Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Say bi-partisan effort should be an example for the House.
In a press conference at the Statehouse on Tuesday, Treasurer Curtis Loftis and Sen. Vincent Sheheen (D-Kershaw) announced the need to establish a special fund that would compensate victims of the Department of Revenue’s cybersecurity breach last September. Loftis and Sheheen made the announcement as the House begins deliberations over the budget. The measure they called for would require an amendment to the existing budget bill. In order to be reimbursed from the fund, a South Carolina taxpayer would have to submit a claim to the Treasurer’s office and proof that a financial loss occurred as a result of the breach. More than six million people may have been affected by the hack. Read Patch's coverage of it HERE. Last month, Sheheen …
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Latest chapter in long-running battle.
On Friday, the South Carolina Investment Commission announced that the return on the state pension fund for year-end 2012 was 12 percent. For the three years ending Dec. 31, 2012 the return was 8.3 percent. The state assumes at least a 7.5 percent return for budgeting purposes. The Commission has been existence since 2005, but this was the first time it has released a report on calendar-year results of the fund, which is used to pay for state employee pensions. The worse the fund performs, the more employers--who are paid with tax dollars--have to contribute. While the Commission boasted of the fund's performance, State Treasurer Curtis Loftis was far from satisfied. He issued the following statement (see attached documents and …
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Most of the seats look safe, but a few others are all but certain to be challenged.
Much of the political media’s attention on 2014 has focused on Gov. Nikki Haley’s re-election prospects and on the two senate races that will feature Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott, who will both be heavily favored to get re-elected. But down the ticket, in the other statewide constitutional offices, chatter and positioning has already begun. Those offices are (with current occupant—all of whom are Republicans): Loftis and Wilson have been rumored to seek higher office from the time they were sworn in. But Loftis squelched such rumors when he announced last month he’ll run for re-election. Wilson has not disclosed his plans. Neither man should get much of a challenge in a primary or general election. But insiders on both sides of the …
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Puts popular rumor to rest.
One of the truisms in politics is that as soon as a politician wins a significant office, the talk immediately turns to the next significant office he can win. So, from the time Curtis Loftis swept to the Treasurer's office in 2010 with a rout of incumbent Converse Chellis, he has been talked about as a possible challenger to Gov. Nikki Haley. But Loftis put such rumors to bed on Friday afternoon. Appearing on WPDE NewsChannel 15, Loftis told anchor Tim McGinnis that he will not run for governor. The full interview will air on Sunday morning. Loftis should have little trouble getting re-elected to Treasurer. He has broad support among Tea Party Republicans and was also Mitt Romney's State Chair in 2012. Since taking office, Loftis has had …
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
While many post-debate snap polls gave Obama the win in Monday night's foreign policy debate, crowd cheers Romney comments on Israel, Iran, and nation's diminished global reputation.
Voters in search of zingers or stage-stalking were undoubtedly disappointed by the third and final presidential debate between President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. Held at Boca Raton, Fla. with CBS News’ Bob Shieffer moderating, Obama and Romney were nothing if not sober in their discussion of foreign policy. Prior to the debate, a group of about 30 voters gathered in Columbia as Charles Bierbauer, Dean of USC’s College of Mass Communications and Information Studies, talked with State Treasurer Curtis Loftis about what to expect. Loftis was Romney’s state chair in South Carolina and said he thought the former Massachusetts Governor was the “right man at the right time” to pull the country out of the doldrums. Loftis cited Romney’s work …
Friday, August 31, 2012
24 of 25 delegates support the former Massachusetts governor.
As South Carolina Chairman, State Treasurer Curtis Loftis had the duty of pledging 24 of the Palmetto State's 25 delegates to nominate Mitt Romney for president. The remaining delegate supported Ron Paul. See the attached video for Loftis' nomination. He's joined by Deputy Chair Cindy Costa and Reps. Alan Clemmons and Nathan Ballentine.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
State treasurer risked political capital with early endorsement.
Curtis Loftis may be a latecomer to politics, but he’s an early riser. He recently left a message for a journalist at 5 a.m., advising him to call as soon as he gets up. Indeed, Loftis has been plenty busy of late in his day job as the State Treasurer, so his schedule could very well match that of a drill sergeant. But this week he’s in Tampa as co-chair of the South Carolina delegation to the Republican National Convention. The convention is the culmination of a whirlwind year for Loftis, a Tea Party favorite who was 52 when he entered electoral politics for the first time. He was the first major politician in South Carolina to endorse presumptive nominee Mitt Romney, was Romney's chair for the state and campaigned tirelessly on the …
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Loftis says Americans are ready for an adult political conversation and doesn't believe Ryan's controversial Medicare stance poses any great harm in the long run.
Republican state Treasurer Curtis Loftis, an early and ardent supporter of Mitt Romney, downplayed the growing brouhaha over Romney's VP pick, Paul Ryan, whose controversial Medicare proposals could affect not only the outcome of the presidential race but down-ticket races for Congressional seats as well. Following a town hall meeting in Mauldin earlier this week, Loftis told Patch he's not overly concerned or convinced that Ryan's Medicare stance (which many critics have contended "would end Medicare as we know it") will have the negative impact on the GOP that political analysts and even many Republican strategists fear it might. "I'm not concerned about it, or about Ryan. People just are beginning to pay attention [to the race]," said …
Monday, August 13, 2012
Round two of the fight between state employees and the administration has begun.
In a much-expected action, a state employee has sued the State Budget and Control Board (BCB) over its decision last week to hike health care costs for state employees by 4.6 percent. The move by the BCB affected over 400,000 South Carolina residents. The interests of those residents will be represented by Thomas A. Bryson, Ph.d, a Chemistry professor at the University of South Carolina. Bryson is listed on the USC website as the director of Graduate Studies. In a 3-2 vote last week, the BCB circumvented the state legislature, which passed on the opportunity to address the issue in its most recent session. Gov. Nikki Haley, State Treasurer Curtis Loftis and State Comptroller Richard Eckstrom cast votes in favor while Hugh Leatherman, the …
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Budget and Control Board votes for hike after legislature declined on opportunity.
Nearly one tenth of South Carolinians will see their health care costs go up by 4.6 percent. The hike comes as a result of a move by the State Budget and Control Board that circumvented the wishes of the legislature. The Board, at the urging of Gov. Nikki Haley, voted 3-2 to increase the amount state employees will pay toward their health insurance. Dependents and retirees are also affected by the move. All told, over 400,000 residents will pay an extra $85 per year. State employees responded to the decision, which went against the wishes of the legislature, with outrage and by threatening legal action. The State has more on the story here.
Kathleen
3:42 pm on Saturday, January 26, 2013
Exactly, Gov. Haley...popular? Only if you ask her Mom. more ›