By FITSNews || For those of you who’ve never had the distinct displeasure of making his acquaintance, former Columbia, S.C. lobbyist (and current First Congressional District candidate) Carroll A. “Tumpy” Campbell III is quite possibly the dimmest bulb to ever run for public office in South Carolina.
Not to mention the most egotistical.
Seriously, folks … even Foghorn Leghorn (a.k.a. S.C. Attorney General Henry McMastah) is smarter than Campbell, although both are dumb enough to (still) be members of a “whites only” Columbia S.C. country club.
Anyway, giving that Campbell’s elevator has always stopped several floors short of the top, it wouldn’t surprise in the least to learn that he may have missed a child support payment here or there – as is being alleged by several sources close to the law firm where his former wife is employed.
Campbell, who was previously married to Elizabeth Herlong Campbell, is the father of two daughters.
A source familiar with Campbell’s child support record tells FITS that the Congressional candidate is currently “paid in full,” although they declined to provide any additional information and could not say whether or not he had ever been late in paying.
Campbell supporters blasted that suggestion.
“Tumpy is an attentive, caring and devoted father who goes above and beyond for his children,” one of the former lobbyist’s staunchest political allies told FITS. “He pays his child support in full and on time, and any claim to the contrary is flat out false and will be met with legal action if it continues.”
Asked if the rumor was coming from one of Campbell’s political opponents, the source said “no, we believe this is personal.”
Campbell is currently one of several Republicans running for the First Congressional District seat being vacated by five-term RINO Henry Brown.
Also running?
Charleston County Councilman Paul Thurmond, Stovall Witte, a one-time chief of staff for Brown, Tea Party activist/ military mom Katherine Jenerette, who opposed Brown for the GOP nomination two years ago, and Isle of Palms councilman Ryan Buckhannon.
S.C. Rep. Tim Scott – who many are already viewing as the front-runner – is expected to jump into the contest any day now.
Campbell is currently engaged to be married to WCSC TV 5 (CBS – Charleston) reporter Tracey Amick.
By Todd February 7, 2010 at 8:11 pm
Campbell is not dumber than Henry McMaster… please. He just thinks with the wrong head too often….
By Earl Capps February 7, 2010 at 9:56 pm
I raised my oldest daughter without ever getting a penny of child support, but I know how hard it is for most people to walk the line when it comes to child support.
If he is late a few times, as long as it’s just a few days, and not weeks or months, then I don’t see what the big deal is. We have enough real deadbeat parents out there who Sanford’s DSS won’t go after.
By A person that knows February 8, 2010 at 3:50 am
Todd was right…Between Henry McMaster and Campbell’s on brother, Mike, Tumpy is safe. Has anybody else noticed he is no longer Tumpy Campbell or Carroll III. He is now simply Carroll Campbell on the campaign trail. Man this guy is ruining his dad’s name.
By All Politicians Suck February 8, 2010 at 6:56 am
If you think this state is in trouble now, the last thing we need is children of politicians. Joe Wilson’s son want to follow daddy’s footsteps into office and Campbell’s son the same. First off I would never vote fir someone named “Tumpy” (must be his frat name) and I really hate to see Gov. Campbell’s name sullied by his scum ball kids. I really hope the people of the 1st District are smart enough not to vote for this douche.
By Julius February 8, 2010 at 6:59 am
Seriously, what’s wrong with “whites only” clubs? There are “blacks only” clubs as well as “blacks only” schools and so forth… Know anything about the Freemason Fraternity that Jesse Jackson belongs to? Yep, blacks only. So before you get up on your high horse and act proud of your racist stand (because that’s exactly what it is) then take a look in the mirror. Whether your white or not, you obviously don’t have the backbone to stand out in a croud and say the right thing.
By anonymous February 8, 2010 at 9:44 am
“Tumpy is an attentive, caring and devoted father who goes above and beyond for his children.”
He gives his kids more than they have the right to expect. What a guy.
By CNSYD February 8, 2010 at 11:04 am
Hopefully the people of the 1st district will be reminded of the events of 1991-1993. That is when Gov. Campbell stood by and did virtually nothing in the base closure process (there’s a Navy Base in Charleston?). So using his Daddy’s name might not be such a good idea. Of course he will probably get BMW money for his campaign.
By Mike Traynor February 8, 2010 at 12:59 pm
Campbell is much dumber than Henry, but that is not saying a lot. Add their IQ together and you couldn’t change a dollar.
By Columbia Insider February 8, 2010 at 1:01 pm
Tumpy has such an untroubled, vapid look in that picture. You know, kinda like “the lights are on but nobody’s home” thing. Has he had a lobotomy?
By beentook2 February 8, 2010 at 2:24 pm
Naw, that ain’t a lobotomy look. He is staring at Little Cisco Bauer with thoughts of, Wow he looks like a triple cone of Vanilla Fudge Ripple!
By scooter February 9, 2010 at 10:40 am
Seems like some people were talking about his lady friend a few years ago. Maybe something like she came to a funeral and Mrs. Tumpy got mad as she maybe knew lady friend was more than a friend at the time?????? I don’t know if this is the same lady friend, but if not, I guess Mr. Tumpy likes media people. Geez, I wasn’t there, so what do I know? Oh, maybe I know that I do not feel that either Campbell should/could hold office. For the record, I did not like senior Campbell either, but bless his heart, he is no longer with us, so I don’t need to say much more about that. If anyone would know all about Tumpy and brother, it would be, maybe, you?
By Conservative Republican February 16, 2010 at 8:02 pm
Will,
Is this the “conservative republican” Tim Scott referred to here in the article the same as the QUOTA MINDED CHARLESTON COUNCILMAN REFERRED TO BELOW??? Could the real Tim Scott be an Obama like liberal who actually supports RACIAL QUOTAS IN HIRING AS INDICATED BELOW??
Charleston County makes progress with minority pay
Published on 11/12/05
BY robert behre
The Post and Courier
A few weeks ago, Charleston County Council agreed to set a goal to increase the number of minority and female employees who make more than $50,000. This week, members learned that the county already met the 10 percent mark.
The county also has made progress in using minority vendors during the past nine months and already has surpassed council’s goal of giving such firms 10 percent of the county’s discretionary spending.
Still, the news didn’t seem to satisfy some council members who had pushed for the goal. Instead, they grilled the county staff on a decision to clarify the qualifications for some jobs — a line of questioning that caused Council Chairman Leon Stavrinakis to caution them against micromanaging.
“You’ve got to trust your staff. They’re trained. They need to be able to do their job,” Stavrinakis said.
His comments appeared to be directed toward Councilmen Henry Darby and Teddie Pryor, who questioned the personnel director’s decision to clarify what experience is needed for what position. “It tells me you’re trying to dilute the gains we’ve made,” Darby said.
There have been some gains made. On Jan. 1, the county had 15 minority and 58 female employees making more than $50,000, representing 11 percent and 32 percent, respectively, of the entire county workforce earning at least that amount. Nine months later, those numbers had risen to 25 minorities and 74 women, easily surpassing council’s stated goal of having 10 percent of all employees making more than $50,000 be minorities or women.
On the purchasing side, the county spent 8.5 percent of its money with minority-owned firms last year, but that figure has risen to 12 percent during the first nine months of 2005. The county’s spending with female-owned firms, however, slipped from 1.5 percent last year to 0.08 percent so far this year.
“There’s some good news in it,” Councilman Tim Scott said, “(but) we’ve got to move that number up.”
Pryor said if the hiring figures include the Sheriff’s Office and employees of other elected officials, then the figures are misleading because they don’t reflect hiring decisions made under County Administrator Roland Windham’s watch.
The debate about the personnel job descriptions — and whether the county was narrowing its potential applicant pools — drowned out Stavrinakis’ suggestion that the county consider raising its goals
if they’ve already been met. At the urging of other members, Stavrinakis asked County Attorney Joe Dawson to review the changes to job qualifications.
The county also is considering four firms — Quality Management International, Mason Tilman, MGT of America and Miller Consulting Inc. — for a disparity study of the county’s purchasing policies and procedures. Once those study results are in next year, council members could consider moving to quotas instead of goals.
The county also has hired Barrett Tolbert, who formerly worked with the city of Charleston, as its minority- and female-owned business coordinator.
Contact Robert Behre at 937-5771 or at rbehre@postandcourier.com