Paging Rep. Scott



Has Tim Scott forgot about us? Thursday’s editorial wants to know.

When The Sun News’ editorial board met with Tim Scott in 2010 before his election to Congress, we brought up the very real possibility that his district would be changed during his term and asked how he’d react if it looked as though he would not be representing the Grand Strand after the lines are redrawn.

“Promises made are promises kept,” he told us then. Now more than five months into his term, we’re starting to wonder.

The freshman congressman has done an admirable job of connecting with his constituents in the Charleston area. He’s held two town halls, one in March and one in April, both in North Charleston, to answer residents’ questions. He was one of the keynote speakers at the annual Governor’s Conference on Tourism and Travel in February in Charleston. Scott toured the Charleston Harbor with the Army Corps of Engineers and the State Ports Authority in March, putting him on the cover of a corps magazine.

The visits didn’t stop there. He stopped by the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce’s quarterly meeting this month. He spoke at the Charleston Tea Party rally at the USS Yorktown last week. And he joined separate press conferences in North Charleston this month to support dredging the Charleston port and to rail against the National Labor Relations Board complaint filed against Boeing’s plant in North Charleston.

Scott even found time to be the keynote speaker at the Beaufort County Republican Party’s annual convention on April 2, where he told GOP leaders that he’d be happy to represent them in Congress. Scott doesn’t represent Beaufort County – yet – but the oddsmakers are saying it’s possible his district will cover Beaufort County when the legislature finishes redrawing districts later this year.

Meanwhile, Scott has been conspicuous by his absence on the Grand Strand, which he does represent. The last time he was available to talk to local constituents seems to have been Feb. 1, when he stopped in Pawleys Island for a “Meet the Congressman” meeting. His last public event in Myrtle Beach took place Jan. 17, when he was the keynote speaker at the King Day event.

It’s hard not to feel that we’re ranking lower on Scott’s priority list these days. The congressman had been scheduled to be the speaker at the Myrtle Beach Tea Party Tax Day Rally earlier this month, but canceled and sent a representative in his place instead. And while he did set up a mobile office in Georgetown scheduled to pull into town monthly, Scott gave no indication that he would be using it to visit this part of his district again anytime soon. Instead, he announced it as an opportunity “for constituents to meet with my staff.”

We can understand the limits of Scott’s schedule and the burden of having such a large district to represent. But it’s hard to feel well represented in Washington when our representative doesn’t stop by to see us or gather our input. While we may find ourselves represented by a new face after the next election, Scott is still our man in D.C. until at least 2012, and we deserve more than a passing nod to that reality.

A call to Scott’s office asking about his schedule was taken politely and then never returned. Perhaps they were too busy setting up another event in Charleston.

 

The freshman congressman has done an admirable job of connecting with his constituents in the Charleston area. He’s held two town halls, one in March and one in April, both in North Charleston, to answer residents’ questions. He was one of the keynote speakers at the annual Governor’s Conference on Tourism and Travel in February in Charleston. Scott toured the Charleston Harbor with the Army Corps of Engineers and the State Ports Authority in March, putting him on the cover of a corps magazine.

The visits didn’t stop there. He stopped by the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce’s quarterly meeting this month. He spoke at the Charleston Tea Party rally at the USS Yorktown last week. And he joined separate press conferences in North Charleston this month to support dredging the Charleston port and to rail against the National Labor Relations Board complaint filed against Boeing’s plant in North Charleston.

Scott even found time to be the keynote speaker at the Beaufort County Republican Party’s annual convention on April 2, where he told GOP leaders that he’d be happy to represent them in Congress. Scott doesn’t represent Beaufort County – yet – but the oddsmakers are saying it’s possible his district will cover Beaufort County when the legislature finishes redrawing districts later this year.

Meanwhile, Scott has been conspicuous by his absence on the Grand Strand, which he does represent. The last time he was available to talk to local constituents seems to have been Feb. 1, when he stopped in Pawleys Island for a “Meet the Congressman” meeting. His last public event in Myrtle Beach took place Jan. 17, when he was the keynote speaker at the King Day event.

It’s hard not to feel that we’re ranking lower on Scott’s priority list these days. The congressman had been scheduled to be the speaker at the Myrtle Beach Tea Party Tax Day Rally earlier this month, but canceled and sent a representative in his place instead. And while he did set up a mobile office in Georgetown scheduled to pull into town monthly, Scott gave no indication that he would be using it to visit this part of his district again anytime soon. Instead, he announced it as an opportunity “for constituents to meet with my staff.”

We can understand the limits of Scott’s schedule and the burden of having such a large district to represent. But it’s hard to feel well represented in Washington when our representative doesn’t stop by to see us or gather our input. While we may find ourselves represented by a new face after the next election, Scott is still our man in D.C. until at least 2012, and we deserve more than a passing nod to that reality.

A call to Scott’s office asking about his schedule was taken politely and then never returned. Perhaps they were too busy setting up another event in Charleston.