Dick Harpootlian

Richard A. Harpootlian (born January 23, 1949) is an American attorney and politician serving as a member of the South Carolina Senate from the 20th district. He served as the chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party from 1998 to 2003 and again from 2011 to 2013. He also previously served as solicitor (district attorney) for the Fifth Judicial Circuit of South Carolina from 1991 until 1995.

Dick Harpootlian
Member of the South Carolina Senate
from the 20th district
Assumed office
November 14, 2018
Preceded byJohn Courson
Chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party
In office
2011–2013
Preceded byCarol Fowler
Succeeded byJaime Harrison
In office
1998–2003
Preceded byRonnie Maxwell
Succeeded byJoe Erwin
Solicitor for the Fifth Judicial Circuit of South Carolina
In office
1991–1995
Preceded byJames Anders
Succeeded byWarren "Barney" Giese
Personal details
Born (1949-01-23) January 23, 1949 New York
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseJamie Lindler
Children1
EducationClemson University (BA)
University of South Carolina (JD)

As a member of the South Carolina Senate, Harpootlian has been a frequent critic of the state's budgetary practices. He is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Early life and education

Richard Harpootlian was born in 1949 to Jody (née Williams) and Harold Harpootlian.[1] He is of Armenian descent; his grandparents immigrated to the United States after fleeing their hometown of Harpoot (present-day Turkey) in the Ottoman Empire during the Armenian genocide.[2] He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Clemson University and a Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina School of Law.

Career

Harpootlian served as solicitor for the Fifth Judicial Circuit of South Carolina from 1991 until 1995.[3] During that time, Harpootlian prosecuted Pee Wee Gaskins and University of South Carolina President Jim Holderman.[4][5]

Harpootlian's law firm has represented neighborhoods near Five Points in Columbia, a popular weekend location for college students, in protestations against liquor licenses in the area. Several bars in the area have made agreements with the state to change their procedures as a result of the liquor license protests. As a result of Harpootlian's work, one bar was forced to close down.[6]

Murdaugh trial
Main article: Trial of Alex Murdaugh

Harpootlian represented former attorney Alex Murdaugh, who has been charged with more than 90 counts of breach of trust with fraudulent intent, computer crimes, money laundering and forgery. Murdaugh has been convicted of murdering his young son Paul and wife Maggie and was sentenced to two life sentences, after a six-week long trial.

Political Party work

Harpootlian ran for attorney general of South Carolina in 1994 losing to Charlie Condon in the general election.[7][8] He served as the chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party twice.[9] He is credited with the party's decision to move the South Carolina primary earlier in the primary schedule.[10]

South Carolina Senate

On June 4, 2018, John E. Courson resigned his senate seat after pleading guilty to mishandling campaign funds.[11] Courson's resignation was related to the "Quinndom" led by David Pascoe which found multiple instances of wrongdoing in the South Carolina General Assembly. In November 2018, Harpootlian defeated Benjamin Dunn in a special election for Courson's old senate seat.[12] It was the first time in 14 years a Democrat flipped a Republican-held Senate seat.[13]

Since joining the Senate, Harpootlian has been critical of the University of South Carolina's hiring practices and legislation giving the Carolina Panthers tax incentives to move their headquarters to Rock Hill, South Carolina. In May 2019, Harpootlian commissioned his own independent analysis on the economic benefits of moving the Panthers headquarters to Rock Hill. The report found that the added jobs to the area were a third of what the state of South Carolina's review found. Harpootlian stalled the Senate vote on the measure although it later passed.[14]

In November 2019, Harpootlian was criticized for profanely threatening to have an aide of the Richland County Legislation Delegation fired over a press release which failed to include job openings at the Columbia airport.[15] In December 2019 he called the university's search for the president's next chief of staff "cronyism at its finest."[16] Harpootlian came out against a bill in the senate which would legalize curbside pickup for alcohol products in January 2020.[17] And in December of that year Harpootlian raised concerns about $43 million in untracked earmarks which attracted statewide coverage.[18]

In March 2021, Harpootlian proposed that South Carolina permit the use of firing squads as an alternative method of capital punishment in South Carolina. Harpootlian said that while he "abhorred" and "resisted" the death penalty, his work as a prosecutor trying the serial killer Donald Henry Gaskins led to him opposing the electric chair as a "horrible, horrible thing to do to another human being." He worked with Republican State Senator Greg Hembree to propose that a bill allowing the use of electrocution also allow the condemned to choose between that option and firing squads. Harpootlian said that "the death penalty is going to stay the law here for a while. If we’re going to have it, it ought to be humane... This was a desperation move on my part to minimize the pain and suffering of the condemned."[19]

In 2021, redistricting plans for the South Carolina Senate moved Harpootlian's district in Richland County to Charleston County on the coast.[20]

Democratic Party presidential primaries

During the 2016 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Harpootlian stated that he was a "Joe Biden guy."[21] He endorsed Bernie Sanders for president on February 3, 2016, comparing Sanders' passion with the kind Obama exuded in 2007 when they had first met."[22] In 2020, Harpootlian endorsed Joe Biden for president, stating "If the Democratic Party believes nominating a socialist is the way to win in November, they need to start drug testing at the national committee" in reference to Sanders.[23]

Controversies

In September 2012, Harpootlian drew controversy when he compared then-governor Nikki Haley to Eva Braun, the mistress of Adolf Hitler. The remarks were condemned by Norm Coleman, the chair of the Jewish coalition of Mitt Romney's presidential campaign, who accused him of "trivializing Nazism".[24] Harpootlian drew further controversy in 2013 for remarks he made at the annual Jackson-Jefferson dinner of the state Democratic Party, where he said that they needed to "send Nikki Haley back to wherever the hell she came from"; Haley is Indian-American with Sikh heritage, and her parents immigrated from India. A Haley campaign spokeswoman criticized the remarks as targeting her ethnicity.[25] Harpootlian's remarks were condemned as racist or xenophobic by Indian news outlets India Today, Firstpost, and Outlook.[26][27][28] Harpootlian later apologized, claiming that he did not intend to target her ethnicity and that he wanted her to "go back to being an accountant in a dress store rather than being this fraud of a governor that we have".[25]

On February 5, 2020, Harpootlian tweeted that South Carolina Legislative Black Caucus Chairman Jerry Govan Jr., received "almost $50,000" from the Tom Steyer Presidential campaign for campaign services.[29] Harpootlian referred to Steyer as "Mr. Moneybags" and suggested that he had purchased Govan's support.[30] Later that day, members of the South Carolina Legislative Black Caucus held a press conference asking Biden to distance himself from Harpootlian.[31] Later that day, Steyer accused Harpootlian of having "a horrid track record of disrespecting and disparaging African Americans."[29] Steyer also asked Biden to disavow Dick Harpootlian and what he said during a 2020 Democratic Party presidential debate in New Hampshire. Harpootlian denied that his comments were racially motivated,[32] State Sen. Marlon Kimpson, a Legislative Black Caucus member, noted that the press conference was not held by the caucus itself, but by Govan and his supporters; some caucus members, including Kimpson, did not participate. Kimpson, a Biden supporter, characterized the controversy as an outgrowth of personal feuds between state lawmakers.[33]

Personal life

His wife, Jamie Lindler Harpootlian is currently the ambassador of the United States to the Republic of Slovenia.[34]

References
  1. "Jody Harpootlian-Morgan Obituary (2015) - Charlotte, NC - Charlotte Observer". Legacy.com.
  2. Self, Jamie (May 2, 2015). "Armenian genocide anniversary stirs memories for descendants in S.C." The State. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  3. "Who is Judge Clifton Newman? Alex Murdaugh double murder trial judge in national spotlight".
  4. "University Ex-President Is Target of Sex Charge". The New York Times. Associated Press. 1991-10-23. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-04-13.
  5. Harris, Art (June 23, 1983). "The Seeds of Vengeance". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2019-04-03.
  6. Trainor, Chris (August 2, 2021). "One Five Points bar to close, but two others can get their liquor licenses". The State. Archived from the original on 2021-08-20. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  7. "AllPolitics - The Postpartum Prosecutor - Dec. 15, 1997". www.cnn.com. Retrieved 2019-04-13.
  8. "Our Campaigns - SC Attorney General Race - Nov 08, 1994".
  9. Weiner, Rachel (2011-04-04). "Dick Harpootlian: Return of the King?". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2019-04-13.
  10. Davenport, Jim (4 May 2003). "Acid-tongued Harpootlian hands over S.C. Democratic Party reins". The Times and Democrat. Associated Press. Retrieved 2019-04-14.
  11. "Richland Sen. John Courson Enters Guilty Plea, Resigns from Office". WLTX. Retrieved 2019-04-14.
  12. "Democrat Dick Harpootlian wins special election for South Carolina Senate District 20". WLTX. Retrieved 2019-04-14.
  13. Joseph Cranney (13 November 2018). "Former SC Democratic leader bringing 'aggressive' style to state Senate". Post and Courier. Retrieved 2019-04-14.
  14. "Carolina Panthers Offered $120M to move practice field to SC". USA Today. Archived from the original on 2019-05-09.
  15. "Richland senator accused of threatening county employee's job in profanity-laced rant". The State. November 26, 2019. Archived from the original on 2019-11-29.
  16. "USC opens another brief search for a top executive. This time it's for chief of staff". The State. December 5, 2019. Archived from the original on 2019-12-07.
  17. Bohatch, Emily (January 22, 2020). "SC bill to make alcohol delivery and curbside pick up legal moves forward". The State. Archived from the original on 2020-01-23.
  18. Associated Press, Report: $43 Mil in Earmarked Spending Poorly Tracked. (Dec. 19, 2020). Retrieved Dec. 19, 2020 from
  19. Jamie Lovegrove (7 May 2021). "Why a Democrat pushed for firing squad to be added to SC death penalty bill". Post and Courier. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  20. "Statehouse Report – NEWS BRIEFS: Charleston may gain Senate seat from Columbia in remap". Statehouse Report. November 11, 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-12-25. Retrieved 2021-12-25.
  21. Schwartz, Ian (January 14, 2016). "Former SC Dem Chairman Harpootlian: "I'm A Joe Biden Guy"". www.realclearpolitics.com. Retrieved 2020-02-02.
  22. LoBianco, Tom. "South Carolina Dem Richard Harpootlian backs Sanders". CNN. Retrieved Oct 15, 2020.
  23. Stein, Sam; Trudo, Hanna; Markay, Lachlan (January 27, 2020). "Worried Democratic Operatives Scramble to Fund a Network to Take Down Bernie Sanders". Retrieved October 15, 2020 – via www.thedailybeast.com.
  24. "Dick Harpootlian Compares Nikki Haley To Hitler's Mistress Eva Braun [Updated]". Huffington Post. September 5, 2012. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  25. Martin, Jonathan (May 4, 2013). "Dem S.C. chair defends Haley barb". Politico. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  26. "US Democrat Leader Under Fire for Insulting Nikki Haley". Outlook. May 5, 2013. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  27. "Nikki Haley faces racist attack on her Indian roots". Firstpost. May 7, 2013. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  28. "Nikki Haley faces racist attack from Democrat Dick Harpootlian". India Today. May 7, 2013. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  29. "Black lawmakers call Biden surrogate's comments racist, demand former VP disavow". NBC News. Retrieved 2020-02-08.
  30. Lovegrove, Jamie. "Steyer, Biden feud on debate stage over SC legislator's remarks about campaign payments". Post and Courier. Archived from the original on 2020-02-08. Retrieved 2020-02-08.
  31. "Black Lawmakers Demand Biden Disavow Surrogate's Comments". The New York Times. Associated Press. 2020-02-05. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-02-08.
  32. "Here's what Tom Steyer was attacking Joe Biden over during Friday night's debate". theweek.com. 2020-02-07. Retrieved 2020-02-08.
  33. Lovegrove, Jamie. "Steyer, Biden feud on debate stage over SC legislator's remarks about campaign payments". Post and Courier. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
  34. Monk, John (December 18, 2021). "Jamie Harpootlian of Columbia gets U.S. Senate nod to be ambassador to Slovenia". The State.
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