Former DHEC chief Templeton heading to Ports Authority

Former DHEC chief Catherine Templeton is expected to be hired by the S.C. State Ports Authority to a senior level position.

The Ports Authority board is expected to discuss the matter Wednesday morning. Sen. Chip Campsen, R-Charleston, and state Rep. James Smith, D-Richland, confirmed reports Tuesday of Templeton’s hiring.

Campsen applauded hiring Templeton at the authority, saying he understood the job would involve some legal work as well as work with the Legislature on behalf of the authority. The authority is headed by chief executive Jim Newsome.

“Catherine is very competent, well respected and has a very good rapport with the General Assembly,” Campsen said.

Smith said he is comfortable that Templeton will attempt to fight for South Carolina, which is in major competition with other Southeastern ports for shipping business.

An attempt to reach Templeton on Tuesday evening was unsuccessful.

Templeton, a former Irmo resident who now lives in Mount Pleasant, is the former director of the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control. She served at DHEC for about three years before resigning in January, saying she was ready to move on. Templeton also formerly ran the S.C. Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation.

During her tenure at both agencies, she was criticized for firing numerous employees and making wholesale changes that remaining workers complained about. She also drew withering criticism from some state lawmakers for DHEC’s failure to better manage a tuberculosis outbreak in Greenwood County in 2013.

But her stint at DHEC also met with some success. She succeeded in cleaning up a polluted neighborhood in Columbia, stopping a sewage dump in Pelion and focusing attention on obesity across South Carolina.

Templeton has been mentioned as a possible candidate for political office at some point, but has steered clear of any public discussion about her ambitions. Most recently, she has worked as a consultant to the S.C. Department of Revenue.

This story was originally published September 15, 2015 at 9:09 PM.