Reeves talks about past arrests

Morgan Bruce Reeves, Green Party and United Citizens Party nominee for governor, faced nine charges in the 1990s, ranging from passing fraudulent checks to driving under suspension and with no insurance.

Reeves also was charged with assault and battery in May 1998, though that charge was dismissed.

Reeves said Monday that he never has claimed to be perfect, and that his past misdemeanors should not affect how voters see him.

"I have nothing in my past to be ashamed of," he said. "I'm not lily white. I want people to know me as a man who has been through something."

Reeves first was arrested and convicted on two fraudulent check charges in 1993, according to State Law Enforcement Division records. A day after his assault and battery arrest in 1998, he also was charged with several driving offenses, including driving under suspension, failing to register a vehicle, failing to return a suspended driver's license and operating an uninsured vehicle. He also was arrested on another fraudulent check charge in 1998.

"You can be charged with something but not be guilty. I have no felonies, so who cares?" Reeves asked, adding that some stemmed from business challenges.

"I'm just glad my business is still going right now. I'm not part of the 50 percent of the people who have lost their business," he said. "We've had a rough time in business. A lot of people have written me a lot of bad checks."

A former college football player who is trying to get serious attention as an alternative to Republican Nikki Haley and Democrat Vincent Sheheen in the governor's race, Reeves is touting a multibillion-dollar plan to revamp the state's education and infrastructure, particularly by adding new high-speed rail.

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He said Monday that he is fighting to be included in the upcoming gubernatorial debates and also is asking S.C. Chamber of Commerce President Otis Rawl to step down because the chamber did not talk to third-party candidates before making its endorsements for governor.

"You hate to use the word 'discriminate,' but what else can you do?" Reeves asked. "They're pushing me up against the wall."

Reeves said if he receives more attention because of his past arrests, that could help him. "I need a scandal," he joked. "Maybe that will take me to the top."

Reach Robert Behre at 937-5771 or at rbehre@postandcourier.com.