CHARLESTON: The South Carolina Ports Authority is spending $35,000 on a survey asking people what they think about a contentious cruise terminal proposed for Charleston and an environmental group opposed to the plan.
The Post and Courier of Charleston reports the agency is spending $35,000 to have political consultants from Columbia take a phone survey of 800 South Carolina residents. Respondents are being asked what they think about the South Carolina Coastal Conservation League and the group’s executive director Dana Beach. Other questions ask about local politicians.
Authority spokeswoman Erin Dhand says the survey is part of ongoing efforts to measure public opinion of the agency. But Beach says he’s unnerved by a state agency asking strangers questions about him. One of the newspaper’s reporters was surveyed last weekend.