Ceips wants to know which journalists received governor's press release chastising senators

State Sen. Catherine Ceips filed a freedom of information act request with Gov. Mark Sanford's office requesting the names of the journalists who received a May 14 press release criticizing the senator for abstaining from a committee vote.

A release from Sanford's office said Ceips abstained from a "key vote" in the Senate Judiciary Committee that dealt with restructuring state government.

"I'd ask everyone down in Beaufort County who cares about the idea of making government more efficient and more accountable to call Sen. Ceips and ask her to take a stand for this bill," Sanford said in the release.

Ceips' Republican primary opponent, Tom Davis, served as Sanford's chief of staff for years before stepping down to run for office. Davis and Sanford also attended Furman University together.

"A recent communication was apparently made by the governor's office in support of the opponent, but an FOI request for that information has been ignored," Ceips said Wednesday in an e-mail sent by her political consultant Rod Shealy.

Joel Sawyer, spokesman for the governor's office, said Ceips' request will be handled in the order in which it was received.

"We receive a lot of FOIA requests, and maybe Sen. Ceips thinks she should be treated differently than other citizens in South Carolina, but we respectfully disagree," he said.

State law gives public bodies 15 "working days" to respond to a FOIA request. Ceips' request was hand-delivered to the governor's office May 15, according to Shealy.

In her letter to the governor, Ceips asked that her request be expedited.

"I would greatly appreciate a response and the requested documents within 24 hours of receipt of this letter, rather than the typical delays which are far too common among government entities wishing to suppress information," she wrote.

As for the press release's content, Sawyer on Wednesday maintained that it was strictly about the restructuring bill and had nothing to do with Davis' campaign.

"We sent out a press release in support of restructuring, period," he said. "And apparently it worked, because the last time a vote came up Sen. Ceips voted with us instead of sitting on her hands."

Sawyer said the e-mailed press release was sent to "a grand total of a dozen or so media outlets between the Beaufort area and the Myrtle Beach area."

At the time of the release Sawyer said the governor's office put out similar releases concerning senators from Horry and Lexington counties and spoke to a few individual senators about the legislation.

Ceips also asked for copies of the letters the governor's office sent regarding other senators who attended the May 13 Senate Judiciary Committee meeting.

The Republican primary for the Senate District 46 seat is June 10.