Monday, September 10, 2007

Do You Know This Man? If You Live in Florence County, You Should.


Florence County Administrator Richard Starks - The Smartest Guy in Local Government.
The Florence GOP finally got back into gear after it's Summer siesta, although judging by the poor turnout, some are still on holiday. Continuing it's County Government series we had Administrator Richard Starks. I'm not sure exactly how we were able to get this man, but the past two years with him running the county ship have been a godsend to us.
Luckily, Richard was pining away down in Colleton County when we here in the Pee Dee realized that we needed a PROFESSIONAL administrator to handle things here, not a politician. The results of the shuffle have been swift and immediate: 1000 new jobs coming to the county, 1.2 Billion in outside investment, more department accountability, and systems that are 21st Century, not pre-Reconstruction. I haven't seen a dime of it yet, but after this I expect the check will be in the mail. ;)
Best thing about Starks is his humility. I almost had to tie him down to let me take a picture for this post. I don't think the guy has any interest in politics, he is quiet, straightforward, and not afraid to tell you when a process is outdated or stupid - although not in those terms. He's too nice. The man just does his job, and he is good at it. Keep up the good work!
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7 comments:

JohnSunlight said...

My name is John and I work on the Congresspedia.org wiki - a non-partisan wiki reporting project on Congress. I saw that you have been covering South Carolina politics and stories on members of Congress from South Carolina (among other things) and we'd like to put you on our blogroll for that state. Can you email me at SunlightUser2 [at] Sunlightfoundation.com?

Thanks,
John

Anonymous said...

right

Thoroughbred 401k said...

Now Moye, maybe I just caught a break here, and these guys have discovered the genius that is SC6......Need I remind everyone of my blistering expose' post from Jan. 2006..... "My Top Ten Hotties on the Hill"?

That reminds me.... why hasn't Stephanie Herseth called me yet?

Anonymous said...

Your blog is fine. Now straighten up.

Anonymous said...

And now for something completely different, Mike, I don't know how much Mr. Starks had to do with it, but Colleton has or had one of the best EMS departments in state. Don't let this man go, he appears to be good for Florence County.

Thoroughbred 401k said...

It wouldn't surprise me if he did. The guy knows each dept an agency from top to bottom.

Anonymous said...

I was a paramedic in Colleton County (now retired). Before Starks Every citizen that needed an ambulance got one of the best in the state for a budget of just over 1 million per year. Every fire received copious amounts of water for less than 1 million per year. Today after he decided to combine the two services into one, we get the same services for 12 million and they are asking for more.