Lightning rod Rodman becomes target for defeat, but councilman says his record stands
In a primary election cycle featuring a bitter sheriff’s race in Beaufort County and little else, perhaps the most watched outcome will be what happens to the man headlining many people’s naughty list, political lightning rod Stu Rodman.
While Sheriff P.J. Tanner and challenger JoJo Woodward lash out at each other, Rodman’s obstacle to re-election to the County Council is not as much about his opponent as it is about Rodman himself — his role in an embarrassing, botched county manager search and the short, turbulent tenure of Ashley Jacobs that followed; and a string of well-publicized missteps that raised concerns about how he wields his influence and connections with little regard to his obligations as a public official.
Rodman’s actions have led to a rarity in Beaufort County election history. A line of high-profile critics, including five former council members, are speaking out publicly against Rodman, calling him unfit for office and claiming the county cannot move forward until the 16-year member of council is gone.
Rodman’s election challengers are not well known, however. He faces business development manager Tom Reitz in Tuesday’s primary and, if he wins, would meet Democrat Cathy McClellan in November. Rodman’s seat is in District 11, which encompasses the southern section of Hilton Head Island as well as the Atlantic coastline from Port Royal on the north to South Beach. Of the six County Council races to be contested this year, none figures to affect the power structure of the council more than Rodman’s.
For his part, Rodman shrugs off the criticism as part of holding office and speaks with pride about his record and those who stand behind him. Although he was forced to give up his council chairman’s role in 2020, Rodman has always insisted he has never done anything wrong.
“I’ve accomplished a great deal in my period of time,” said Rodman, 77, of Sea Pines, “and voters are the best judge of whether I’d be the logical person to continue doing that or whether somebody new would be better to do it.”
Critics take aim
Five former County Council members distributed a public letter in May targeting Rodman, saying he has shown “contempt” for Democracy and the law.
“Despite his obvious intelligence, Mr. Rodman has too often used his energy and skill to derail open, honest dialogue and to subvert the participation of the public and the role of the fully elected members of Beaufort County government — all in favor of his personal agenda,” wrote Steven Baer, Cynthia Bensch, Rick Caporale, Mike Covert and Steve Forbes.
Reitz, Rodman’s opponent at the polls, said it’s time for a change on the County Council. “I think an awful lot of people in Beaufort County feel the same way,” he said.
“We have incredible people here who are fed up with the current state of politics and how people are being treated,” said Reitz, 60, of Shipyard Plantation. “I’ve traveled all over this incredible county and one common thing I hear is, he just does not have the residents in mind.”
It’s not like Rodman doesn’t have more than his share of big-name supporters in his camp, however.
In his bid for a fifth four-year term, Rodman has racked up endorsements from notable local leaders including state Sen. Tom Davis of Beaufort, state Rep. Jeff Bradley of Hilton Head, 14th Circuit Solicitor Duffy Stone, Beaufort County Treasurer Maria Walls, and most of the Hilton Head Town Council, including Mayor John McCann.
“Stu has been personally attacked ... by some former County Council members who once opposed his efforts to improve and upgrade our Hilton Head Island Airport, and other issues they supported. I find holding such old grudges inappropriate and distasteful,” Bradley said in his endorsement statement.
“Stu is a solid fiscal conservative and excellent on policy matters. He knows how to get things done that benefit our Republican agenda and quality of life here in the Lowcountry. He has been known to “ruffle feathers,” but that is sometimes what is needed. He has been an exceptional public servant since 2007.”
Barbara Nielsen, who volunteers as a spokesperson for Beaufort County Republican Party and South Carolina’s former superintendent of education, said a group of people have “targeted Stu,” which she calls “unfortunate.”
“I’ve known Stu a long time,” Nielsen said, “and I think he’s dedicated.”
Former school board member JoAnn Orischak posted a Rodman campaign flier to her Facebook page, questioning those who would endorse Rodman.
“Again, endorsements matter,” Orischak’s post reads. “At stake: the credibility of those lending their support here to a candidate whose digital footprint illustrates repeatedly poor judgment and an unwillingness to do the public’s business in public. Surely we can do better.”
The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette agreed, publishing an editorial urging that voters spurn Rodman.
Turmoil follows Rodman
In recent years, Rodman’s tenure has been marked by controversies.
In March 2020, after complaints from fellow County Council members about his leadership prompted efforts to remove him, Rodman stepped down as chairman of the full County Council after a year-and-a-half in that role.
Some of those controversies included:
▪ Using his personal cell phone and email accounts, instead of those provided by the county, to conduct county business, and refusing Freedom of Information Act requests for access to the county-related communications on his private accounts.
▪ Skirting public discussion on the controversial Jenkins Island road project by communicating privately to a department leader with his recommendations. In emails acquired by The Island Packet, Rodman asked for secrecy — stressing that the conversation be kept between “the two of us” — shutting out the public, other council members and the department leader’s supervisor, then-County Administrator Jacobs.
▪ Attending a private, secret meeting with Hilton Head leaders and a private citizen about plans for the Highway 278 corridor at a Sea Pines Resort restaurant instead of conducting business in public. Media attorneys and some council members called the meeting, which only became public because of a tip to The Island Packet, an illegal gathering intended to keep talks from the public.
▪ Advising neighbors on the creation of a special tax district to dredge sediment and debris from Baynard Creek, which runs behind Rodman’s home. Critics pointed out that only Rodman and 12 other property owners who live near where the creek was to be dredged would benefit from the property tax increase. Rodman countered that he would have paid among the highest taxes in the special district. Plans were eventually scuttled.
During a heated council meeting on March 9, 2020 — the second in which a member tried to remove the chairman — Rodman attempted to adjourn the meeting but then demanded that his “accusers” state in public what he did wrong.
For nearly 90 minutes, Rodman continually asked council members for examples of his wrongdoing, heard their responses and asked, “what else?” Then, saying he felt he did nothing wrong, he begrudgingly agreed to step down.
Defending his record
Rodman describes himself as someone who “makes things happen.”
One accomplishment he cites is a $27.5 million runway extension project at Hilton Head Airport in 2017. When it first was proposed a decade ago, Rodman said, it was controversial, but the project has succeeded in revitalizing aviation with the facilities settling down into a “small resort airport.” Rodman said he brokered deals that allowed the extension but set the length at 5,000 feet. “Obviously, a lot of people worked on these things, but I did initiate that and saw it all the way through,” he said.
He also takes pride in getting the Beaufort County Economic Development Corp. going several years ago and he said it has helped to create more than 1,000 jobs and a quarter of a billion dollars in investment. Two previous attempts by the county to promote economic development had failed, he contends.
“Literally everybody had given up on it,” Rodman said. “I said, ‘Let’s take one more pass at this.’”
Going forward, Rodman said, the Highway 278 project will be a priority. He said he and Davis initiated an independent review of the project and a land-planning exercise that has evolved into the current proposed alternative “and it’s a pretty good one.” The next issue, Rodman said, is how to make it a “gateway to the island” and is financing what’s likely to be a $100 million cost increase.
Reitz is in business development, working for a company that manufactures natural products. Two years ago, he ran for Hilton Head Town Council and lost. He said he has campaigned hard. “It’s exhausting, but I love it.”
Managing growth properly, infrastructure improvements and public safety are the key issues in the race, Reitz said. The Highway 278 corridor improvement project should take center stage.
Reitz said he has lived on the island 3½ years full-time after being a part-time resident for 33 years. Many residents he’s spoken with, he said, want to “protect and preserve” the island, and that’s what he pledges to do. Residents need “a stake back in government.”
“The people and our environment should come first,” Reitz said. “Listen and respect each other. Work together. I want to allow the people who live here to have a strong voice on the County Council.”
District 11 includes gated communities Spanish Wells, Wexford, Long Cove, Shipyard, Palmetto Dunes, Leamington and Port Royal. Non-gated neighborhoods are North and South Forest Beach, Burkes Beach, Folly Field, Shelter Cove and Yacht Cove, Point Comfort Road area, Spanish Wells Road area, Palmetto Bay and Timbercrest.
The full-time job comes with a $26,988 annual salary— $28,002 for the vice chair and $28,990 for the chair.
Rodman said his guiding principles when it comes to criticism are in scripture — Deuteronomy’s “Vengeance is mine, I will repay” — and the words of former President Teddy Roosevelt in his 1910 “Man in the Arena” speech, which says “it is not the critic who counts” but “credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood.”
Rodman, pointing out the long list of local leaders who have endorsed him, said that’s the best measure of what people think of him and the job he’s doing, not the critics.
“I enjoy being engaged,” he said. “I enjoy making things happen. And I’ll stand on my record against those guys.”
This story was originally published June 10, 2022 at 12:24 PM.
