Senate rejects governor’s pick to lead state agency. McMaster blames ‘smear tactics’
Gov. Henry McMaster’s pick to lead the state Department on Aging was overwhelmingly rejected Tuesday by the S.C. Senate after questions about his qualifications and accusations he is a racist.
Steven Morris, a lifelong friend of the governor who has been the Aging Department’s interim director since December, was denied the job by a 41-2 vote after the Senate met privately for more than an hour to discuss McMaster’s appointments to state agencies.
“I did not feel he had the qualifications to move the agency in the right direction,” said Senate Family and Veteran Services Committee Chairwoman Katrina Shealy, R-Lexington, whose committee passed Morris’ nomination to the full Senate without a recommendation. “The aging population of South Carolina is growing every day, and we need to put the right person in place to lead this new cabinet agency.”
Morris was the second of McMaster’s appointments to suffer a blow Tuesday. The governor’s nominee to become Santee Cooper’s board chairman, Charlie Condon, was rejected 19-4 by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
“Sadly, Washington D.C.-style smear tactics, character assassinations, and unsubstantiated rumors found a voice in the South Carolina Senate,” McMaster spokesman Brian Symmes wrote in a statement to The State. “Having presided over the chamber for two years, the governor is truly saddened and disappointed — the price of public service is driving good people away.”
Morris faced long rounds of questioning during two screening hearings earlier this month. He was asked why he thought a career in real estate qualifies him to lead an agency tasked with outreach to the state’s senior population.
He was asked about reports that the agency suffers from low employee morale and a toxic work environment. And he was asked about accusations — from at least one employee and a former rival on Richland County Council — that he is racist.
Morris responded that the agency has had longstanding problems, including a toxic workplace, dating back years before he began working there, but said he can turn things around. He repeated several times that he does not discriminate, saying the accusations against him were unfounded.
“I do not discriminate against anybody,” Morris told senators on April 17. “We live in a time where if you don’t agree with somebody or you want to back somebody up, you can insinuate they discriminate or they’re targeting you or bullying you. There is a core series of buzz words that people use. Usually when they use them, they’re trying to defend themselves. I do not discriminate. It’s not true. Period.”
Only state Sens. Mike Fanning, D-Fairfield, and Danny Verdin, R-Laurens, voted to confirm Morris. State Sen. Dick Harpootlian, a Columbia Democrat who served with Morris on Richland County Council, abstained from the vote.
This story was originally published April 30, 2019 at 5:43 PM.
