Saturday, Jul. 04, 2009

Key Sanford allies now say he should remain in office

Mark Sanford’s quest to hold on to the governorship picked up more steam Friday when a pair of allies offered their support for him to remain in office.

State Sen. Tom Davis, R-Beaufort, released a statement saying he had, on several occasions, asked Sanford to resign after Sanford acknowledged having an extramarital affair with a woman from Argentina. But Davis said the governor and his wife, Jenny Sanford, told him they could work on their marriage while he held on to his position.

“I am not going to second-guess them on that personal matter,” said Davis, whose continued support is seen as particularly important because he is Sanford’s former chief of staff and he and the governor have been friends for 30 years.

Another Sanford ally, state Sen. Greg Ryberg, R-Aiken, also offered his support Friday, arguing that a State Law Enforcement Division review of Sanford’s travel, which found the governor had not misused public money, shows “it is time to move forward.”

“I continue to support the decision of Governor Sanford to remain at his post, and I encourage the governor and the members of the General Assembly to return their focus to the urgent issues facing South Carolina,” Ryberg said.

Sanford’s spokesman, Joel Sawyer, said the governor has arrived in Florida, where he is spending the holiday weekend with his wife and her family.

Sawyer said the governor would have no public comment Friday.

A majority of Sanford’s fellow Republicans in the state Senate have called for his resignation in the aftermath of the governor’s disappearance last month and the subsequent admissions he has not only had an extramarital affair with Maria Belen Chapur of Argentina, but that he also “crossed lines” with other women.

Jenny Sanford, whose answers to questions about her husband’s whereabouts mystified already curious reporters, has since issued a series of comments and statements that offer more and more support for her embattled husband.

And the governor released an extensive statement to supporters Thursday night, again quoting the Bible and again asking for forgiveness.

Davis said he met with SLED chief Reggie Lloyd and Attorney General Henry McMaster on Thursday and was assured the governor had not “violated any statutory or constitutional obligations” on trips to see his mistress. Lloyd made his findings public Thursday.

Now, Davis said the state needs to move past the Sanford scandal.

“We cannot control the unfortunate circumstances that got us to this place, but we can and must control how we now move past them,” he said.

Reach senior writer Wayne Washington at (803) 771-8385.

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