100 days of SC Gov Henry McMaster

With all the excitement over the president’s first 100 days, it’s easy to overlook the fact that May 4 marks Gov. Henry McMaster’s 100th day in office. So how’s he doing? Let’s look at what’s been reported in the media:

Request of $5.18 billion from President Trump. On Feb. 6, The Post and Courier reported: “In his first major action as governor, Henry McMaster penned a letter to President Donald Trump on Monday, requesting nearly $5.2 billion to help fund a laundry list of infrastructure projects.” There has been no public response from Trump.

A diet for state government. On Feb. 22, McMaster announced, “State government is going to have to go on a diet as far as spending.” This was in response to the first draft of the state budget that did not give state employees a pay raise.

Pay raise for staff. On Feb. 21 (the day before the diet declaration), The State reported that McMaster Chief of Staff Trey Walker got a $30,000 (23 percent) pay raise — increasing his salary to $165,000. The governor’s salary is $106,078.

McMaster denies kickbacks. On March 17, The State reported, “S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster has not received any money personally — whether rebates or kickbacks (from Quinn) …. McMaster has paid Richard Quinn and Associates $504,000 since 2009.”

Continuing Support for Quinn. On March 17, The Post and Courier reported that Gov. McMaster “is standing by his longtime political strategist, Richard Quinn, despite the powerful Republican consultant being implicated in newly released indictments…. ‘We’ve worked together for a lot of years on political things, and I intend to continue working with them.’”

__________

The worrisome thing about the Quinn stable of clients

__________

Release of Income Taxes. On March 23, Gov. McMaster made available 15 years of his personal income taxes for viewing by the media. As reported by The Post and Courier, “Reporters only had access to the tax documents — a stack nearly a foot tall — for several hours, making it nearly impossible for the governor’s financial history to be thoroughly vetted.”

__________

A peek is nice; a full review would be better

__________

Gas tax veto threat. On April 4, Gov. McMaster said that he will veto any measure to fix South Carolina’s roads that raises taxes. If he makes good on his threat, the results will probably be no significant improvement in our roads — rated by some as the worst in the country.

Borrow money for roads. On April 4, Gov. McMaster said the state should borrow up to $1 billion to pay for road repairs. The State quoted the Republican Speaker of the House Jay Lucas as saying, “Borrowing more money to fix South Carolina’s roads and bridges will not serve as a permanent solution to our infrastructure crisis.”

__________

The governor’s fourth pig

__________

McMaster supports carrying guns without a permit. On April 14, The State reported that Gov, McMaster supported legislation that “would allow anyone who is legally allowed to buy a gun to do so without getting a state permit and carry it openly or concealed.”

McMaster signs state pension bill. On April 24, Gov. McMaster signed the pension reform bill that was, as reported by The Post and Courier, “meant to fix a state pension system that impacts one in nine South Carolinians…. Even with the additional funding, the pension plan isn’t expected to meet the recommended funding level for several decades.”

From my perspective, Gov. McMaster’s first 100 days have been a near unqualified failure.

This story was originally published May 4, 2017 at 9:52 AM with the headline "100 days of SC Gov Henry McMaster."