Newly Elected State Treasurer Converse Chellis Vows Life Scholarships Will Remain Fully Funded

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Newly Elected State Treasurer Converse Chellis Vows Current Life Scholarships Will Remain Fully Funded Says on ETV's "The Big Picture" It Will be Tops on His Agenda

Gov. Sanford Sees Gen. Assembly's Failure to Choose Tim Scott as Treasurer As a Missed Opportunity Says Appointing Scott Would Have Been a "Twofer," And a Way to Address "An Awfully Strange Historical Anomaly in SC"

For Immediate Release
August 8, 2007

Columbia SC...In response to a question from ETV's Andrew Gobeil as to whether students who have been awarded LIFE scholarships will receive the total amount of money they've been promised during the next four years, newly elected State Treasurer Converse Chellis vowed they would.

"Absolutely. I can say that," said Chellis. "We'll work at that. No matter what happens, they will get that scholarship money."

His comments came during an interview that will appear on ETV's "The Big Picture" on Thursday, Aug. 9 at 7:30 p.m.

Further underscoring his interest in examining the issue, the newly elected treasurer said that looking into the lottery-funded scholarships "will be the first thing we will do."

During the far-reaching interview, Gobeil also asked the Republican why he hadn't run for treasurer when the position was up for grabs last year. Said Chellis, "I had a lot of respect for the office. (Democrat) Grady Patterson was the treasurer at that time. I saw no reason to challenge someone who had a successful career here and was doing a good job."

Later on during the half-hour program, Gobeil speaks to Governor Mark Sanford about Chellis' recent appointment.

"There are certainly some talented people within the 170 people that make up the General Assembly," Sanford said. "But there are 4.2 million people across the state of SC. And when you are talking about something that involves accounting, or banking, or finance backgrounds, I bet that there are literally hundreds of people with great qualifications across this state. And wouldn't we be stronger as a state if we really looked out rather than in? What I am really getting at here is the inward-looking nature of Columbia politics. And if we are really going to successfully compete in the 21st century, in this so-called 'flat world' that we compete in, it's imperative that we get into the business of always looking out first before looking in. If our selection process is restricted to 'Who's my buddy to the left?' or 'Who's my buddy to the right?' and 'Are they a member of the General Assembly?' I don't think we're really searching the talent pool that does exist here in SC.

When asked by Gobeil if there were a need for SC to create a new constitution, Sanford replied, "I have said it for a long time now, and very publicly, I detest the Constitution of 1895. It was a racist constitution, put in place at a time when people feared a black man being elected governor of SC. I think if that is your operating footprint in the 21st century, you got some profound challenges, 'cause it was put into place in a time when neither blacks nor women could really participate in our political system. And I am a white man. I got nothing against white men, but to have that as the sole...talent pool from which you decide how things will get arranged, to me...leaves a lot of other perspectives out.

"It has been the way that it has been since 1895 for a reason...we've got some awfully well-worn political grooves in SC that will take awhile to change. Maybe these changes happen in my administration, maybe they don't. But what I do know is that if we're not talking about them now, there is no prospect of them changing, either in this administration, or frankly, the next.

"...My objection is not against Converse Chellis versus somebody else versus somebody else. It is about a process...Think about how effective that Constitution of 1895 has been. It was designed based on a fear that a black man would be elected governor in SC. It wasn't its only purpose in design, but a large part of it. It has been amazingly effective because not since 1895 have we had one single black constitutional officer. Not one. And so my point was, as well, boy this is a chance to correct an awfully strange historical anomaly in SC (by selecting Charleston County Council Chairman Tim Scott)...You can actually appoint somebody, if you found somebody qualified-and in this case of color-you could get a twofer in terms of trying to get things on a little bit different course."

Contact: Catherine Christman (803) 737-3259 or christman@scetv.org