Templeton's 'hiding' her income from state consulting work, McMaster alleges
Gov. Henry McMaster is hitting a GOP primary opponent for not releasing more information about how much money she was paid for her work in state government and consulting, and the incumbent's campaign isn't beating around the bush.
On Wednesday, McMaster's campaign launched a new website, WhatIsTempletonHiding.com.
"Given Templeton’s campaign for governor has been largely centered on the idea, however fantastical, that she is a champion of government ethics, transparency and accountability, the decision to keep the public in the dark about how she has made a living as a ‘consultant’ over the last few years is surprising," the site reads.
The site links to copies of Templeton's consulting contracts with the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control and the state Department of Revenue, gigs she held after resigning as DHEC director in 2015, as well as state business records for her company Brawley Templeton LLC.
Templeton's campaign said McMaster is desperate.
“Every contract Catherine Templeton has ever had with the state is public record and always has been," Templeton spokesman Mark Powell said. "These false and hypocritical attacks are exactly what we’ve come to expect from a career politician who has made over $1.4 million off taxpayers since his election as attorney general" in 2002.
Powell also turned the question around on McMaster, asking "why he collected $400,000 to be a government lobbyist," a reference to his time consulting for the University of South Carolina.
Templeton's campaign made her tax filings for 2014 through 2016 available to reporters on Friday. However, the campaign produced only a two-page summary of her income, deductions and taxes owed. Those forms did not show what income Templeton herself earned in those years or from what sources.
Those joint tax returns showed Templeton and her husband, Mount Pleasant attorney Morgan Templeton, had gross income of $889,932 in 2016. The previous two years showed a larger income — with the Templetons making a total of $1,053,245 in 2014 and $1,099,575 in 2015. But the returns don't provide a breakdown of the gubernatorial candidate's income sources.
Last week, Templeton's campaign denied a request by The State for details on her income, specifically what her Brawley Templeton consulting firm earned, who her clients were and what those clients paid Templeton.
The State previously has reported that DHEC and the Revenue Department have no written record, beyond contracts and invoices for payment, of what Templeton did for those state agencies while a consultant.
Contracts posted to the website show Templeton earned $86,500 from her DHEC contract. Templeton also made $37,500 from three months of consulting work at the Revenue Department.
Templeton also worked briefly at a third state agency, the S.C. Ports Authority.
Last March, shortly after becoming governor, McMaster allowed reporters to review 16 years of his tax returns, through the 2015 tax year.
The filings showed McMaster's family income ranged widely, growing to more than $400,000 in 2015 from losses of more than $120,000 in 2000. The filings provided many details about McMaster's real-estate holdings, including several rental properties near the University of South Carolina.
This story was originally published April 11, 2018 at 7:59 AM with the headline "Templeton's 'hiding' her income from state consulting work, McMaster alleges."