Robert Ford: Governor, Ethics Committee Lynched Me

— by Robert Ford

I am deeply appreciative to the 27 members of the Senate and 73 members of the House who have sent emails, greeting and postcards and made phone calls, text messages and the thousands of constituents and people across the State of South Carolina who have demonstrated an outpouring of well wishes in appreciation for my service.

Initiatives

Our constituents in the Charleston Lowcountry community have grown accustomed to the fourteen Community Projects that I have co-sponsored each year that were beneficial to them.  I challenge as well as encourage Governor Nikki Haley and the sundry of Lowcountry Senators to adopt these programs.  By doing so, they will be able to see firsthand  the joy on a disabled veteran’s face when they receive a gift of food, clothing or shelter provided by initiatives such as these and in my case three times a year. The happiness and joy that a senior citizen displays when they receive the donation of an air conditioner or fan for summer heat relief.  The Health Care and Walk-Off Diabetes Day event when citizens with health care challenges see that some elected officials really care about wellness and prevention.

The appreciation shown by three African American sororities during their Annual Day at the Capitol, when they receive a gift as one of our projects recognizes them for activism and their commitment to public service.

When families have the ability to participate in three separate events that provide assistance like our New Year’s Clothes Project, the Thanksgiving Holiday Food Giveaway and Law Enforcement Community Day and receive a gift card from various grocery establishments based on need or in recognition of service, was solely intended to benefit them and not me.

In my opinion, this is what elected public service is all about, when you do things outside the call of duty to show your love and appreciation for others.  Every year, I randomly choose 25 Senate staff members for whom I purchase a gift to show this same type of gratitude and respect.  On an annual basis with more than 23,000 individuals in Senate District 42, receive birthday cards and on a much larger scale my Mother’s Day, Easter, Xmas and other holiday greetings cards on an annual basis showing them that same love, respect and appreciation.

Even my colleagues who are members of the SC General Assembly have in the past financially supported my various projects on an annual basis.  Yet, Senator Robert Ford was singled out by the S.C. Senate Ethics Committee to be destroyed.  Was this so they could feel good and show Governor Nikki Haley who has more ethics violations than any other member in South Carolina History that they could be tough on their members?

Yet, ladies and gentleman you will never know how upsetting and offensive this is to me.  When someone like me, who cares and does more for others than myself is blatantly characterized as egregious when there are others  who have violated laws and at this point have never ever been  reported about in the media.

Let me provide a brief history of the dilemma that led to my resignation from the SC Senate rather than fight  these unfounded charges made by the Senate Ethics Committee.  Even though my resignation was based on stress and other health problems it was triggered by other incidents.

Senate Ethics Committee

In early February of 2013, I was asked by the Senate Ethics Committee staff person if I was interested in his help to straighten out my Ethics Reports.  In the past other staff that held the same positions always assisted Senators with inaccurate reports, non-allowable expenditures and discrepancies.   Over the period of February through early April, he continued to ask for additional information which I provided. Most of the information was replicative copies of cancelled checks that were in my possession.  Some of the checks were hard to make out, so I tried to make them legible – so low and behold those documents became one of the allegations he and the Chairman of the Senate Ethics Committee alleged against me. 

Not one time did Chairman Rankin or any member of his staff have enough respect for me as a senator to advise me of any complaints or charges posed by the Senate Ethics Committee.  I received no official notification that cited any specific problems with my reports or the fact they needed further clarification, not one time.  I did not learn about any of these allegations except in late April when the General Assembly and general public were informed about the alleged charges.  This was the first time in the history of the SC Senate that this type of action was made a public spectacle.  I was never officially notified, never received any correspondence from the Senate Ethics Committee stating specific problems during this four month period.

After the fact, I learned that one main concern of the Senate Ethics Committee staff person was my trip to the second term President Barack Obama Inauguration. I have attended each Presidential inauguration since 1964.  Over the period of 1976 to 2012, during the week of the   Presidential Inauguration, I always attend various workshops, seminars and luncheons in Washington during this period.  I understand that questions were raised about 25% of my expenses were paid for from my campaign fund in conjunction with the trip.  Once again, these are after-the-fact questions. One hundred percent of elected officials that attend Inaugural activities use their campaign accounts to pay for these expenses or by their elected government bodies which is taxpayer dollars.  Please note that 75% of this trip was paid for by me personally. 

Not one bit of respect for me as a senator, simply a public lynching of State Senator Robert Ford.

Major Contributions of Robert Ford to the State of South Carolina

• I am proud of the fact that over a million of students will continue to benefit from the SC Education Lottery funds.  I personally campaigned and raised $300,000 for the SLEC Campaign.  I was the only State Senator that campaigned statewide for the South Carolina Education Lottery proposal.
• After the passage of the SC Education Lottery, Senators Darrell Jackson, Maggie Glover and I, went to President Pro Tempore Glenn McConnell and garnered his support to appropriate money for the five Black private religious institutions of higher learning, Allen, Benedict, Claflin, Morris and Voorhees.  South Carolina became the only State in the Union that has addressed financial provisions of this nature.  I extend my sincere gratitude and appreciation for the support of my colleagues whose support was instrumental in achieving this feat.
• I worked about six years in the Charleston Neck Area which is a part of Senate District 42, to convince my constituents to support the new State Port Authority which will be located on the Navy Shipyard and the State Port Access Road that will be built to accommodate that facility.  If I would have not been involved with this effort these projects would not have been successful and the environmental groups would have initiated a lawsuit in reference to this issue.
• The only elected official in America responsible for two legal holidays in one piece of legislation i.e., MLK Birthday which is celebrated on the first Monday in January and Confederate Memorial Day celebrated on May 10^th of each year.  Both are paid legal holidays for State Employees in the State of South Carolina.  Incidentally and once again, I was the sole sponsor of this particular piece of legislation.
• The solo sponsor for the bill that brought down the Confederate Flag and placed it behind the Confederate Soldier Monument on the Statehouse grounds.
• While serving on the Judicial Merit Selection Committee through collaborative committee efforts the number of African American and female judges increased threefold.
• The only elected official in South Carolina to actively work against the NAACP Boycott.  This boycott had the potential of destroying South Carolina’s economy for many years in the future.   The NAACP Boycott could have taken on the same tone as the South Africa Apartheid Boycott.  If you are a student of history you are aware that during the South Africa Boycott the majority of key manufacturing and industrial companies pulled out of South Africa and brought down apartheid.
•  I risked my reputation as a Civil Rights activist in the non-support of the NAACP Boycott for over a period of one year and a half.  This led to industry remaining in South Carolina and allowing new industry to come to South Carolina.
• Accompanied by fellow co-sponsors Senators Glenn McConnell and Darrell Jackson the South Carolina African American Monument is the only such monument on any Statehouse grounds in the country.  This monument will be viewed by millions of people in the future.  

I am most proud of my relationship and the experience gained by working with Senator and President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell, now our Lt. Governor.  With whom I fought for many years prior to becoming a State Senator regarding the re-location of the Confederate Flag.  We learned a lot about one another and developed a mutual respect for each other’s history and heritage.  As a result, we decided to work together on the ending of racism in South Carolina.

In closing, let’s get back to the allegations and the lynching of Robert Ford.  Everyone I know is aware of my traumatic house fire in 2006, in which everything I owned was destroyed.  Now, I have a brand new house covered under warranties.  One of the most irresponsible allegations made public by the committee was a home repair loan on my Barrett Street residence.  The loan was a personal loan that I used for my campaign office in North Charleston was repaid with my personal funds.

Governor Nikki Haley with her paramount allegations over the past few years on various ethics violations that equate to millions of dollars.  House Speaker Bobby Harrell whose violations of $400,000 aren’t even mentioned in the media any longer.  But Rep. Harold Mitchell who was deemed with ethics violations and ultimately suspended by the House Speaker for an entire Legislative Session and I are still being investigated and targeted.

A number of Legislative Black Caucus members have commented that Ford and Mitchell are Black community elected public servants and the other two violators are white and therefore treated differently. I hope and pray that racism is not a factor in these situations.

Issues like Flow Control, School Choice and Congressman Jim Clyburn, being pro-union put me at odds with at least eight of ten of the members of the Ethics Committee.  How can I get a fair hearing with eight of the ten members have opposite views of me on those issues.  Thousands of citizens believe that being at odds with a majority of the Senate Ethics Committee members may have played a role in the alleged infractions and unfounded allegations.

I have been a public servant for the past 50 years and an elected public servant for the past 39 years. As I undertake my new role, I will spend the rest of my life fighting for the good of humanity, particularly the least of these.  I will continue to challenge every elected official on a daily basis to do the same.

One hundred percent of what I  have practices as an elected public servant is based on the teachings of Dr. James Bevels, Rev. Dr. James Orange and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference philosophy.

I would like to remind all elected officials that you are elected to serve the people – it is not the other way around.  Brothers and Sisters get pass the big head and do your job!

In spite of the fact of the statue and power of the many of the members of the Senate Ethics Committee, it is imperative that I get this off my conscience and tell my side of the story that must be told.  I am encouraged to do so by the people who love and have supported me for years and that know the grit of Robert Ford the man.