SC lawmaker gets paid thousands from 2020 presidential hopeful’s campaign
A South Carolina lawmaker has been paid more than $40,000 from 2020 presidential hopeful Tom Steyer’s campaign, according to reports filed with the Federal Elections Commission.
S.C. Rep. Jerry Govan, an Orangeburg Democrat who leads the state’s Legislative Black Caucus, was paid $43,548.01 over the last few months of 2019, through his limited-liability company, The Govan Agency, according to the filings.
They payments came in seven installments from Oct. 31 to Dec. 4, ranging from $202.28 to $20,206.48, and were for the purpose of “community building services,” according to Steyer’s report.
Govan told reporters on Wednesday he is a consultant and a Steyer campaign adviser. The campaign announced his hire in October, but campaign spokeswoman Tiffany Vaughn Jones said he has been working for them since September.
The campaign agreed to pay Govan $10,000 per month and to reimburse him on some expenses related to his campaign work, Vaughn Jones said.
Another company tied to Govan, Jabezz Investment Corp., received a payment in December for $2,100 from the Steyer campaign for “rent.” The campaign rents a building on Saint Paul Street in Orangeburg from Jabezz, which is registered to a property Govan owns, The State confirmed using records from the Orangeburg County Assessor and the S.C. Secretary of State’s Office.
That building is Steyer’s Orangeburg campaign headquarters.
Steyer’s filings go through December 31. This year’s expenses have not yet been reported.
According to state business records, The Govan Agency has existed since 2016, and The Jabezz Investment Corp has been in use since 2005.
Govan was called out on Twitter by fellow lawmaker S.C. Sen. Dick Harpootlian, a Richland Democrat and big booster of former Vice President Joe Biden’s presidential campaign.
“Mr. Money Bags a.k.a @TomSteyer has paid S.C. State Rep. Jerry Govan almost $50,000 for a month worth of work? Is he pocketing the dough or redistributing the wealth? cc: Steyer FEC report,” Harpootlian tweeted.
Another state representative supporting Steyer had a different take.
State Rep. Russell Ott, D-Calhoun, who said he is an unpaid volunteer on the Steyer campaign, told The State on Wednesday, “I don’t think Dick Harpootlian tweets that about Rep. Govan unless there is concern about the momentum and surge from Tom Steyer’s campaign. He’s not tweeting that because he is upset at Jerry Govan, or upset at Tom Steyer. He is tweeting that on behalf of his candidate, who is Joe Biden, and out of concern about where the race currently stands.”
State Rep. Jerry Govan, D-Orangeburg, told reporters Wednesday he had not seen Harpootlian’s tweet but someone told him about it.
“I don’t mind talking to you guys about relevant stuff. I’m not going to go down the rabbit hole with Dick Harpootlian,” Govan said. “I think there’s more important things up here to talk about, to deal with.”
Govan added that Biden is struggling in Iowa, whose Monday Democratic caucus results still have not been finalized.
Govan told reporters he would provide more details after session.
This story was originally published February 5, 2020 at 11:27 AM.
