More Swamp Creatures
Here are some Trump appointments made 10/2. Fitton and Elder are fairly well known names, but one on the list, Bill Stern, might not be as well known. Here’s a little background.
From Foghorn Leghorn (McMaster’s 2018 campaign) bolding mine.
Republican primary challengers are taking aim at Gov. Henry McMaster for using Ports Authority chairman Bill Stern to help fundraise for his campaign, highlighting connections to ousted state Rep. Rick Quinn and his father, embattled political consultant Richard Quinn.
Last week, McMaster’s campaign sent a fundraising email that included a note from Stern, a Columbia real estate developer, offering to match contributions for any supporters who donated that day. In the note to McMaster, Stern highlighted how an outside group that once opposed Trump is running ads supporting primary foe Catherine Templeton…
Stern has described Richard Quinn as a friend and consulted with him on a possible run for governor. Quinn’s firm was ensnared in the probe and paid a fine for failing to register as a lobbyist. Stern also once partnered in a company with Richard’s son, Rick Quinn, who left the General Assembly last year after pleading guilty to a misconduct in office charge.
“Only a career politician like Henry McMaster would be so arrogant and out of touch with reality as to send a fundraising email from corrupt politician Rick Quinn’s former business partner,” said Laura Beth Kirsop
2017 background:
The FBI has joined the ongoing Statehouse corruption probe, raising the specter of potential federal charges in an investigation that already has ensnared four South Carolina lawmakers and exposed allegations of money laundering, influence peddling and other misconduct.
Two former State Ports Authority officials told The Post and Courier they have been interviewed by both FBI agents and state investigators about the agency’s dealings with influential political operatives, including embattled consultant Richard Quinn and his son, state Rep. Rick Quinn…
and being ever so trumpy…
Stern sold the S.C. Department of Agriculture a portion of 26 acres he owned in Lexington County in 2013 so the State Farmers Market could move there — a deal that drew scrutiny after it was reported that the state had paid $4 million more for 10 acres than Stern had shelled out for the entire parcel three years earlier, according to a Legislative Audit Council report. Stern told The State newspaper that the price reflected a number of improvements he had made to the property.
Also from 2017:
McMaster also wants Trump to fork over $180 million for the S.C. State Ports Authority (SCSPA) – yet another results-challenged Palmetto bureaucracy. This is money that would be earmarked to complete a dredging project of dubious benefit. Of course the cash would also directly benefit McMaster’s longtime political confidant – neo-Confederate GOP consultant Richard Quinn, who has raked in millions of dollars from this agency over the years.
Bill Stern, another top McMaster ally, is a member of the SCSPA’s board – where McMaster himself briefly served prior to running for lieutenant governor in 2014. Under Stern’s “leadership,” SCSPA has fallen apart. Not only has the agency failed to develop a public-private port in Jasper – the last deepwater port location on the Eastern Seaboard – it has seen the competitive position of the port of Charleston plummet compared to that of Savannah, Georgia.