The Governor has the power to appoint SPA board members and he has used this power ineffectively to say the least. Governor Sanford has stacked the board with people who helped him raise money to get elected or are socialists like Tumpy Campbell .

He could have and still could appoint reformers who would lease out the Charleston terminals and allow private companies to build a terminal in Jasper, and pull the plug on the navy base terminal.

Let’s face it – the Governor has no effective port strategy(if he has one please tell us what it is) and has not used the power given to him to reform this agency.

Notwithstanding Gov. Sanford’s interpersonal skills and political challenges, the arcane structure of SC state government effectively undermines any power of the state’s chief executive. Because intelligence, facts and common sense mean nothing to the good ‘ol boy legislature and the leadership of the vast majority of SC’s state agencies, simply proffering a cogent argument for reform is tantamount to trying to explain to liberals the inverse relationship between tax cuts and tax revenue.

In SC, the Governor’s ability to promote reform rests solely on the strength of the incumbent’s ability to influence (e.g. communications skills) and their power of persuasion (e.g. in SC, “political capital”).

Did I mention Gov. Sanford’s interpersonal skills and political challenges?

Groseclose and our legislature are full steam ahead on building a 4th spec container terminal in Charleston which will have no direct rail access – and it will be the most expensive container terminal ever built in the U.S.

If you had 3 apartment buildings that were 50% vacant and went to a bank for a loan to build a 4th apartment building, the bankers would laugh you out of their office. Yet that is exactly what Groseclose , our governor, and our legislature are planning to do.

Groseclose should have been fired several years ago as well as their PR staff. They do not have the taxpayer’s best interest at heart.

I just do not understand why Gov. Sanford is totally absent from driving the reform train on this issue.