Sanford censured

By Anna Mitchell  

JANUARY 13, 2010 5:08 p.m. (0)

Embattled, lovelorn, soon-to-be-divorced Gov. Mark Sanford has been censured by the State House of Representatives for “dereliction in his duties of office as Governor and for official misconduct that has brought dishonor to himself, etc., respectfully …”

The vote to censure the governor came this morning. The House Judiciary Committee had recommended this course – as opposed to impeachment – on the heels of a House subcommittee inquiry on the governor’s alleged ethics violations in recent years.

That subcommittee voted in December that Sanford’s actions did not constitute a serious crime or misconduct in office.

The censure comes more than six months after Sanford publicly disclosed an affair with a woman in Argentina. He’d gone missing from the state from June 18 to June 22 and later revealed he’d gone to Buenos Aires to see her. That admission prompted investigations into his travel expenditures and use of campaign dollars, first by newspaper organizations and later by the State Ethics Commission.

The ethics commission found he’d violated state ethics codes 37 times.

Sanford still faces an ethics hearing on those counts.

House Speaker Bobby Harrell said in a statement earlier today he would have preferred the governor resign.

“The House Judiciary Committee conducted a thorough investigation into whether or not the Governor had committed serious crimes or serious misconduct,” he said. “The Committee found that Governor Sanford’s actions were irresponsible, misguided and hypocritical and that he used a taxpayer funded trip as a means to a personal end.  However, as unfortunate and disappointing as these actions were, it was revealed that they did not reach the constitutional threshold for removal from office.”

The censure came as a result of the governor’s absence, his failure to notify Lt. Andre Bauer of his whereabouts, his evasion of SLED agents assigned to his safety, his use of state aircraft for personal and political purposes and his breach of public trust.

Sanford spent the morning in a Budget and Control Board meeting and has not yet issued a statement about the censure resolution.

His office has focused in recent weeks on the state’s looming budget problems. He issued a $5.84 billion spending plan last week, $1.58 billion lower than it was two years ago.

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