http://www.thestate.com/2010/06/21/1343532/sanfords-whereabouts-secret.html#storylink=omni_popular#ixzz0rbIm0sJdNearly one year to the day that Gov. Mark Sanford embarked on a secret trip to Argentina and turned S.C. politics on its ear, Sanford’s whereabouts are unknown to the press and the public.
Monday, Sanford’s spokesman Ben Fox told The State Sanford is on “personal time” but declined to say where the governor is.
Sanford is due back in the office this morning, Fox said. He spent most of the Father’s Day weekend with his four sons, and the governor has been in communication with his staff over the weekend and Monday, Fox added.
State Law Enforcement Division Director Reggie Lloyd said Sanford has security with him but would not elaborate.
“We’ve left it up to the governor’s office to disclose where (Sanford) is,” Lloyd said.
Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer said Monday no one has informed him of the governor’s location.
“The governor is entitled to personal time, vacation time. No problem with that,” said John Crangle, director of Common Cause, a nonprofit that encourages open government. “But, because of the importance of the office of governor, he should at least notify the lieutenant governor if he’s outside the state. When you assume a public office, you forfeit some of your privacy because you’re accountable to the public.”
The state constitution allows for the lieutenant governor to act as governor during the governor’s absence if a state emergency arises.
The vagueness of the constitutional provision created havoc last summer when Sanford misled his staff to believe he was hiking the Appalachian Trail when he was really in Argentina with his lover, Maria Belen Chapur.
The two have continued to see each other, Sanford has said, including a Florida getaway in May. Sanford’s divorce from his ex-wife, Jenny Sanford, was finalized in March.
Some lawmakers considered the governor’s disappearance last June an impeachable offense. Ultimately, Sanford was censured by the Legislature but not removed from office.
Several lawmakers vowed to clarify the state constitution following the fiasco.
A bill requiring the governor to notify the lieutenant governor every time he leaves the state is currently stuck in a legislative conference committee.
The sticking point is how much temporary power the lieutenant governor should be granted if the governor is out of contact for 12 hours with his staff or the State Law Enforcement Division.
The bill’s House version limits the lieutenant governor’s power to only make decisions related to public health emergencies, life-threatening natural disasters, nuclear accidents and other emergencies, while the Senate version grants the lieutenant governor full gubernatorial authority, including veto power.
“Hopefully, we can get it resolved soon,” said Rep. Jim Harrison, R-Richland, who sits on the conference committee.
Reach Smith at (803) 771-8658.
