Don't let selection of Limehousedivert from needed DOT reform

The selection of H.B. "Buck" Limehouse Jr. as the Department of Transportation's executive director has rightly been described as a premature action by a highway commission that is currently under fire on a number of fronts. The naming of a new executive director should have awaited the legislative outcome of reform bills now under consideration.

That point was made both by Gov. Mark Sanford and Commission Chairman Tee Hooper, who unfortunately had only one ally on the seven-member commission. Under the House's solid reform plan, the governor, not the commission, would name the executive director. Currently the governor only names the commission chairman. Commissioners are chosen by legislators on the basis of congressional districts.

The Senate-approved plan leaves too much power in the Legislature, which has failed miserably at keeping tabs on the scandal-ridden department. But there remains hope that the governor will be given the needed oversight when the legislation goes to a conference committee.

The governor's spokesman said Wednesday that he agrees with Mr. Hooper's objection to the selection of the department's chief executive at this time. If the Legislature gives the governor the power to name the executive director, Mr. Limehouse would be on the governor's list of qualified people, according to his spokesman.

Mr. Limehouse, a Charleston businessman long active in Republican politics, is a former commission chairman, serving from 1994-1999. His son, Chip, is a state legislator from Charleston.

The commission's decision to proceed with the appointment of an executive director in the midst of a reform effort not only is premature, it's shockingly arrogant on several fronts. The commission's own failures are reflected in a highly critical report by the Legislative Audit Council. That report led to legislative hearings and the forced retirement of the executive director, Elizabeth Mabry.

Not only is a change in the method of selection of the commission itself on the table, but the legal status of three of the sitting members is in question. In fact, a petition is circulating among legislators to set an election for next week in an attempt to resolve the problems in the recent selection of First District Commissioner Joe Young of Georgetown, who led the effort to name Mr. Limehouse.

Mr. Young, who has served on the commission for about two months, cited the "inadequacies" of current reform proposals, in comments quoted by The Greenville News, and insisted that strong leadership is needed without further delay. Those comments haven't set well with Dorchester Rep. Annette Young, who chaired the House's DOT reform task force.

If, she said, the commissioners believe that hiring an executive director is going to take the focus from DOT restructuring reform they are going to be sadly disappointed. "Nothing," she said, "is going to get in our way of getting reform in DOT."

She confirmed that reform advocates are prepared to hold up the state budget indefinitely if necessary to force action on DOT restructuring. In addition to passing stand-alone legislation, the House put the DOT reform legislation in a budget proviso. That means the House could refuse to compromise with the Senate on the budget if it doesn't agree to meaningful DOT reform. But Rep. Young doesn't think the Senate is so opposed to reform that it is willing to hold up the budget. "The Senate's got so much pork in there I'm sure we're going to have a budget," she said wryly.

DOT restructuring must be brought to fruition before the Legislature finishes its business. Reform cannot be diverted by the premature selection of a well-connected executive director.