After much delay, I'm finally posting our editorial board interviews with Howard Barnard and Tom Rice, who are seeking the Republican nomination for Horry County Council chair.
Rice came in first, on April 22, followed the next day by Howard Barnard (I went on vacation immediately afterward, and was too swamped with interviews when I cam back to upload any video for a few weeks). Our questions to both had the same general themes of leadership and economic development, though we touched on some other themes, like openness in government - and we were surprised that both said they supported revisiting the flag issue in search of a better compromise.
Because this video is over a month old, a couple of quick items ought to be pointed out. First, we had battery problems in both videos, so you'll notice slight skips in places in each. In the Rice interview, I ask him about fundraising, to which he replies that he filed for election just before the first-quarter filing period ended, and so hadn't started but had a number of fundraisers planned. That comment has been borne out: According to the latest reports, Rice has raised $70,000 in contributions, given his campaign $9,500 in loans, and spent $76,000. Barnard, by comparison, has raised $43,000, given himself $1,500, and spent $42,000.
In the Barnard interview, he's wearing a baseball cap and asked for the chance to explain: he had very recently had a medical procedure for sun damage on his head that hadn't yet healed. I edited that explanation out of the video (because these things take forever to upload, and every additional minute counts), but he asked us at the time to make this clear. Secondly, we ask Barnard to draw a distinction between himself and his opponent, and he replied in essence that he didn't know Rice except by reputation. I'm sure he'd phrase that part of the question a little differently now, after a month of campaigning, but the majority of it I'm sure Barnard would stand by.
Despite those issues, the videos should give you some idea of their styles. Here's Rice:
Here's Barnard:
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