Wednesday, Aug. 05, 2009

Sanford spokesman ‘ready to move on’

Joel Sawyer, the spokesman for Gov. Mark Sanford’s administration the past four years, will issue his final statement today.

Sawyer is leaving to start his own communications consulting firm, which will focus on political and public policy clients.

With charts and graphs at hand to illustrate an idea, Sawyer always had a market-based defense of Sanford’s positions ready. If needed, Sawyer was aggressive, argumentative and thorough with reporters and stories the office disputed.

But Sawyer will also be linked to Sanford’s six-day disappearance to visit his Argentinean lover. After admonishing members of the media skeptical of the story, Sawyer sent out a 10 p.m. e-mail that said the governor was hiking the Appalachian Trail; that story proved to be false.

Sanford later admitted he had misled his staff and apologized. Sawyer said he has forgiven the governor and still believes in Sanford’s goal of smaller, more efficient government.

“I know I never intentionally misled anyone,” Sawyer, 32, said. “I was disappointed like everybody else. I think forgiveness is important. I forgive him. Like a lot of people I’m ready to move on.”

Sawyer said he felt he had to stay long enough to help the governor “weather the storm.”

Sanford approached Sawyer — then a reporter with The (Spartanburg) Herald-Journal — shortly after winning election in 2002, hiring him as a speechwriter. Sawyer, who said he agreed with Sanford nine times out of 10 on issues, started the day after Sanford’s first State of the State speech. It drew criticism for a reference to Turkish leader Ataturk, whom many blame for the first modern genocide of Armenians and Christians.

Sanford’s preference to improvise speeches, Sawyer said, made life difficult as a speechwriter.

In 2005, Sawyer took over as spokesman when Will Folks left Sanford’s staff. Observers said Sawyer brought a different style to the job than the combative Folks, whose statements occasionally became the story.

“I think he did a good job,” said Russ McKinney, a press secretary for former Gov. Dick Riley and the University of South Carolina. “Joel was always in sync with the governor’s thinking and message.”

A press secretary has to serve his boss, McKinney said, but also has a duty to provide the truth to the press and public.

“It’s a juggling act in some respects,” McKinney said, noting that the State House is more “combative” than when he worked for Riley.

Zane Wilson, an 11-year State House veteran with The (Myrtle Beach) Sun News, said Sawyer could be a difficult adversary. Wilson retired from the paper last year.

“Sometimes it was like pulling teeth,” Wilson said. “He was more of a guardian for his boss’s political position than he was a person who was there to clarify facts.”

Lawmakers and others have accused Sanford of cherry-picking details that support his positions, particularly his characterization of state debt during the stimulus debate earlier this year.

Sawyer said those who disagree with Sanford often accuse the office of playing politics.

“There’s always some interplay between politics and government,” Sawyer said. “I think that we’ve done a pretty good job as an administration of using facts to build our arguments.

Sawyer said he’s learned two important things from his time with Sanford: to never take anything personally; andto quickly learn a lot of information about a new topic — such as ports or unemployment benefits. Sawyer also knew how important it was to quickly return media phone calls.

Sawyer will be replaced by Ben Fox, who has worked as Sanford’s Cabinet liaison.

Any advice for Sanford or Fox?

“Not publicly, no,” Sawyer said.

Reach O’Connor at (803) 771-8358.

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