A few months after calling for greater transparency at the Budget and Control Board, Richard Eckstrom (R) has now flip-flopped and is arguing for private, closed door meetings as the state deals with massive deficits and budget cuts. According to The State newspaper, "Eckstrom, a Sanford ally, argued a private meeting with agency staff would be more appropriate" than the regular Budget and Control Board meetings which are open to the public.
Eckstrom’s support for backroom meetings is particularly hypocritical given that transparency has been the center point of his re-election campaign. According to Eckstrom’s website, "Public officials are more careful about how they spend when their spending is subject to public scrutiny."
According to the article, Republican House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dan Cooper, who favors the open meeting process, told The State in response to Eckstrom’s call for secrecy that "All the transparent people want to be invisible."
Today, Eckstrom’s opponent in the November elections, businessman Robert Barber (D) reacted to Eckstrom’s flip flopping on transparency. "I just think this is downright hypocritical," Barber said. "Richard Eckstrom has created a legacy of wasting and misusing taxpayer money and now he makes it clear he’s not the least bit sincere about being transparent," Barber added.
"While Eckstrom is worse than most when it comes to saying one thing and doing another, this is just another example of why this state needs new people who aren’t part of the current crop of politicians in Columbia. We need people from the real world who have run a successful business and are in touch with regular people," Barber said.
Eckstrom has served on the Budget and Control Board for nearly 12 years. His tenure has been marred with record deficits, losing the state’s Tripe A credit rating, and poor spending decisions. Recently it was revealed that the state "misplaced" $60 million of taxpayer funds. Eckstrom has been plagued with personal scandals which resulted in taxpayers having to pay off a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by a former employee and more recently, news reports revealed that Eckstrom was using state equipment to send sexual oriented messages to his mistress.