Dan Hamilton

Below is a quick video post from Rep. Dan Hamilton on new developments in the possibility of offshore oil and natural gas exploration in South Carolina.

Click on this link to find out how to make your voice heard during the public comment period to the U.S. Department of Interior. You may also send a letter to the following address:

Ms. Renee Orr
Chief, Leasing Division
Minerals Management Service, MS 4010
381 Elden Street
Herndon, VA 20170-4817

Please remember that the public comment period ends on September 21, 2009.

Please click here to watch the video invitation! I hope to see you out!

There are two things I wanted to accomplish when I set out to build this web site; My first goal was to establish two-way communication in an transparent environment with constituents and other interested parties; Second, I wanted to provide readers with a window into my role in state government through a quick and easy to read format using micro-blogging as a backbone to the infrastructure.

This site has been set up for me to to quickly and easily update all day, everyday…so hang on. Along the way, you’ll get a glimpse into my life as a state legislator, businessman, husband and father. By the way, a lot of people don’t know this, but being a legislator in South Carolina is a “part time” job…my “real” job is in real estate so expect to see a little bit about that occasionally.

Here are a few tools I will use along the way to make this happen:

Twitter — Twitter is a micro blogging format with “posts” limited to 160 characters. This is a simple application that makes it easy to provide a one or two sentence update. I can update Twitter from any computer with an Internet connection, on my phone through text messaging or with my iPhone using an application (more on that later). My Twitter updates throughout the day will automatically post to this website, providing you with real time access to my thoughts on current events or pending legislation. I plan on providing readers with unprecedented access to what is really happening in Columbia. You can follow me and others by going to twitter.com/dphamilton.

Here are a few of my fellow South Carolina Legislators you might want to follow (in no particular order, well, OK, Republicans first): Rep. Eric Bedingfield, Rep. Shannon Erickson, Rep. Nathan Ballentine, Rep. Joey Millwood, Rep. James Smith and  Rep. Anton Gunn.

Facebook — Chances are you have heard of Facebook. It is a very popular social networking site originally used for colleges but has grown acceptance in nearly every facet of life. It can be used to build a “community” of like minded people around a person, idea or cause.

iPhone (with applications) — My iPhone has become one of my favorite tools in life. It it vital for my business to stay in touch with clients, pull up maps and search the Internet…all while on the go. It will also be indespendible tool for me to use at the State House. My iPhone is loaded up with some great applications to help me communicate and stay in touch.

Some of my favorite applications on the iPhone are:

• Facebook — See above.

• Twittelator — Manages my Twitter updates on the go.

• Evernote – Mobile note taking application where I can take pictures, write notes or even record audio.

• vlingo — Allows me to control certain aspects of the phone by voice command. I can make phone calls by speaking a name and even update my Twitter and Facebook status by speaking. Very cool and a big time saver.

• The Bible — Yes, I even have the Bible on my phone. It comes with lots of translations and background notes so if you see me looking at my iPhone in church, I’m reading the Bible and not checking email.

We have a few more ideas we’re working on to make the site even better. For example, I plan on adding lots of links to help constituents work with the state government, provide access to my Legislative calendar so you can see what I am working on in Columbia and a link to other Legislators’ Twitter updates.

In the meantime, please give me your feedback and ideas of what you would like to see on this site. Its a blog format, so feel free to leave a comment. I’d love to hear from you. Also, please make sure to sign up for email alerts when the site is updated to you will be the first to know.

I had the privilege of speaking to the inductees to the JL Mann High chapter of the National Honor Society last night. There were 63 inductees this year, a record number.

These students were honored because of their extraordinary scholastic accomplishments (all had at least a 4.0 GPA), community volunteerism and leadership ability.

My talk focused on three words: reacting, responding and initiating.

Reacting to circumstances and life is automatic and easy. As Zig Ziglar says, “you have a reaction to the wrong medication.” Most politicians spend their time reacting.

Responding is more difficult and unnatural but better than reacting. Businesses respond to competition. Responding is typically more calculated and strategic.

Initiating is more difficult.  It is the essence of leadership.  Leaders initiate. It is harder because it involves overcoming the powerful force of inertia. I asked them to wake up every morning thinking about how to initiate positive change within their environment.

I am looking forward to seeing great things from this existing class and new class of National Honor Society students.

Pictured with me (from left to right) are: Brenda Adimora, President; Greg Roush, Vice President for Public Relations; Matt Kofoed, Vice President for Service; Grace Williams, Treasurer; Leighton Morgan, Historian; Chris Chu, Secretary; Mrs. Susan Hughes, Principal.

A quick welcome message from Dan:

Good government must begin with accountability. As your State Representative, I need to stay in constant contact with you.  You need to tell me what’s on your mind and how the most important issues are affecting your family. When you run into a state problem, you need to be able to contact me.

You can reach me a variety of ways.

You can always call my cell phone at 864.444.7285 or my Statehouse office at 803.212.6795.

You can email me at DanHamilton@schouse.org.

If you have joined the Twitter universe, you can send a tweet to @dphamilton.

I look foward to hearing from you soon.

You’ve probably noticed that my new site is a little different from most political sites.  That’s because I want to be a different kind of legislator.

Voters across the nation sent elected officials a strong message in 2008 – they are ready for change.  I don’t believe you want the kind of liberal change that explodes our budgets and increases your taxes. I believe you want conservative change that reduces governments, lowers your taxes, and grows our economy.

Most importantly, I believe you are ready for government to get back to the basics of transparency, accountability, and effective government.  Using the latest technologies and social networking tools, I’m using my site as a “feed” to let you know what I’m doing and how I’m working to make conservative change happen in Columbia. I’m not going to update this site once every few days. I’m going to update it all day, every day. Whether its from my computer or from my cell phone, I’m going to stay in constant contact with you.

I hope you find this new site useful. Please come back often.

- Dan