South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford is one of the Republican Party’s more prominent national figures.  Newly elected as Chairman of the Republican Governor’s Association, Governor Sanford is regularly sought as a source of commentary for the national news media, particularly because of his opposition to the Obama Administration’s “stimulus” plan.  The Governor recently obliged The Spy by responding to a few questions.

Spy: Unemployment may be South Carolina’s biggest issue. Without rehashing the issue of trust fund depletion and federal loans for jobless benefits, what do you anticipate for the state’s employment landscape in 2009?

Gov. Sanford: Like every state, our economy is being impacted by what is now a global economic slowdown. If we’re going to change that, we need to do a couple of things. One, we need to make changes to our tax code that enhance our ability to compete for jobs and investment, and we believe an important step toward that end would be our plan to phase out corporate income taxes and implement an optional flat tax. Two, we need to make sure our Employment Security Commission is performing its roll in providing data to help better target our economic development efforts, and that their focus is on helping put people back to work rather than simply processing claims.

Spy: School systems nationwide are under performing, South Carolina’s possibly more so than others. Vouchers and school choice put a burden of decision on parents as to where to send their children for an education. Is there a way to make public education effective, efficient and economical?

Gov. Sanford: We strongly believe that school choice across the public and private spectrum is key to improving educational outcomes in our state. Every child is different, and we need to have a diversity of choices that compliments the diversity of learning needs out there. A monopoly on education is bad for consumers and bad for taxpayers, and we believe that only by unleashing the power of the marketplace can we achieve the truly transformative change in education that our state so desperately needs.

Spy: Speaking on the unique system of governance in South Carolina, you’ve said “We can’t afford this Balkanized, feudal approach to governance and compete in the 21st century.”

Gov. Sanford: We’ve made some progress in that regard already with what we’ve done over at the DMV and the state Department of Transportation. A Department of Administration bill passed the House unanimously last year, and we’re hopeful it will make it through both bodies this year. People I talk to realize that too often in South Carolina, problems in state government stem from the old saying that when everyone is in charge, no one is in charge. Changing that depends on people making their voices heard and calling for accountability in state government.

Spy: Do you favor term limits for state legislators? Why or why not?

Gov. Sanford: Yes. I term limited myself in the U.S. Congress, because I believe that staying in Washington too long disconnects those elected to serve from what’s really important to the folks back home.

Spy: What’s the most important message you want the citizens of South Carolina to hear?

Gov. Sanford: That change is in their collective hands. To get the kind of reforms passed that are needed to move our state forward, it’s going to take people across this state making noise to their elected leaders about the need for those changes.

NEXT: In Part 2, Governor Sanford talks to The Spy about the national political landscape.