COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - The board overseeing the South Carolina Ports Authority voted Wednesday to suspend payments to embattled GOP consultant Richard Quinn amid a broadening investigation into potential corruption at the Statehouse.
The board voted 5-3 at the special meeting called by Chairman Patrick McKinney, reports The Post and Courier (https://bit.ly/2nBtCa9 ).
Quinn has not been charged in the probe, and he said last week he’s proud of the work done for the ports.
The board’s former chairman, Bill Stern, accused McKinney of retaliating against Quinn and Gov. Henry McMaster, a former political rival and longtime Quinn client who is replacing McKinney on the board. The vote gives the impression Quinn did something wrong, Stern said.
McKinney denied having any vendetta, the newspaper reported.
“I am more convinced than ever that it is in the best interests of the SPA to suspend our relationship,” McKinney said. “Acknowledging that no formal charges have been filed, and may not ever be filed, there is enough legal uncertainty that this suspension is more than warranted.”
Other voting to suspend included board member Mike Sisk, who said the ports don’t need to be associated with the “political distraction.”
Earlier this month, special prosecutor David Pascoe sought records of all payments to Quinn, his son Rep. Rick Quinn, and their firms. Ports CEO Jim Newsome was also subpoenaed to testify before the state grand jury, but that request was withdrawn after the data was provided.
Pascoe has sought no additional information, Newsome said Wednesday.
The state agency has paid Quinn’s public relations firm First Impressions more than $2.6 million since early 2009. An additional $325,000 went to a separate firm jointly run by Quinn and consultant Bob McAlister, according to documents provided to The Associated Press and other media outlets through public records requests.
The agency’s monthly payment to First Impressions dropped from $9,000 to $8,100 last summer after McKinney questioned paying consultants without a written contract. In a July 2016 memo written in response, Quinn said the flat fee covers advising Ports Authority executives and board members “on strategic communications and public relations issues” and keeping them informed “on trends in public opinion and political issues” impacting the ports.
Public opinion surveys, advertising and public awareness campaigns cost additional. The agency paid $60,000 last October for the most recent statewide survey, the documents show.
The widening investigation prompted a legislative screening panel last week to delay voting on whether to advance McMaster’s picks for the South Carolina Ports Authority board.
The Ports Authority oversight board wants to thoroughly review the two nominees’ associations with Quinn, said its chairman, Sen. Larry Grooms, R-Charleston.
The connections appear to be small, but amid the investigation, Grooms said, they “need to be thoroughly vetted so everyone’s comfortable moving forward.”
The legislative panel is considering McMaster’s replacements for McKinney and another board member.
McMaster’s nominations to the expired terms have nothing to do with the Quinns, said his spokesman, Brian Symmes.
Both McMaster and McKinney were appointed to the ports board in early 2011 by then-Gov. Nikki Haley. In 2014, McMaster beat McKinney in a four-way primary race for lieutenant governor - a campaign in which both cited their ties to Haley. She re-nominated McKinney to the ports board last year for another five-year term, but senators delayed his confirmation.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.