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SC drama shows second-in-command not always wanted

By WTOP Staff

JEFFREY COLLINS
Associated Press

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — For weeks, political intrigue swirled in South Carolina over a part-time position no one seemed to want, especially for just six months.

How hard was it to find someone to become lieutenant governor in South Carolina? Well, Republicans in line for the job refused. And Democrats — who haven’t won a statewide race in South Carolina since 2006 — weren’t exactly tempted either. Finally, a state senator whose re-election was in doubt offered to take the seat.

The saga reminds some people of when John Nance Garner, vice president of the U.S. under Franklin Roosevelt, said the No. 2 office “is not worth a bucket of warm spit,” (or in some accounts, something even more vulgar).

It would help if states gave their second-in-command more responsibilities, said the executive director of the National Lieutenant Governor’s Association.

“It is the second-highest ranking elected official in the state. You can make it into whatever your state needs,” said Julia Hurst, executive director of the association.

South Carolina’s constitution says the office of lieutenant governor’s post — when vacated — is to be filled by the powerful president pro tempore of the state Senate. So when Lt. Gov. Ken Ard resigned in 2012 after pleading guilty to spending campaign money on personal items, GOP Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell was legally mandated to take over the office. McConnell’s friends told him that it was the biggest political sacrifice in South Carolina history.

Others weren’t so ready to sacrifice when McConnell decided to step down as lieutenant governor after two years on the job to become president at the College of Charleston.

The next Senate leader, John Courson, adamantly refused to be lieutenant governor — he even stepped down as Senate president pro tem to avoid being forced to take the job. And on and on. Not one of the state’s 28 GOP senators wanted it.

Finally, a Democrat volunteered. Sen. Yancey McGill, who had faced a very difficult primary in 2012 and won by only 81 votes, agreed to become president pro tem of the Senate and thus be elevated to the post of lieutenant governor.

The position of lieutenant governor is up for election this year. Not even all the candidates want the job: the second-place finisher in the Republican primary dropped out two days after the race. The first- and third-place GOP finishers face each other in the runoff Tuesday. One or the other will face Democrat Rep. Bakari Sellers in the November ballot. McGill didn’t become lieutenant governor until Wednesday, and so he missed the March deadline to file for the race for the $46,545 a year part-time job.

Connecticut is the only other state that pulls the next lieutenant governor from such a powerful position. Other states use a different officeholder or leave the office vacant.

The hesitancy to give up power to be second banana isn’t new in the U.S.

Future President William Henry Harrison asked U.S. Sen. Daniel Webster to be his running mate in 1840.

“I do not propose to be buried until I am really dead,” Webster replied. The famed orator missed out. Harrison died 32 days into his term.

Being a lieutenant governor doesn’t necessarily banish one to a political wasteland. The National Lieutenant Governor’s Association crunched numbers that show about one in every four governors in the past 100 years spent some time in the No. 2 office before being elevated whether by election or a governor leaving office.

And Hurst said another encouraging trend is giving lieutenant governors more power. In South Carolina, the second-in-command has three jobs — take over if the governor can no longer serve, preside over the state Senate and a new position added 10 years ago — overseeing the state Office on Aging. Most states give their No. 2 job even more power. Indiana’s lieutenant governor has 42 different responsibilities. Colorado and several other states put the No. 2 person in charge of higher education.

“The office of lieutenant governor can be and should be anything the state wants to make it,” Hurst said.

That is a far cry from what the first U.S. vice president, John Adams, thought of his job. In a letter to his wife, he called the No. 2 post “the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived or his imagination conceived.”

Lieutenant governors do sometimes get a chance to shine. In Virginia, the governor was out of the country when a gunman killed 32 people at Virginia Tech University and Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling received praise for leading the initial response. In Iowa, the lieutenant governor is the state’s Homeland Security director and took charge of recovery from floods that covered hundreds of square miles in June 2008 and caused $10 billion in damage. In Minnesota, the lieutenant governor also is the commissioner of the state Transportation Department and in 2007, dealt with a major bridge collapse in Minneapolis.

So being the second-in-command may not be the path to obscurity that Thomas Marshall, U.S. vice president under Woodrow Wilson, joked about.

“Once there were two brothers,” Marshall said. “One ran away to sea, the other was elected vice president. And nothing was ever heard of either of them again.”

___

Follow Jeffrey Collins on Twitter at http://twitter.com/JSCollinsAP .

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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