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Volume 3 Issue 12 |
October 19, 2007 |
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Lettitor |
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Coffee. Just the word ‘coffee’ makes me happy. I must have been a Navy man in a former life because I like to drink mine black, in a real cup and standing up. No frou frou flavors or whipped cream. No Venti-sized half-caff with sprinkles. Just the stiff stuff, freshly made and poured without fanfare. To me, a hot cup of coffee is an aromatic tool- one I reach for several times a day to bring these hundreds of bits of information together to create this newspaper. Good coffee is really good. Bad coffee is really hideous. |
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Community vs. Neighborhood |
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| On Tuesday afternoon at Budiroes, approximately 100 people gathered at a meeting of the newly formed Isle of Palms Community Association (IOPCA). The meeting was led by Rod Shealy, a political consultant and grassroots organizer, hired by the IOPCA from Columbia, SC. His previous clients include Henry Brown, Andrew Bauer, and most recently Thomas Ravanel. They have formed in opposition to the similarly named, yet very different, Isle of Palms Neighborhood Association (IOPNA) which has endorsed the candidate slate of incumbent Jane McMackin, Ralph Piening, Brian Duffy and Mike Loftus. Steve Baldrick stated, “When I saw what was happening with the SaveIOP! crowd it upset me because I saw what they were doing with City Council, trying to intimidate everybody. That got me emotional, so I called my friends and that’s how this started.” Shealy believes that the IOPCA represents the majority viewpoint that residents want stronger property rights versus regulations. When asked for details about property rights from the audience, he replied, “I’m not going to try and be very specific. I’m just a messenger.” He added that the majority of people say they’re for property rights based on the 60 to 80 e-mails he has read. Shealy said that the IOPCA believes that the IOPNA slate of four candidates want to curb property rights and that the IOPNA represents a minority opinion. According to the handout that was provided to audience members by the IOPCA, the IOPNA is simply a “sham group owned and operated by candidates”. The letter echoed John Marino, also an incumbent candidate, who referred to the IOPNA slate as the “Gang of Four” at the October 3 candidate forum, and went so far as to refer to their approach to government as “socialist”. It warned if they “take control” that the “IOP government will regulate every facet of our property...which is in effect controlling our lives.” As of the date of their meeting, the IOPCA had not yet selected a slate of candidates of their own. However, Shealy said that at their last meeting, there was a consensus that Carron Smoak would be one of the candidates that they would like to endorse. Smoak was present and scheduled to speak. After an ovation, Smoak stated, “I’m honored and delighted that you are choosing to show me this support.” Smoak told the group that she has been a resident for 12 years and a Sea Cabin rental property owner since 1999. As a result, she believes that she sees both sides of the property rights issue. “I need your support. I want your support,” she added. Jane McMackin, who was also present, was given a moment to say something as she attempted to leave when candidates and media were asked to give the group privacy to discuss their slate. “I don’t want to take anything away from Carron,” she said. However, she took a shot at the rival organization and added, “[The IOPNA] grassroots campaign came from the people, not from a hired consultant from Columbia.” Shealy responded with sarcasm saying, “Of course, this room is all consultants. There are no people here.” If the October 3 candidate forum was a hint of things to come, the IOPCA meeting confirmed that this election will pit two clear-cut ideologies against each other. While there are many issues, the deciding one will likely be property rights versus single family district ideals. Shealy says the IOPCA will “have the strength they need for the task at hand” if current members ask friends to join in order to get 500 members. The task: to “keep the small minority group [IOPNA] from taking over” in order to conserve property rights. Although the “majority” opinion that Shealy believes the IOPCA represents is still a matter of argument that no consultant, candidate, or resident can know for sure, everyone can agree on the following statement which he authored. “We’re going to find out the first Tuesday in November whether or not this, in fact, really does represent the majority opinion.” The IOPCA was expected to announce their slate at their October 17 meeting. However, that information was not available by our publication deadline. |
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IOP campaign becomes “feud-tastic” |
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| The first of three Isle of Palms City Council candidate forums was held on October 3 at the Exchange Club. The event, which was sponsored by the IOP Business Council, was emceed by recent Planning Commission appointee and owner of Island Realty, Sandy Stone. The questions focused primarily on rental property issues. One question about the Recreation Center and a possible future pool allowed most of the candidates to praise the Center’s growth and express their “fiscally conservative” nature by saying other things needed to be dealt with before money could be spent on a pool. Stone also asked for the candidates’ opinions on increasing taxes. Although most answered that the City could be more responsible and money re-allocated, Buckhannon summarized the question with another by asking “Who likes taxes?” With the candidates left answering questions about rental issues, the business minded audience was free to analyze their candidate options. However, it quickly became apparent in the first of three candidate forums that the campaign trail may not be as pretty as a morning walk on Front Beach. Ryan Buckhannon, Brian Duffy, Carron Smoak and Ralph Piening kept their feet clean during the forum and stuck to the questions. Leola Hanbury did the same, but warned in her closing statements that replacing a large portion of Council with new blood could be dangerous. Piening, and his fellow running mates, told the audience that there was no need to worry if they were elected because they are not against rentals and do not want to cap rentals. Piening, who had led the SaveIOP! group that asked Council to cap rentals, says that he is capable of having an opinion, researching the issue, and changing his mind based on facts. “I’ll listen to anyone,” Piening said. However, the stigma of SaveIOP! may not be so easy to overcome. In a continuation of his recent letter to the editor, incumbent John Marino, referred to the slate of McMackin, Duffy, Loftus, and Piening as the “Gang of Four” on several occasions. His moniker referenced a recent Island Eye article, where the slate of candidates consisting of Duffy, Piening, Jane McMackin, and Mike Loftus were referred to as the IOPNA Fantastic Four. Perhaps, it was because of this mistaken opinion that Marino felt the need to counter the “fantastic” with a negatively inflected word like “gang.” It all began after one of the many questions about rental properties when the candidates were asked about the efficiency of livability laws. Marino used his turn to refer to the IOPNA slate as the “gang of four” and reasoned that they wanted to outlaw rentals in the SR-1 and SR-2 districts. Loftus, who sat at Marino’s right, got to speak after him on every occasion. He countered by saying, “obviously [Marino] hasn’t been paying attention”. He explained that the Four do not want to outlaw rentals, but are against mini-hotels in the single family districts. Marino used the following question about SR-1 and SR-2 zoning laws speak about the IOPNA slate once again. After mirroring the Four by saying he wasn’t against rentals, just mini-hotels in the single-family zones, he warned the audience that the “gang” may say one thing but do something else if elected. “Like you did?” McMackin responded. Loftus stuck to the question on his turn. Piening let the audience know that they are not a gang as Marino was stating during his turns. When asked about home size and lot coverage, Marino stated that he was against sub-dividing lots and was for caps on the size of new homes with rental potential and for reducing lot coverage by five percent. Loftus responded by saying that Marino was part of the group that created the ordinance which allowed the mini-hotels in the SR-1,2 districts in the first place. He added, “I’m glad to see [Marino] finally sees the light.” There was only one more question about owner/non-owner occupied property before the candidates made closing statements. Marino and Loftus both laid their weapons down to answer and coast to the finish. When later asked about his “gang of four” references, Marino replied, “I’d like to keep this campaign about the issues.” This candidate forum was the first of three. The next one will be on October 24 at the Sweetgrass Pavilion Conference Center in Wild Dunes from 7:00-9:00pm. The last one will be on October 30 from 7:00-9:00 at the Isle of Palms Exchange Club. |
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