Overnight strategy trip to resort draws criticism
COLUMBIA -- Gov. Nikki Haley asked her staff to pack up and head for Kiawah
Island just before Labor Day, where they dined on Beaufort seafood stew and
stayed overnight in luxury beach cottages to escape the political bubble and
plan their strategy.
As South Carolinians suffer under a crushing economy with an unemployment
rate closer to the Great Depression than any time since then, at least one
of her critics says the first-term Republican is tone deaf and out of touch.
The $3,641 retreat, held from the afternoon of Sept. 1 until the morning of
Sept. 2 and paid for with campaign cash, is the second time since June that
Haley's travel has conflicted with her pledged financial values and raised
questions about her priorities.
However, others such as Patsy Cisneros, owner of the California-based
Corporate Icon and Political Icon, an image development company, see such
retreats as useful and productive breaks from office routine.
As for professional development, "It is best to be in a retreat
environment," Cisneros said. "You're not interrupted by the phone calls and
thinking, 'I've got to get to this paperwork.' "
The Post and Courier revealed earlier this month that the governor spent
$127,000 on an economic development swing through Europe that so far has not
landed any jobs. On the trip, Haley, her husband, who paid his own travel
expenses, and a team of state recruiters stayed at five-star hotels, spent
time at the French presidential palace and had cocktails at the Paris Ritz.
Business as usual?
Haley is not the state's first governor to hold a staff retreat outside of
the capital city. Her predecessor and one-time mentor Gov. Mark Sanford,
also a Republican, invited his staff to Coosaw, his family's farm in
Beaufort, where they cooked hamburgers and hotdogs on the fire pit and slept
in sleeping bags.
Chris Drummond, Sanford's former communications director, said he couldn't
recall how the retreat was paid for.
"There were grocery bags coming out of the back of the trucks," he said. "It
was very, very casual and informal."
Former Democratic Gov. Jim Hodges said he never held a staff retreat. His
staff meetings were held in the governor's office, Hodges said.
The late Gov. Carroll Campbell held staff get-aways every year, said Bob
McAlister, Campbell's chief of staff. McAlister said he could not recall the
details of where the staff stayed other than it was on Santee Cooper
property on the lakes. Campbell served from 1987 to 1995.
"You've got to get away from the pressure of the governor's office,"
McAlister said. "That is very common. It is useful and it should not be
criticized."
McAlister said he could not remember how Campbell paid for the retreats, but
he applauded Haley for using campaign funds.
"If Nikki paid for it out of campaign funds, then it's nobody's business,"
he said. "If she wants to take the staff to Kiawah, more power to her."
Haley's public schedule released by her office says nothing about the
retreat, but lists a series of economic development calls during the time
the retreat was held.
What was on agenda
The governor's press secretary, Rob Godfrey, said Haley juggled the calls
while spending time with her husband, Michael, and the 17 members of her
staff who attended. The purpose of the retreat was for the staff to chart
their plans for the rest of the year and the 2012 legislative session. They
also talked about the governor's executive budget and Haley's upcoming town
hall meetings, Godfrey said.
The retreat was a success, in part because of the escape it provided from
the Columbia political scene, Godfrey said.
"Like many organizations, we think staff retreats are useful and productive,
and we will very likely have more of them," he said.
The governor's office rented four cottages in Kiawah's Cassique community,
promoted online as featuring luxury amenities that make the perfect spot to
entertain guests, socialize with friends or host a corporate retreat. A
spokesman for the Kiawah Island Club said rates vary for events and declined
to provide specifics about Haley's retreat.
The guests had Beaufort stew and banana pudding with wine and beer for
dinner, catered by the Beach Club.
A perception problem?
State Democratic Party Chairman Dick Harpootlian said the trip sends the
wrong message, especially in a state with double-digit unemployment. Haley
stood by when the state Department of Education rejected $144 million for
public schools and allowed her Cabinet agency to slash Medicaid benefits for
women and children, Harpootlian said.
"She cut everybody's standard of living but hers," he said. "Now, she's
using campaign funds to take a luxury trip to Kiawah Island. It gives the
appearance she doesn't care about the average South Carolinians, but I think
it's more than an appearance."
Harpootlian said the governor's use of campaign money on a retreat for
employees who are paid with tax dollars raises questions. State Ethics
Commission Executive Director Herb Hayden, however, said state law allows
public officials to use campaign cash toward their official elected
responsibilities.
Patsy Cisneros said a trip on a swanky get-away can look insensitive, but a
little pampering for employees can make them feel appreciated. Plus,
Cisneros said expensive destinations have been hit by the economy like
everywhere else, and a staff retreat could bring them much-needed money.
Staff retreats are common in the business and political world, she said.
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