Council candidates talk about illegal immigration, Bluffton growth
By DANIEL BROWNSTEIN
Published Tuesday, February 12, 2008


A forum featuring the six candidates vying for a single Bluffton Town Council seat turned into a May River love-fest Monday, with all pledging to try to protect the pristine tidal waterway from the area's rapid development.

Much more nuanced were the candidates' views on growth and illegal immigration.

The forum, sponsored by the Republican Women of Southern Beaufort County, was held at Montana's Restaurant. About a dozen Bluffton voters attended.

Two candidates advocated temporarily cutting off growth. They were Jeff Fulgham, a veteran of the Iraq war and lifelong Bluffton-area resident, and Garfield Moss, who has often been at odds with the town over his advocacy of building low- to moderate-income housing.

"I would like to just stop all development until we catch up with the growth we have here," said Moss, who described dilapidated homes and trailers on some side streets as "third world."

Normand "Gus" Thomas, a decorated Vietnam veteran and retired defense worker, advocated for annexations to be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Howard Ramey, a retired Motorola salesman who moved to Hampton Hall last summer, said it makes sense to continue annexing some land in order to fill holes and create more efficiency in providing services.

Joe Naughton, who moved to Pine Ridge from the Jersey shore in 2005, said what's needed is someone to work with county, school district and state officials to push through projects that would benefit fast-growing Bluffton.

Oliver S. Brown, a deacon at First Zion Baptist Church and a S.C. Department of Transportation maintenance engineer, said Bluffton is going through growing pains and should slow down, but added that the growth has also helped many people by creating jobs.

On immigration, Fulgham was the most vocal about the town needing to adopt the county's lawful employment ordinance requiring businesses to prove their workers are legal by producing I-9 forms. If not, Bluffton will become "a shelter for illegal aliens," he said.

Brown said the law might give town leaders a way to hold businesses accountable.

Naughton agreed that the town should pass it, but questioned its effectiveness.

Ramey said immigration is not only an economic problem, but also a safety issue with the possible influx of Hispanic gangs. Still, he said the town has "precious little resources" to go out and enforce an ordinance.

Thomas called the county ordinance "unenforceable" without creating another layer of bureaucracy. He

advocated "rattling the cages" until the federal government acts.

Moss called immigration a sensitive issue because many illegal immigrants have children who are legal citizens. "If the federal government pursues income tax evasion laws, then they'll take their children back with them," he said.

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