SC Political Consultant Arrested In Myrtle Beach
A South Carolina political consultant was arrested outside of a rival campaign’s private party in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Monday night, a Grand Strand television station is reporting.
Mike Green, who is employed by Starboard Communications, was charged with trespassing after he allegedly attempted to enter a restaurant where former Myrtle Beach Mayor Mark McBride was holding a private campaign party.
Green’s firm is employed by Myrtle Beach mayor John Rhodes, who is being challenged by McBride in Tuesday’s mayoral runoff election.
Two weeks ago, Rhodes was a mere 155 votes away from winning reelection, but ended up being forced into a runoff race with McBride because he did not receive over 50% of the vote.
It has been a bitter and acrimonious campaign, with both candidates trading personal attacks and accusing their opponent of “dirty tricks.”
Witnesses claim that Green merely waved through a window at the McBride party – but a police report obtained by WMBF News (NBC – Myrtle Beach) references an “altercation” occurring in front of the restaurant, Crocodile Rocks.
“There was no altercation,” a witness tells FITS. “That’s ridiculous.”
Broadway at the Beach – the open-air mall where Crocodile Rocks is located – has video surveillance of the area where the incident is alleged to have taken place, so we should know something eventually.
According to the incident report, Green told officers that Starboard “pays him to cause problems” for McBride’s campaign, although sources close to Green tell FITS he never said that.
“If the allegations levied against Mr. Green prove to be true, then I will be surprised and deeply disappointed in him,” Starboard founder Walter Whetsell said. “He and our employees are all very aware that our firm does not condone this type of behavior. I have heard both sides of the incident and I am confident that Mr. Green will mount a vigorous defense.”
A court date has been set for December 3.
Comments
By William on November 17th, 2009 at 2:23 pm
Who in their right mind would send Mike Green to do dirty tricks?
That decision maker is the one that ought to be in jail…not Green. Geez, can these SC political consultants getter any dumber?
By Stupid Stupid Stupid on November 17th, 2009 at 2:42 pm
this is just about as good as Mike Green saying Obama is going to tax aspirin an extra 40% because it’s white and it works on Twitter.
no wonder people are fleeing away from Starboard Communications. potential clients are jumping ship or walking the plank to get away from these clowns.
By A person that know on November 17th, 2009 at 2:43 pm
“According to the incident report, Green told officers that Starboard “pays him to cause problems” for McBride’s campaign, although sources close to Green tell FITS he never said that.”
I seriously don’t see Green saying that.
By Jack MeOff on November 17th, 2009 at 2:57 pm
Well now that we KNOW what is in our water… I would have to advise my client to pull a DHEC is to blame D-Fence.
By hammerheadSC on November 17th, 2009 at 3:28 pm
How can you say you don’t see someone saying that to an officer. That would mean you are stating that an officer forged a report for his own well being. Knowing many law enforcement individuals, it isn’t really worth the trouble to create a fictious report, book someone for a wrongful charge, have the department billed for holding an individual in jail, and then deal with the lawsuit of wrongful arrest lawsuit later. Why do you think the Ass. Attny gen was arrested at first.
By Groundball on November 17th, 2009 at 3:41 pm
Ahhhh these political geeks or ninjas or whatever they call themselves these days. He was probably the most popular guy in the “slammer” last night. He probably found out just how the Crocodile Rocks!
By Matt on November 17th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
Was the entire club shut down for the McBride private party? From what I think having been to Crocodile Rocks is that you can book a private party but that does not mean that the entire club is shut down for your group. It is general admission open to the public every night.
I don’t doubt that Mike Green was sneaking around (which is the job of many political consultants anyway) but knowing what kind of rep Mark McBride has I wouldn’t be surprised if the liquor was flowing freely at the McBride camp that night and they put the Crocodile Rocks people up to harassing Mike Green.
By Steve V on November 17th, 2009 at 5:44 pm
Haha…I broke my ankle jumping off that very stage in the picture. Damn you Broadway!!!!
By weighing in on November 17th, 2009 at 5:56 pm
Monday night in the middle of November…. I’m pretty sure you can get the entire bar if you wanted. That’s a tourist spot, not locals, esp on Monday’s in November. Chances are Green was in the wrong and dimed out Starboard to save his ass…which may not have worked that night at the MBPD Slammer
By Easy Solution on November 17th, 2009 at 6:27 pm
Cut the size of government by 50% and you’ll eliminate most of the political hacks who make their living as walking, talking slimeballs. How do you guys even look yourselves in the eye in the mirror? Rotten to the core.
By BIN News Editorial Staff on November 17th, 2009 at 8:05 pm
Looks like mike went to the sic(k) willie school of “black ops.” The first rule should be “don’t get caught.” But the political pimps (like mike and sic(k) willie) in SC who claim to be “consultants” continue to poop down their socks. It’s like the gang who can’t poop straight. Morons.
The BIN News Funding Editor approved this message. Which she wrote while getting a hot oil massage from her pool boy. Not the one who looks like a skinny sic(k) willie. The other one who looks like porky sic(k) willie.
By Todd on November 17th, 2009 at 8:34 pm
Name names. Who is Starboard Communications? A corporation is a piece of paper. Who are de PEOPLE?
By Question on November 18th, 2009 at 6:25 pm
Can someone (preferably a Myrtle Beach resident) please explain to me how McBride received any votes to begin with? This is really confusing to myself. Isn’t the same guy who works as a waiter and gets in fights in council meetings?
By Boz Martin, a.k.a. Buzzy B on November 21st, 2009 at 12:31 am
As a volunteer for McBride who witnessed the entire event — and exhulted at the sight of Green being cuffed arrested — let me offer the following:
The bar WAS closed for the event. Green was asked to leave, but kept lurking around outside, waving at everyone through the door and window in a taunting way, etc.
He was asked to move on — several times — by Broadway at the Beach security officers, but refused. Finally, as an officer moved toward him to escort him away, Green shoved him and was immediately cuffed. The idiot did all this only 20 yards away from the security office!
Green and the other Starboard creeps did more than just crash parties, however. They also produced and placed extensive schlocky anti-McBride attack stuff, in all media. They were paid by a PAC run by banker Pete Pearce, one of the members of “The Committee”, a cabal of rich and powerful hoteliers and bankers which is said to be the REAL controlling power in Myrtle Beach — with Mayor Rhodes and most of the incumbents on Council who were running being basically bought and paid for by them — as, allegedly, the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce.
Currently, there is at least one ongoing investigations into the way that the widely unpopular Ad Tax funds may have been channelled to Rhodes, the incumbents, and several GOP politicos at the county and state level, in exchange for their having supported tax. The tax itself, on top of already excessive taxation in MB, was to make up for the shortfall resulting from the Powers That Be putting an end to bike rallies in the city limits, and going against state law regarding helmets. It should be noted that Katon Dawson (who didn’t get any of the donations) sought to poison the well against McBride, by holding a press conference to state that election of the former Mayor would in sure that Myrtle Beach would not get the national debates again in 2013.
McBride, also a Republican, was supported by an unlikely coalition of anti-tax Tea Party type Repubs, Libertarians, Ron Paulies, Democrats and independents. (I’m a “libertarian left” Democrat, myself).
The whole “fist-fights” (plural) issue, seized on and worked to death in the constant barrage of Starboard Communications’ attack ads and their “therealmarkmcbride” web site, was never quite as advertised. There was only ever one such incident, which was more of a shoving match than an actual fist-fight.
McBride had confronted Councilman Wayne Gray, at the behest of the city’s Risk Manager and other authorities, over an incident in which Gray was caught by a security guard getting a blow job from a subordinate city employee in the rear parking lot of Fuddruckers restaurant …
(Taking a break here to mention that if you’ve heard of the “Elmer Fudd” pending litigation involving the MB Area Chamber of Commerce, the Sun News, and a “John Doe” anonymous article commenter who went by the user ID of “Elmer Fudd”, alleged to be McBride — that ID was most likely a taunting reference to that incident.)
To continue … Mayor McBride cleared spectators from the courtroom, and began to address the issue. By his account of the incident on a recent radio show, he did this because he’d been advised that the City could be charged with sexual harassment by the female involved in giving Gray head. (Haw!)
When the incident was brought up, Gray lunged at him, and McBride naturally defended himself. The fight was broken up, McBride sought to press charges, but the City Manager prevailed on the Chief of Police not to let him do it.
Much of the media subsequently covered up the details of the incident, and anti-McBride forces have put out dis-information about it ever since.
McBride admitted in the campaign that some of the things mentioned in the attack ads were true, and others were based on truth, but grossly distorted. Some were clearly outright lies, too, such as the charge that he and his family were evicted from their home in Myrtle Beach. The realtor involved was present at a news conference to affirm that this was not the case, that the McBrides moved out after they had come to a mutual agreement, and he had not had any problems with them whatsoever. There was barely any coverage of that news conference in the local media, as is par for the course in this town where most of them (especially The Sun News) is said to be totally bought off by “The Committee”.
Whatever anyone thinks of McBride, the fact is that the “clean” Rhodes campaign, combined with the “dirty” Starboard-created campaign bought by “The Committee’s” PAC money, outspent the former Mayor by a factor of approximately 12 to 1 — and still managed to only beat him by about 500 votes!
Not exactly a mandate … and the grim prospect of a continuation of the harshly authoritarian policies and tactics of the Good Old Boy Country Club Republican Mafia that is the Rhodes regime has only deepened the north end vs. south end, haves vs. have-nots divide that has seemingly irrevocably split the Republican party and the city.
The fact that Mike Lowder managed to get elected, thanks largely to a “single shot” voting strategy aimed a keeping more than one incumbent Council member from getting back in, is the only silver lining to a very dark cloud that hangs over Myrtle Beach this week.
We are awaiting reports that the State Ethics Committee has finally gotten down to cases on “ChamberGate” (a.k.a. “FuddGate”), and that the alleged perps will soon get what’s coming to them.
Meanwhile, political reporter Lorena Anderson of The Sun News has threatened to sue me if I don’t stop speaking my mind about what I see as her role in the extensive cover-ups on all of the above …
And the sad, sorry saga continues …
- William Bozworth Martin
FRIEND OF FUDD FOREVER!
“Bring Back Myrtle Beach!” Facebook Group:
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