Friday, August 08, 2008

Charleston millionaires try to finally gain influence in SC politics

If Gervais has said it once, I’ve said it a hundred times: Charleston millionaires simply have too little influence in our state government.

A few months ago, I discussed how the South Carolina Club for Growth is here to fix that problem, by using synchronized contributions from a small group of Charleston millionaires to fund candidates around the state.

Now some folks, like Mike Huckabee, have derisively called the Club for Growth the “Club for Greed.” But Mike Huckabee has been too busy slapping his bass guitar to see the extent to which Charleston millionaires are bound by the shackles of a government dominated by an insidious special interest: non-Charleston non-millionaires.

This is especially true in districts such as House District 3 (Pickens Co.), House District 35 (Spartanburg Co.) and Senate District 23 (Lexington Co.), where non-Charleston non-millionaires have held sway since time immemorial.

When I first noticed this orchestrated funding phenomenon back in April, I only assumed that the Charleston funders were millionaires, based on the amount of money they were throwing around. This time, I decided to actually check, by using Zillow.com to look at the value of their homes.

Zillow is a great resource, especially when you're invited to a home for a party and you don't know whether to bring a bottle of wine, or a box of wine.

Anyway, for those of you as intrigued by campaign finance as I am, here’s a look at the 10 GOP primaries these Club for Growth millionaires played in, along with Gervais' unofficial box/bottle determination.

William Baker/ Ruth Baker
188 Bolly Bunion Dr., Kiawah Island
Zillow estimated value: $6,299,000 (bottle)

$1,000 3/28/08 Katrina Shealy
$1,000 3/28/08 Katrina Shealy
$1,000 3/28/08 Lee Bright
$1,000 3/28/08 Lee Bright
$1,000 6/12/08 Lee Bright
$1,000 6/16/08 Lee Bright
$1,000 5/7/08 Tom Davis
$1,000 5/7/08 Tom Davis
$1,000 6/6/08 Roger Nutt
$1,000 6/6/08 Roger Nutt
$1,000 4/9/08 Tim Scott
$1,000 4/9/08 Tim Scott
$1,000 6/4/08 Mike Rose
$1,000 6/4/08 Mike Rose
$1,000 6/2/08 Kyle Boyd
$1,000 6/9/08 Kyle Boyd
$1,000 6/13/08 Joey Millwood
$1,000 6/13/08 Joey Millwood
$3,500 12/13/07 SC Club for Growth PAC
$3,500 12/13/07 SC Club for Growth PAC

John Barter/ Mary Barter
40 Schoolbred Ct., Kiawah Island
Zillow estimated value: $7,497,500 (bottle)

$1,000 3/22/08 Katrina Shealy
$1,000 3/22/08 Katrina Shealy
$1,000 6/11/08 Katrina Shealy
$1,000 3/22/08 Lee Bright
$1,000 3/22/08 Lee Bright
$1,000 5/29/08 Lee Bright
$1,000 4/26/08 Tom Davis
$1,000 4/26/08 Tom Davis
$1,000 5/6/08 Roger Nutt
$1,000 5/6/08 Roger Nutt
$1,000 4/7/08 Tim Scott
$1,000 4/7/08 Tim Scott
$1,000 6/12/08 Scott Singer
$1,000 5/8/08 Trey Whitehurst
$1,000 5/8/08 Trey Whitehurst
$1,000 6/9/08 Joey Millwood

William Hewitt/ Laura Hewitt
34 Priloleau St. Unit B., Charleston
Zillow estimated value: $3,435,000 (box)

$1,000 3/24/08 Katrina Shealy
$1,000 3/24/08 Katrina Shealy
$1,000 6/11/08 Katrina Shealy
$1,000 6/11/08 Katrina Shealy
$1,000 3/24/08 Lee Bright
$1,000 3/24/08 Lee Bright
$1,000 6/11/08 Lee Bright
$1,000 6/11/08 Lee Bright
$1,000 5/7/08 Tom Davis
$1,000 5/6/08 Tom Davis
$1,000 6/6/08 Roger Nutt
$1,000 6/6/08 Roger Nutt
$1,000 4/3/08 Tim Scott
$1,000 4/3/08 Tim Scott
$1,000 6/12/08 Scott Singer
$1,000 6/12/08 Scott Singer
$1,000 5/30/08 Mike Rose
$1,000 5/30/08 Mike Rose
$1,000 6/9/08 Kyle Boyd
$1,000 6/9/08 Kyle Boyd
$1,000 6/9/08 Joey Millwood
$1,000 6/9/08 Joey Millwood
$3,500 3/7/08 SC Club for Growth PAC
$3.500 11/27/07 SC Club for Growth PAC
$3,500 11/27/07 SC Club for Growth PAC

Wilbur Prezzano/ Sheila Prezzano
28 Murray Blvd., Charleston
Zillow estimated value: $4,473,500 (bottle)

$1,000 3/25/08 Katrina Shealy
$1,000 3/25/08 Katrina Shealy
$1,000 6/11/08 Katrina Shealy
$1,000 3/25/08 Lee Bright
$1,000 3/25/08 Lee Bright
$1,000 4/28/08 Tom Davis
$1,000 4/28/08 Tom Davis
$1,000 5/13/08 Roger Nutt
$1,000 5/13/08 Roger Nutt
$1,000 4/7/08 Tim Scott
$1,000 4/7/08 Tim Scott
$1,000 6/12/08 Scott Singer
$1,000 5/18/08 Trey Whitehurst
$1,000 5/18/08 Trey Whitehurst
$3,500 12/20/07 SC Club for Growth PAC
$3,500 12/20/07 SC Club for Growth PAC

Steve Swanson/ Emily Swanson
615 Pitt St., Mt. Pleasant
Zillow estimated value: $4,128,000 (box)

$1,000 4/8/08 Katrina Shealy
$1,000 6/11/08 Katrina Shealy
$1,000 6/11/08 Katrina Shealy
$1,000 4/1/08 Lee Bright
$1,000 4/8/08 Lee Bright
$1,000 6/6/08 Lee Bright
$1,000 6/9/08 Lee Bright
$1,000 6/3/08 Tom Davis
$1,000 6/3/08 Tom Davis
$1,000 6/6/08 Roger Nutt
$1,000 6/6/08 Roger Nutt
$1,000 4/15/08 Tim Scott
$1,000 4/15/08 Tim Scott
$1,000 6/12/08 Scott Singer
$1,000 6/12/08 Scott Singer
$1,000 6/4/08 Mike Rose
$1,000 6/5/08 Trey Whitehurst
$1,000 6/5/08 Trey Whitehurst
$1,000 6/25/08 Kyle Boyd
$1,000 6/13/08 Joey Millwood
$1,000 6/18/08 Joey Millwood

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

In the House District 81 race, Scott Singer received $10,000 from the SC Club for Growth and people from Charleston easily associated with SCC for Growth during the period when contributions cannot be seen until after the election. Also, he received a $1,000 check from Gayle Avreyt, Columbia, SC, during the blackout period, who I suspect is also associated with this crowd. South Carolina Club for Growth also sent out two fliers derogatory to Tom Young, Singer's opponent. Remarkably similar pattern to Howie Rich and friends! They gave $21,000 to Singer during the black out period and sent out several nasty pieces attacking Tom Young. HHHHmmmm! I hate to jump to conclusions but - could these two groups be in cahoots???

Anonymous said...

Hmmm, and the relevancy of this is? So a bunch of rich people decided to give money to a select group of candidates based upon their ideological stances. Last time I checked, this is the good ole USA and they aren't breaking any laws.

When are you going to spend this much time examining the campaign finances of Barack Obama?

Anonymous said...

Not only out of stater Howie Rich, but also out of staters from the Holy City?!!! What are the good citizens of South Carolina to do? How can we fend off these out of state kabillionaires? What would happen if Charleston actually controlled the state? Oh yeah, they did once. Way back in the antebellum times, if you get my drift.

Anonymous said...

Gervais,

You're a Great American for continuing to expose capetbuggers and their local scallywackers.

Keep up the great work.

BTW. How's your Dad. We heard his surgery went well.

Anonymous said...

Please fix our typo: carpetbuggers

We spilled BBQ sauce on the keyboard last week, and some keys are sticky.

Thanks.

P.S. We spelled scallywackers correctly. :)

Anonymous said...

Someone should check the 2006 campaign contributions Henry McMaster received.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
tlandygardner said...

first off its carpetbaggers, second its scallywags