A former educator and retired army officer will serve as Union County’s Supervisor for an annual salary of $1.

Gov. Mark Sanford announced this afternoon that he has named Tommy Sinclair to serve out the unexpired term of former supervisor Donnie Betenbaugh. The office has been vacant since Sanford suspended Betenbaugh following Betenbaugh’s indicment on 40 counts of federal drug and corruption charges. Union County Council vice chairman Dora Martin has been serving as acting supervisor since then.

“By all accounts, Tommy Sinclair has the competence and character to lead Union County during this unsettled time,” Sanford said.  “Based on conversations with a number of people from Union County, we concluded that Tommy's outstanding management skills and successful track record — as well as his lifetime of service to this state and nation in the armed forces — speak well of his ability to lead in Union County.

“As further evidence of his dedication to a county government in transition, Tommy has offered to forgo a full salary and serve for a dollar-per-year,” he said. “To me that says a lot about him and his commitment to truly serving the people of Union County, and for that, I'd thank him for stepping into what will certainly be a challenging job."

Sinclair, 62, worked for 27 years as an educator and administrator in a variety of positions at the middle and high school levels for the Union County School District including chemistry and physics teacher; assistant principal, principal and adult school director; and assistant superintendent. He served in the U.S. Army for three years and then 35 years in the South Carolina National Guard retiring with the rank or brigadier general. For 10 year period in the 1970s and 1980, he was co-owner of a construction business.

Shortly after Sanford made announced his appointment, Sinclair visited the Union County Courthouse, meeting with the staff of the supervisor’s office and other courthouse employees. He said that he sought appointment as supervisor to serve the people of Union County and not for political reasons.

“I would like to thank Gov. Sanford for this appointment and this opportunity to serve,” Sinclair said. “I know many of the applicants. The decision was hard and slow because of the quality of the applicants. I am honored to be chosen. Through resume and interview I made it clear to Gov. Sanford my interest in service to Union and not politics, he made it equally clear that his interest was the same.

Sinclair was one of 44 persons to apply to apply for appointment as either clerk of court or supervisor and one of eight recommended for the offices to Sanford by the Union County Legislative Delegation. He will be sworn in Monday in a 9:30 a.m.ceremony at the courthouse. Administering the oath will be another Sanford appointee, clerk of court Freddie Gault. Sanford appointed Gault last week to serve out the unexpired term of Brad Morris who resigned earlier this month.

Delegation Chairman Mike Anthony reiterated the delegation’s pledge of support for the governor’s appointees. At the time of Gault’s appointment, Anthony revealed that the governor had allowed the delegation to review the applicants and recommend four for each office for appointment. He said that the delegation promised that if the governor appointed one of the applicants they recommended they would support his decision and that appointee.

Anthony said this afternoon that after being notified of Sinclair’s appointment he’d consulted with the other members of the delegation and they unanimously agreed to support Sinclair as supervisor.

“We are happy he chose one of the four we sent to his office,” Anthony said. “We will support him like we said we would.”

Unlike Gault’s appointment, however, Sanford will not be able to attend Sinclair's swearing in.

Concerning his decision to accept a salary of just $1 a year, Sinclair he did so because of his desire to give back to the community.

“I have learned that Union gave as good a base as I could have received anywhere,” Sinclair said. “I have learned that, when you can you must put more back in the system than you take out. I took this interim appointment for $1 a year, certainly not because I am rich, but because I am grateful for and to Union for that base and need to put back in the system.”

Sinclair praised Mrs. Martin for her service as acting supervisor.

“I would like to express on behalf of the people of Union our appreciation to Dora Martin for her time and effort in what had to be a trying time for her fuctionally and emotionally,” Sinclair said. “Dora’s cool and calm manner and approach to business has kept us on a steady course during a time could have hit the shoals.”

“I was hoping he (Sanford) would make a decision soon and I’m glad he has,” Mrs. Martin said. “I’m looking forward to working and continuing to improve Union County. I was glad to serve the people of Union County and I tried to make sure that everything ran smoothly and I appreciate all of the citizens that worked with me. It was a privilege to serve them in this manner and I appreciate the confidence that they showed in me.”

Sinclair expressed confidence about working together with council and the rest of the county government and expressed confidence about the county’s future.

“As I contemplate the challenges and how to approach the tasks ahead, I know we must have a complete sharing of information and ideas at all levels,” Sinclair said. “I know we must be transparent in our actions. I know our agenda must be only to improve the quality of Union. I know we must put in place systems and checks and balances to protect ourselves. I know we are not the most corrupt small town in America as a talk show host recently said. I know we are Union, we have been tested, we are tested now, and we will pass the test.”