And now as the -- I believe the nuclear facilities are controlled by a higher
authority than the Public Service Commission, but I think it's very important
and there again you've got a balancing act, but you sure don't want to destroy
your environment while you're doing that balancing act.
Q. Should consumers be prepared to pay extra for electrical power if that extra
power would go to make the production of the power environmentally safe?
A. That's a tough question I think. But if that's the only source of revenue
and you have to do that, I don't see that you have a choice, but I think you
have to look at it very closely because consumers only pay so
If you increase services and you have to raise taxes to do that, then that's a tough decision that you're elected to do. And in my particular situation as mayor of Greenwood, for the last four years, we haven't raised taxes and we have not borrowed any money and we don't owe any monetary indebtedness, so I think I've had some experience in trying to balance that balancing act I'm talking about.
I think the efficiency and the management of a situation is one of the things
that you have to look at. And if you don't have good management, and there has
been a lot of restructuring done in a lot of industry and I suppose it's also
being done in the areas that the Public Service Commission would control, but I
think that would be one area that you would have to look at, if you don't have
good management and really do an efficient job there, then you're in trouble. I
wouldn't say no.
Q. Right. I understand.
A. In other words, I think you'd be less than smart if you said no, I wouldn't
do this or I wouldn't do that because the circumstances might dictate that you
have to do it.
Q. Mr. Nave, you have cable television service there in the City of Greenwood, I
believe?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. You have a franchise ordinance that governs the provision of that?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Have ya'll had any problems insuring that that service is distributed to all
parts of your community?
A. No, sir. And we're also in the process of passing the necessary ordinances
to control that in the future in accordance with this new law that came down
from Washington.
Q. So you're in the process of renegotiating your franchise?
A. No, no. The franchise it's -- I think they got a 10-year franchise and we
can't do anything until that runs out. But we're now in the process of
reviewing that. Incidentally, that's an area which I think is going to come up.
We have to communicate with attorneys in California to get any answer to any
questions and then we can't find out anything from the local. And our city
manager has spent a good bit of time on the telephone and down here in Columbia
in determining what would be done and what we should do. But we will have --
the city will have to control their -- that. The only thing that we control in
the city is the taxicab.
But the service has been very good and we've had a little complaint about the
increase in cost, but if you compared that with other cities of comparable size,
we weren't in any real trouble. We couldn't do anything about it until recently
anyway.
Q. And, finally, Mr. Nave, how many employees does the City of Greenwood
employ?
A. About 180.
Q. And you've been mayor for how many years?
A. I'm in my 12th year and it will be 12 and a half when -- if I make it to
April.
Q. What type of program do you have for minority hiring and in particular for
hiring folks that would be in positions of policy setting?
A. Well, I'm glad you asked that question because before I ran in '86, I was
called into a group of ministers and asked what my attitudes were toward
minorities and it hasn't changed. My attitude is that you hire the most
qualified person provided you are in reasonable amount of balance as far as your
concern.
If I had two people and they were the same qualifications and I was out of balance, then I would obviously take the minority. To show that that -- and I can't take a whole lot of credit for this. The City manager hires and fires everybody except the City Attorney and the City Judge and himself.
And in the six years that I've been there, we've increased the number of minorities to 13 in the Police Department out of 50. We've got 10 in the Fire Department out of 47. We have an administrative assistant that is a minority. We have an assistant chief of police is a minority. We have the court administrator is a minority. And he has three people working for him and I kid him, I say we've got to integrate that place, we've got -- the whole department is black.
So that's my philosophy and I think because of that philosophy, it has worked in our community and the reason I feel that way about it, if you would give someone a job because of whatever reason and they're not
It seems that most of the development has been concentrated in urban areas
and a major concern of a lot of folks out in the country is that there is --
they can't get jobs because no industry will locate because there is no water,
sewer, gas and electricity?
A. Well, I think I addressed a few minutes ago the fact that the city council
does not control the utilities.
Q. Yes, sir.
A. And that's both been a blessing and a curse. The curse part is we can't
annex, so that our population has decrease by 800 in the last ten years, but the
utilities which is owned by the city residents serves about 80 percent of the
population.
Now, the City of Greenwood owns their electricity and I would think that's a problem that you're talking about, but you've got to have water and sewerage or you're not going to attract any industry. And we've done very well in Greenwood. In fact, I think we may very well lead the state.
We were fortunate in that we don't have a lot of special service districts in that regard and at the present time, there is movement afoot in Greenwood of which I've had something to do with to combine the City and County government under the Act that was past by the General Assembly about two years or something like that.
We've got more combined services I think in Greenwood County than any other
county in the state and I think that's a key thing.
Q. Thank you, Mr. Nave.
REPRESENTATIVE WILKES: If there are no other questions, you may be excused.
Thank you so much for your appearance before the committee today.
A. Thank you, sir. I appreciate it.
1. John Thomas Nave
Home Address: Business Address:
606 Brooklane Drive P.O. Box 40
Greenwood, SC 29649 Greenwood, SC 29648
2. He was born in Mountain City, Tennessee on September 18, 1921.
Social Security Number: ***-**-****.
3. S.C. Driver's License Number: *********.
S.C. Voter Registration Number: 0 514 868.
4. He was married to Ella Erminie McKnight Nave on March 17, 1951. He has 3
children: Thomas B. Nave, age 41 (design and home construction); Kathy
Lynn Nave Felder, age 38 (bank marketing); and Debbie Nave Jobe, age 37
(housewife and mother).
6. He attended Johnson County High School (Mountain City, TN) from 1936 to 1940 and East Tennessee State College (Johnson City, TN) from 1940 to 1942, when he left to study engineering. He attended the University of Tennessee (Knoxville, TN) from 1942 to 1943, when he left to enter Aviation Cadet Training. He was a 2nd Lieutenant Commission and Pilot Wings Aviation Cadet from 1943 to 1944. He attended East Tennessee State University from 1946 to 1947 and received a B.S. in Industrial Arts Education. He attended North Carolina State University from 1947 to 1953 and received a Master of Science Degree in Industrial Arts Education.
7. He was Mayor of Greenwood from 1967 to 1971 (two 2-year terms) and from 1986 to the present (two 4-year terms, expiring in April 1994). He has been appointed to: Greenwood County Airport Commission (1963-1966); Greenwood County Planning & Zoning Commission (1976-1979); and Chairman, Greenwood Area Transportation Study Commission (1986-present).
8. In 1982, he ran unsuccessfully as a Republican against a Democratic incumbent who held S.C. House District 14 and had been uncontested for many years.
9. He was Chief Pilot at Abney Mills in Greenwood from January 1956 to November 1979. He was responsible for the purchase and maintenance of aircraft; hiring and training other pilots; and preparing and submitting the budget for the Aviation Department, which was terminated in 1979.
He was a pilot for Spartan Mills in Spartanburg from December 1979 to June
1981; Chief Inspector for Midland Ross Grimes in Greenwood from 1981 to
1982; in real estate sales from 1982 to 1986; and owner/manager of an Avis
Rent-a-Car franchise from 1960 to 1977.
26. Professional organizations: Vice-President and Chairman of Federal Legislative Committee, S.C. Municipal Association (1968).
27. Civic, charitable, etc. organizations: Committee Chairman, Lions Club; Commander for 2 consecutive terms, American Legion Post 20; Chairman of Education, Aviation, and Airports Committees, Chamber of Commerce; School Improvement Council, Central School (alternative school) for 6 years; Industrial Development Committee (Ex-officio) for 8 years; Upper Savannah COG Board for 8 years; Pack Leader for Cub Scouts for 2 years; and First Presbyterian Church Deacon, Elder, teacher, youth advisor, and chairman of several committees--including Pastoral Search Committee.
28. He served for 3 years on the Greenwood County Planning and Zoning Commission; 3 years on the Greenwood County Airport Commission. He was Greenwood County Republican Chairman and State Executive Committeeman for 2 terms; Delegate to State GOP Conventions for many years and alternate delegate to the National GOP Convention in 1972 and 1974. He received the Order of the Palmetto in 1993.
29. Five letters of reference:
(a) Steve O. White
NationsBank
P.O. Box 1058
Greenwood, SC 29648
(803) 942-1678
Greenwood Mills
P.O. Box 1017
Greenwood, SC 29648
(803) 229-2571
(c) E.I. Davis, Jr.
Davis & Floyd, Inc.
P.O. Drawer 428
Greenwood, SC 29648
(803) 229-5211
(d) Jesse A. Boyce (Ret., Abney Mills)
106 Rutledge Road
Greenwood, SC 29649
(803) 229-6134
(e) William H. Harrison (Ret.)
504 Lodge Drive
Greenwood, SC 29646
(803) 229-0660
30. He is seeking the office of Public Service Commissioner for the Third District.
THE CHAIRMAN: We're going to now adjourn until 1:45. We have, I think, about
five more.
MR. COUICK: Six more.
THE CHAIRMAN: Six more candidates. I might have to leave you around 3:00 or
3:30, but Mr. Wilkes will be here. All right. We'll recess right at this time.
(A lunch break was taken)
THE CHAIRMAN: I'll call the meeting to order.
MR. COUICK: If you would stand and please take the oath.
PHILIP TIBBS BRADLEY, having been duly sworn, testified as follows:
MR. BRADLEY - EXAMINATION BY MR. COUICK.
Q. Mr. Chairman, I have Mr. Philip T. Bradley's driver's license. It shows a
residence of 6 Cross Court, Greenville, South Carolina, 29607. Mr. Bradley, is
that your current address?
A. Yes, sir. That is correct.
Q. And that is in Greenville County; is that correct?
A. Yes, sir, it is.
Q. Mr. Bradley, have you had an opportunity to review your Personal Data
Questionnaire Summary?
In 1974, I opened my own real estate firm and continued in that until 1983 which at that point I became employed with the Austin Moving and Storage Company as vice president of marketing.
In 1985, we opened a real estate business and I'm still employed in that at
this point.
Q. The real estate business that you operate, is that commercial and
residential?
A. It used to be primarily residential and now it's primarily commercial.
Q. Do you have any persons who rent from you or lease from you that are
regulated utilities?
A. No, sir.
Q. Should you be elected to the Public Service Commission would you continue to
have an involvement in that enterprise?
A. What I would do, Mr. Couick, is I would close my own real estate company. I
would place my real estate license in association with another firm in
Greenville because I have a broker's license, I would just like to keep active.
I don't intend to use it, but once you get certain licenses, once you let them
expire it's rather difficult sometimes to --
Without replowing all that old ground, Mr. Bradley, have you had any further
contact by the Fifth Circuit Solicitor's Office with regard to those charges
since they were dismissed in November, 1986?
A. No, sir, none whatsoever.
Q. Do you own any utility stock, Mr. Bradley?
A. No, sir, I do not.
Q. Does anyone in your household own utility stock?
A. No, sir. They do not.
Q. You have one daughter, Andrea Lee Bradley, who is a student at the University
of South Carolina, Spartanburg, is she -- does she have any employment?
A. No, sir. She does not.
Q. Mr. Bradley --
A. Mr. Couick, let me stipulate this, I say she does not, she lives with her
mother and as the record states I am divorced. She lives with her mother. She
does not have any employment that I am aware of.
Q. I understand. And my main concern was whether she was employed by a public
utility or not, of course.
A. No, sir. She's doing what she can to graduate.
Q. All right. Why would you like to serve on the Public Service Commission, Mr.
Bradley?
A. Because I think with the -- my past experience and the abilities I have that
I could lead the Public Service Commission in some directions that the future is
going to dictate to us. It's -- we're probably all aware the telecommunications
industry is just exploding.
Vice President Gore keeps referring to the Superhighway of the telecommunications industry being built. The only problem is it's already