William C. "Bill" Mescher (September 5, 1927- April 8, 2007) was a Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

 from South Carolina

South Carolina

South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...

. He was born in Belknap, Illinois

Belknap, Illinois

Belknap is a village in Johnson County, Illinois, United States. The population was 133 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Belknap is located at ....

. Mescher served in South Carolina Senate

South Carolina Senate

The South Carolina Senate is the upper house of the South Carolina General Assembly, the lower house being the South Carolina House of Representatives...

, representing Berkeley County, SC, from 1993 until his death in 2007.

In 2005, Mescher criticized Governor Mark Sanford

Mark Sanford

Marshall Clement "Mark" Sanford Jr. is an American politician from South Carolina, who was the 115th Governor of South Carolina from 2003 to 2011....

 for his involvement in Santee Cooper

Santee Cooper

Santee Cooper, also known officially from the 1930s as the South Carolina Public Service Authority, is South Carolina's state-owned electric and water utility that came into being during the New Deal as both a rural electrification and public works project that created two lakes and cleared large...

 affairs. Sanford responded by pointing out a conflict of interest

Conflict of interest

A conflict of interest occurs when an individual or organization is involved in multiple interests, one of which could possibly corrupt the motivation for an act in the other....

, that Mescher himself once served as CEO of Santee Cooper .

In 2007, Mescher gained media attention when he proposed a bill to legalize medical marijuana in South Carolina . He has also previously fought for the legalization of ferrets as pet

Pet

A pet is a household animal kept for companionship and a person's enjoyment, as opposed to wild animals or to livestock, laboratory animals, working animals or sport animals, which are kept for economic or productive reasons. The most popular pets are noted for their loyal or playful...

s and tattoo

Tattoo

A tattoo is made by inserting indelible ink into the dermis layer of the skin to change the pigment. Tattoos on humans are a type of body modification, and tattoos on other animals are most commonly used for identification purposes...

ing in the state..

Mescher died of a stroke on April 8, 2007.

External links

• Biography from the South Carolina Legislature