Catherine Templeton | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Director of the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control | |
In office March 28, 2012 –January 12, 2015 | |
Governor | Nikki Haley |
Preceded by | Earl Hunter |
Succeeded by | Catherine Heigel |
Director of the South Carolina Department of Labor,Licensing,and Regulation | |
In office January 13,2011 –March 28,2012 | |
Governor | Nikki Haley |
Preceded by | Adrienne Riggins Youmans |
Succeeded by | Holly Gillespie Pisarik |
Personal details | |
Born | Catherine Brawley December 7,1970 Lexington,South Carolina,U.S. |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse(s) | Patrick John Bowers (August 4,1996 - ?),Morgan Templeton (2001–present) |
Children | 3 |
Education | Wofford College (BA) University of South Carolina (JD) |
Website | Official website |
Catherine Templeton is an American attorney and political figure from South Carolina. She was a candidate for the Republican nomination for governor of South Carolina in the 2018 election. Templeton is the former President of US Brick [1] and the former Director of the South Carolina Department of Labor,Licensing,and Regulation in the Cabinet of Governor Nikki Haley.
Catherine was born on December 7,1970. She grew up in Lexington,South Carolina and graduated from Irmo High School in 1989. She attended the University of Antwerp and graduated with a B..A in political economics and philosophy from Wofford College in 1993. [2] Templeton worked for Roger Milliken and then earned a Juris Doctor in 1998 from the University of South Carolina School of Law.
After law school,Templeton took a position with the law firm Ogletree Deakins [3] where she specialized in union avoidance and advised Fortune 500 companies. Templeton's private sector career was notable for her involvement in fighting labor unions,most notably as the only woman involved in three successful defeats of the historic United Auto Workers drive on Nissan in Smyrna,Tennessee in the late 1990s. [4]
In 2009,Templeton got involved in a national education effort with retired United States Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor designed to increase civics knowledge among middle school students about the way government works. [5] Initially,Templeton was the South Carolina pilot co-chair for Our Courts,but the program expanded its scope and its reach to all 50 states and became iCivics and Templeton was named by the Justice as the National Volunteer Coordinator. [6] In October 2010,O'Connor recommended Templeton for a judgeship. [7]
In 2010,Governor Nikki Haley asked Templeton to join then Governor-elect Haley's Cabinet as Secretary of Labor. [8] Templeton had voted for Democratic State Senator Vincent Sheheen for governor in 2010 over then-State Representative Haley. [9] In 2012,Governor Nikki Haley appointed Templeton to the Director's position at the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control. On December 8,2010,Governor-elect Nikki R. Haley appointed Templeton to be the South Carolina Director of Labor,Licensing,and Regulation (LLR). Haley and Templeton were subsequently sued by the AFL-CIO in federal court.[ needs context ] That case was dismissed in favor of Haley and Templeton. Additionally,the National Labor Relations Board filed a Charge against Templeton in April 2011,that was subsequently dismissed. [10]
Templeton cut staffing for the state's immigration enforcement program from more than 20 to three while head of the LLR. In 2011,Templeton halted the LLR audit program that checked whether S.C. employers were verifying the legal immigration status of new hires by implementing a state-wide EVerify requirement. [11] [12]
In 2012,Templeton was selected by the South Carolina DHEC board to be director at the agency. She was confirmed as Director on February 28,2012. [13] In her first two months as director,Templeton "cut a swath through personnel and agency practices,raising hackles in the General Assembly." Templeton laid off nine agency staffers while creating "three high-dollar executive positions,a move that exasperated anti-tax supporters who expected her to cut costs." [14]
As DHEC director,Templeton proposed a series of restrictions on food stamps,suggesting that the state should strictly limit the kinds of foods that could be purchased using food stamps. Templeton framed the proposal as an anti-obesity measure. The trial balloon received "plenty of feedback,both positive and negative";the South Carolina Beverage Association objected to proposals to bar use of food stamps for sugary beverages. [15]
Templeton was director of DHEC during the Ebola virus cases in the United States in 2014. [16] As director,Templeton tested Ebola emergency response protocols at Charleston hospitals. [17]
Templeton's employment as director of DHEC ended effective January 12,2015. [18]
After her termination as director of the state's health and environmental agency,Templeton was paid $124,000 for five months' work as a consultant for two state agencies. The directors of those state agencies at the time are among Templeton's gubernatorial campaign contributors. [9]
Templeton was responsible for South Carolina's "unusual display of resistance" and threatened to impose a $154M fine on the federal government for failing to meet its responsibilities at the Savannah River site. [19]
In 2012,after Senator Jim DeMint resigned from the United States Senate to become president of The Heritage Foundation,Templeton was placed on a short list of possible appointees to fill his remainder of his term,along with Senator Tim Scott,Congressman Trey Gowdy,and former First Lady of South Carolina Jenny Sanford. [20]
Templeton was summoned to Trump Tower to meet with President-elect Donald Trump when he was picking his cabinet,but she turned down a job in the U.S. Department of Labor. [21] [22] When Trump's initial nominee,Andrew Puzder,withdrew from consideration,Templeton was one of four people who were considered for the post. [23] [24] [25] [26]
In April 2017,Templeton announced her candidacy for the Republican nomination for governor in 2018. [27]
In early August 2017,Templeton attracted controversy when she stated at a campaign event in Pickens County,"I am proud of the Confederacy," while also saying that she supports the General Assembly's decision in 2015,following the Charleston church shooting,to remove the Confederate battle flag from the grounds of the South Carolina State Capitol. [28] [29] [30] Templeton also vowed,if elected governor,not to allow the removal of any Confederate monument in the state. [31]
On the campaign trail,Templeton said that she opposed drilling off the coast of South Carolina. [31] Templeton took an anti-abortion position,saying that abortion should only be legal in cases of incest or when the woman's life was endangered by the pregnancy. [31]
On June 12,2018,Templeton placed third in the gubernatorial Republican Primary,receiving 21.4% of the votes. [32] After her defeat,she endorsed businessman John Warren. [33]
South Carolina Gubernatiorial Primary (Republican),2018 | |||
---|---|---|---|
Candidate | Votes | % | |
Henry McMaster | 155,072 | 42.3 | |
John Warren | 102,006 | 27.8 | |
Catherine Templeton | 78,432 | 21.4 | |
Kevin L. Bryant | 24,699 | 6.7 | |
Yancey McGill | 6,349 | 1.7 |
After serving in state government,Catherine co-founded US Brick,one of the largest brick manufacturers in the United States. [34]
In 2014,Templeton was awarded the Defender of Manufacturing Award by the South Carolina Manufacturers Alliance. [35]
In 2010,Templeton was awarded the Compleat Lawyer Award of the South Carolina School of Law. [36]
Additionally,Sandra Day O'Connor appointed her as the National Coordinator for iCivics,a civics education project. [6]
While in state government,Templeton was Chair of the State Emergency Response Committee and was appointed by Governor Haley to the Savannah River Maritime Commission.
Templeton is the mother of three children,including twins,and is married to Morgan Templeton,a business lawyer in private practice. They attend St. Michael's Church. Her volunteer work includes board positions with the Junior League,Gibbes Museum of Art Women's Council,the Boy Scouts of America,and the Garden Club of Charleston,Parents' Association President at First (Scots) Presbyterian Kindergarten,and Sunday School Coordinator at St. Michael's Church. [6] [37]
Marshall Clement "Mark" Sanford Jr. is an American politician and author who served as the U.S. representative for South Carolina's 1st congressional district from 1995 to 2001 and from 2013 to 2019,and as the 115th governor of South Carolina from 2003 to 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party.
Henry Dargan McMaster is an American politician and attorney serving as the 117th governor of South Carolina since 2017. A member of the Republican Party,he was the 50th Attorney General of South Carolina from 2003 to 2011 and the 91st lieutenant governor of South Carolina from 2015 to 2017 under Governor Nikki Haley.
The South Carolina State House is the building housing the government of the U.S. state of South Carolina,which includes the South Carolina General Assembly and the offices of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina. Located in the capital city of Columbia near the corner of Gervais and Assembly Streets,the building also housed the Supreme Court until 1971.
The 2010 South Carolina gubernatorial election took place on November 2,2010. Incumbent Republican Governor Mark Sanford was term limited and unable to seek re-election. Primary elections took place on June 8,2010,and a runoff election,as was necessary on the Republican side,was held two weeks later on June 22.
Nimarata Nikki Haley is an American politician and diplomat who served as the 116th governor of South Carolina from 2011 to 2017 and as the 29th U.S. ambassador to the United Nations from January 2017 to December 2018. A Republican,Haley is the first Indian American to serve in a presidential cabinet. She was a candidate in the 2024 Republican Party presidential primaries. Her victory in the Washington,D.C. primary on March 3,2024 made her the first woman ever to win a Republican Party presidential primary contest.
Jennifer Sullivan Sanford is the former First Lady of South Carolina and a former investment banker. She was married to Governor Mark Sanford.
Kevin L. Bryant is an American politician,pharmacist,and businessman. A member of the Republican Party,Bryant served as the 92nd Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina from January 25,2017 to January 9,2019,after serving in the South Carolina Senate from 2005 to 2017. He lost the Republican gubernatorial nomination in 2018 to Governor Henry McMaster.
Hugh Kenneth Leatherman Sr. was an American politician who served as a Republican member of the South Carolina Senate from 1981 until his death in 2021. The 31st District,which he represented,is anchored in Florence,South Carolina. From 2001 until his death,Leatherman effectively controlled South Carolina's budget as the Senate Finance Chairman and was considered one of the most powerful people in South Carolina politics. He negotiated the deal to bring Boeing to South Carolina in 2009 and secured funding for the deepening of the Charleston Harbor in 2011. At the time of his death,Leatherman served as Vice Chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee. He served as President Pro Tempore of the South Carolina Senate for all but one day from June 18,2014,to January 8,2019. The position was abolished and replaced with the President of the Senate. Prior to this change,Leatherman was capable of being both President of the Senate and Senate Finance Chairman. He was also a member of the State Budget and Control Board until it was abolished in 2014.
Timothy Eugene Scott is an American businessman and politician serving as the junior United States senator from South Carolina since 2013. A member of the Republican Party,he previously served as a Charleston city councilor,a state representative,and a U.S. Representative. He also worked in financial services before entering politics.
Wesley Donehue is an American political strategist and Internet consultant. He is the CEO of Push Digital based in Charleston,South Carolina with a second office in Columbia,South Carolina.
The 2014 South Carolina gubernatorial election took place on November 4,2014,to elect the Governor of South Carolina,concurrently with the regularly-scheduled election and special election to both of South Carolina's U.S. Senate seats,as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
The 2014 United States Senate special election in South Carolina took place on November 4,2014,concurrently with the regular election for the other South Carolina Senate seat. The special-election Senate seat was formerly held by Republican Jim DeMint,who resigned on January 2,2013,to become president of The Heritage Foundation.
Kristopher "Kris" Crawford is an emergency room physician and entrepreneur. He has served as a Republican in the South Carolina House of Representatives from 2006 to 2014. Crawford represents District 63rd based in Florence,South Carolina. Currently,he serves as the President of Physicians Preferred Monitoring and regional medical director at EmCare.
The 2018 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 6,2018,to elect the Governor of South Carolina. Incumbent Republican Governor Henry McMaster,who took office after Nikki Haley resigned to become U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations,ran for election to a full term. The primary was held on June 12,with the Democrats nominating State Representative James E. Smith Jr. McMaster failed to win a majority of the vote,and then defeated John Warren in the Republican runoff on June 26. In the general election,McMaster defeated Smith,winning election to a full term.
A general election was held in the U.S. state of South Carolina on November 6,2018. All of South Carolina's executive officers were up for election as well as all of South Carolina's seven seats in the United States House of Representatives.
A special election was held on June 20,2017,to determine the member of the United States House of Representatives for South Carolina's 5th congressional district. Representative Mick Mulvaney was nominated by President Donald Trump as director of the Office of Management and Budget and confirmed by the United States Senate on February 16,2017,necessitating his resignation from the House of Representatives.
Cheryl Marie Stanton is an American lawyer and former government official. She was the Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division at the United States Department of Labor under the Trump Administration. She previously served as the Executive Director of the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce.
The 2022 South Carolina gubernatorial election took place on November 8,2022,to elect the governor of South Carolina. Incumbent Republican Governor Henry McMaster ran for re-election for a second full term in office and secured the Republican nomination in the June 14 primary. Joe Cunningham,former United States Representative from South Carolina's 1st congressional district,was the Democratic nominee. McMaster won the general election with 58% of the vote —a larger margin than in 2018.
The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached the U.S. state of South Carolina in March 2020. On April 2,2020,DHEC announced that the virus had spread to all 46 counties in the state. During the month of June the seven-day moving average of new COVID-19 cases in South Carolina increased nearly five-fold,from 293 on June 1 to 1,398 on June 30,and continued to increase during July and into August. As of August 2022 the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) has confirmed 1,605,165 cases in the state and 18,192 deaths.
The political positions of Governor Nikki Haley have been reported from her career in the South Carolina House of Representatives,during her 2011–2017 governorship,from her books Can't Is Not an Option and With All Due Respect,and during her tenure as United States Ambassador to the United Nations from January 2017 until the very end of 2018. Some of these policy positions have changed,while others remain unmodified.