Summey defends decisions

North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey says hiring the chairman of Charleston County Council as the city's new tourism director was the right decision.

And he thinks giving away three acres for a local regional planning agency to build a new headquarters in the city is good for North Charleston too.

Summey's critics, though, question his motivation, especially when they take into account that the mayor's son, Elliott Summey, is a County Council member and sits alongside Chairman Teddie Pryor, the city's new tourism boss.

"He has two people within his grasp on County Council," said Elder James Johnson, a North Charleston civil rights activist and watchdog of City Hall and the police department. "It's like he's trying to grab power and it doesn't look good."

Close ties in politics are nothing new, but in North Charleston's case, recent events have leaned in the city's favor. Besides offering free land to the local regional planning agency -- the Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments -- the city also has given office space to the Charleston County legislative delegation inside the new City Hall building. The office serves the 20 or so local lawmakers who represent Charleston County in the Statehouse.

Summey said there is nothing out of the ordinary in the moves, saying

North Charleston is just asserting itself as a geographic and logistical leader in the Lowcountry.

"It's not that we're a force to be reckoned with," he said, "but a force to move forward with."

City Hall has other strong cross-government ties, especially at the county level. City Councilman Kurt Taylor last week was promoted to deputy county administrator, making him the No. 2 person in the county's administration. And the mayor's wife, Debbie Summey, is a county magistrate whose role includes overseeing Charleston County's domestic violence court.

Summey said he would have hired Pryor even if he were not on County Council, saying he has shown a long-time enthusiasm for the city. The two have known each other for more than 25 years.

Pryor has no experience in tourism, having operated a towing service and garage. Among his emphasized duties will be recruiting warship reunions, filling area hotels and attracting sports teams to hold tournaments in the city. His pay is in the $45,000-$50,000 a year range, the mayor said.

City officials also say the gift of three acres to the Council of Governments isn't a significant financial loss, considering the city received the land, off the western side of Interstate 26 at Remount Road, for free from the federal government after the Charleston Naval Base closure in the 1990s. The Council of Governments currently is leasing space at the former base.

The council has a variety of missions, including helping to decide how to spend some types of state and federal funding that flow through regional planning groups.

Other politicians don't fault Summey for expanding the city's reach.

"I think it's part of the grand plan," said Charlie Lybrand, Charleston County's register of mesne conveyance and a long-time Summey friend.

That plan is "to make North Charleston the business center of South Carolina and let the city of Charleston be the historic base it was prior to Spoleto," Lybrand said.

Johnson, however, said the reason behind the expansion of the mayor's influence elsewhere is obvious. "I think Summey is trying to get power."

Reach Schuyler Kropf at 937-5551 or skropf@postandcourier.com.