Reproduced from The
Post and Courier, Charleston, SC (used with permission)
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Miles reassures James Island crowdBy: JASON HARDIN Of The Post and Courier StaffOriginally Published on: 03/09/02 Page: B3 AH: Visiting secretary of state says application for incorporation to be handled fairly It had all the trappings of a campaign rally: a big bus emblazoned with the candidate’s name, a crowd of curious residents, even the traditional posing with the baby. But Secretary of State Jim Miles didn’t mention his run for the Republican nomination for governor Friday afternoon on James Island. Instead, he assured proponents of a town of James Island that his office, charged with reviewing the application for incorporation, will act quickly and impartially. “Our role is to make sure that what you want done, and the way you want to do it, is proper,” Miles said. “We want to make sure that if there is any question whatsoever, we resolve it.” The visit came a few days after town backers questioned whether the city of Charleston was attempting to influence the Secretary of State’s office in the hopes of quashing the incorporation effort. They cited a letter Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr. sent to Miles asking for a meeting on the issue before a decision is reached. City Attorney Bill Regan said that the city simply wants to review the application. Miles told about 40 town backers not to read anything unseemly into the letter and that his office will review the application fairly and openly. “Y’all will know everything Joe Riley knows. And he will know everything you know. Y’all be assured there will be evenhanded treatment,” he said. Miles didn’t say when his office would reach a decision on the application, or what the decision might be, but he managed to leave town backers feeling optimistic. “I take self-determination very seriously. I feel that’s a very important ideal in America,” he said. Town backers called Miles’ appearance a good omen, reasoning that he would not likely make an appearance if he intended to stall or nitpick the application. “I cannot believe that the secretary of state, who’s in an active campaign for governor, would come down here, announce he’s coming, drive up in his campaign bus, to set up 10,000 voters for disappointment,” said Eugene Platt, a commissioner with the James Island Public Service District. “I would be amazed if he didn’t come through.” Miles said his review will be a strictly technical process aimed at ensuring that the proposed town conforms to state law on incorporation. The first town of James Island failed when the S.C. Supreme Court ruled that its boundaries illegally crossed waterways claimed by the city of Charleston, a barrier since overturned by a change in state law. During his visit to the Folly Road offices that had served as Town Hall for the first town, he went over a map of the proposed new town with incorporation backers. Attorney Trent Kernodle, who is assisting the incorporation effort, said that great pains were taken to make sure the boundaries are flawless, if a bit convoluted. “It is cut up, no doubt. But is it able to be connected by the statute? We made sure that it is,” he said. “If there’s any doubt, we left it out.” Miles left shortly after talking to town backers and posing for a picture with a baby, whom he jiggled expertly to coax a smile for the camera. Residents who favor the town said they were pleased with what they heard Friday. Some said they back incorporation because they want to control their own destiny and to avoid what they see as the city’s desire to expand its tax base to pay for ambitious projects. “If they keep making it like a Disneyland down there, they won’t have anyone to pay taxes. So they want us,” said island resident Chris Lawings. If Miles’ office concludes that the proposed incorporation conforms to state law, a referendum would be held on whether to incorporate. Incorporation would require a simple majority of voters. |
Reproduced from The
Post and Courier, Charleston, SC (used with permission)
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