performance for states where over 50 percent of students participate," Rex wrote. 

Rex isn't limiting his platform to education reform, however.  He's planning major initiatives to create jobs and transform the state's economy. 

Rex joins a field that includes state senators Robert Ford and Vince Sheheen, Columbia attorney and lobbyist Dwight Drake and Charleston attorney Mullins McLeod. 

McLeod Proposes New Lobbying Regulations

by: Tim Kelly

Tue Sep 08, 2009 at 14:55:14 PM EDT

Gubernatorial candidate Mullins McLeod is proposing several tough new lobbying reforms "...designed to end the powerful reign that registered lobbyists have enjoyed over South Carolina government."

“Time and time again the lobbyists have run rough-shot over the people. They run the show in Columbia and don’t have to answer for their actions,” McLeod said. “Most of what they do is done behind closed doors and the voters back home never know about it.”

The most intriguing part of McLeod’s reform package will force lobbyists to report all meetings they have with legislators or their staff to the State Ethics Commission, which will post those meetings on-line within 24 hours. Voters will be able to sign up for email notices alerting them when their representative interacts with a lobbyist.

“The voters back home deserve to know when a highly paid lobbyist working for special interests like polluters or tobacco companies attempt to influence their legislator. The voters should be in charge, not the lobbyists,” McLeod said.

Other reforms proposed by McLeod include immediate public on-line reporting of all lobbying contracts, daily public on-line reporting from each lobbyist detailing the number of hours they spent on State House grounds, and lobbying bans on immediate family members of top government officials.

“The same old ways in Columbia have given us record unemployment and failing schools. As Governor I will shake things up so that our government starts putting people ahead of the special interests." McLeod said.

The McLeod Lobbying Reform Package:

• Registered lobbyists must disclose all of their clients and the amount of money they are being paid within 24 hours of signing a contract. This reporting must be made on-line on the SC Ethics Commissions web site.
• Registered lobbyists must report to the SC Ethics Commission by midnight every night the number of hours they spent on State House grounds that day and the exact times they were present. This information must be reported on-line.
• All registered lobbyists must report to the SC Ethics Commission any and all meetings or interactions with legislators or their aides that pertain to pending legislation. This must be reported on-line on the ethics commission’s web site within 24 hours of such meeting or interaction. A legislator’s constituents will have an option to sign up for email alerts notifying them when lobbyists have made contact with their representative.
• An immediate ban on state agencies using taxpayer money to hire lobbyists. This will include the Governor’s office.
• A ban that keeps Governor’s office staffers from leaving state government and lobbying while the Governor they worked for is still in office.
• A ban on immediate family members of the Governor, President of the Senate and Speaker of the House from becoming lobbyists.