Apr 20 2008
Spartanburg GOP Chairman Under Fire for Political Services
Last week, Beltram came under fire for selling a variety of services - including automated calls, polling and walking lists - through his company, B Square Enterprises. He runs the company out of the county GOP office, where he pays half the rent.
Beltram said he had about 12 clients, including state Sen. Jim Ritchie; House candidates Steve Parker and Ken Roach; and Spartanburg County Council candidates Jane Hall and Terry Knighton, both of whom are challenging incumbent Rock Adams.
Beltram said he offered the services at a 10 percent markup and that his goal was to make sophisticated campaign tools available at an affordable price. He offered the services in a memo to each Republican candidate, but the memo did not mention that the money would go to B Square Enterprises.
State Republican Party Chairman Katon Dawson on Thursday said it was inappropriate for Beltram to operate the business while serving as county chairman, and state Senate candidates Max Hyde and Shane Martin - who are challenging Ritchie - on Friday called on Beltram to resign. Beltram declined to step down, but on Saturday stepped out of providing the services.
Beltram does not need to resign over this. It’s not that big of a deal. Yeah, he’s making money off of the services, but he could do that anyway even if he weren’t County GOP Chairman so I don’t think he’s violated any ethics here. No, he probably shouldn’t sell the services while he is the Chairman as it walks a slippery slope as to what constitutes a conflict of interest and he has agreed to stop doing so. Hyde is just trying to grab a little bit of attention for himself. It’s much ado about nothing at this point.
