Son of South Carolina lawmaker lobbying candidate for university curator

A contested legislative election for a seat on the board of trustees at the University of South Carolina began running at high speed this week, when a registered lobbyist began conducting investigations on behalf of one of the candidates.

Adding a layer of controversy to the mix? The lobbyist in question is the son of an acting state legislator … which raises additional ethical questions.

On Sunday, a registered lobbyist Lander Hiott – representing various associations and corporations at SC State House – began to contact lawmakers on behalf of the former National Basketball Association (NBA) Star Alex Ingles. Specifically, Hiott notified these lawmakers that he would take English to the SC State Chamber this week for meetings and hoped he could count on their support for the candidacy of the first at the “appropriate time”.

Lawmakers are allowed to cast their votes for candidates in this race at 12:00 pm EST today (February 22, 2021).

Hiott is the son of the state representative Davey Hiott de Pickens, SC – the chairman of the Chamber’s Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs Committee. The oldest Hiott represents the SC House District 4 (.pdf) since 2005.

English, 67, was appointed curator of South Carolina last year by the Republican governor Henry McMaster after the board member William Hubbard left office to head the university’s law school. His candidacy for a full four-year term on the council is being supported by the retired US Army general Robert Caslen, the school president.

Caslen did not formally endorse English, and sources close to the university’s president say he is “careful not to get involved” in the politics associated with boardroom disputes.

However, Caslen was accused of supporting English behind the scenes because the former basketball star Gamecock supports the renaming of the Strom Thurmond Wellness and Fitness Center at the university center, Columbia, SC campus.

Named in 2003 in honor of the late US Senator Strom Thurmond – a prominent defender of segregation during the 1960s – the building has been the focus of a renaming campaign after the assassination of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on the last Memorial Day.

Caslen did not endorse the name change for “the Strom”, but formed a panel to study the issue and make recommendations.

Lawmakers told us in particular that this issue put the university president on a “collision course” with the legislature.

Also competing for this seat is Robert Dozier, banker from Columbia, SC, former president of the school’s alumni association. According to our sources, Dozier is “committed to conducting a thorough review of the university’s finances after the Covid-19 pandemic.”

A third candidate, Kevin Hunter from Irmo, SC, is also in the mix. Like Dozier, Hunter is committed to imposing some long overdue fiscal responsibility on the institution.

“My goal is to help the board break the political confusion of the past, fix the financial problem and focus on supporting our communities through actions, not discussions, focus groups or studies,” said Hunter.

State lawmakers have routinely threatened to fire university trustees because of poor school administration in recent years … however, they continue to rename them.

Will this trend continue with English?

As the three candidates vie for position, Hiott’s involvement left lawmakers scratching their heads.

“Just because?” a legislator warned us when informed about development.

In addition, Hiott’s colleagues began to question whether the veteran lawmaker would refrain from voting for the curatorial election due to his son’s lobbying efforts – or would take steps to ensure there was no suspicion that he might be leveraging his leadership position. on behalf of English.

As noted earlier, the founding editor of this news medium Will Folks does not take office in legislative elections due to its longstanding support for the privatization of higher education in the State of Palmetto (and beyond).

“Higher education must be privatized immediately and permanently,” he wrote in 2018. “No more government appropriations, period. In addition, student loans in this country must be issued based on what the market determines as an acceptable level of risk, not a federal guarantee. Anything below that will only add more destructive force to a time bomb that has become an existential threat to the American economy. “

-FITSNews

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