James Frazier set fine example for public service

James Frazier of Bucksport is stepping away from his long-held seat on the Horry County Council and his quiet, gentlemanly approach to governance already is missed. His health has prevented him from attending council meetings in recent months, so other members were saddened but not surprised by the announcement of his retirement on March 1.

Present and past Council members express the utmost respect for this quiet, humble man who was a model leader in his community of Bucksport. In fact, Frazier is so highly regarded that it’s difficult to imagine anyone speaking harshly about him. Without a doubt, he represented his community and District 7, but he also paid close attention to all of Horry County.

County Council Chairman Mark Lazarus recognized Frazier’s countywide contributions, saying “There are not enough words to express his love for Horry County and his dedication to service to the people of this county. He is a man of few, but powerful words. When he speaks, the room will go silent and everyone will listen as his wisdom is what has guided our county into the amazing place it is today.”

Former council chairwoman Liz Gilland, who has known Frazier since she was a teenager, commented on the difference Frazier’s absence has made on the council in the past several months. “We’ve lacked having his gentlemanly ways.”

Frazier’s classic advice on public service, shared many times by Myrtle Beach City Councilman Randal Wallace, was “Always vote your conscience, don’t take it personally and don’t fight the same old battles over and over again.” Wallace wistfully added: “I wish everybody listened to it.”

Paul Prince has served on the County Council for nearly as long as Frazier. The two men are old friends as well as colleagues. And here’s a remarkable thing in this age of rampant incivility at nearly every level of public life. In 33 years of serving together, “... we have never got upset with each other or mad or had a hard word,” Prince says. “I think that’s to be commended.” Indeed it is.

It’s difficult to miss Frazier’s positive influence in the rural community of Bucksport, along the Waccamaw River. The community center bears his name. He helped pave roads and build sidewalks; he pushed for fire service and helped start the Bucksport Water System. He’s been a trustee at Salem AME Church and taught Sunday school. Frazier is retired from the S.C. Department of Agriculture. In the late ‘70s, he was one of five people invited to the White House to discuss U.S. farmers’ plight.

The person elected to take Frazier’s District 7 seat will follow a tough act, as they say; James Frazier has set a high standard for public service – with humility, humor, kindness and unusual grace.

In the same month Frazier’s retirement was announced, Barbara Blain-Bellamy was sworn in as Conway’s first black mayor. Her late dad, Jobe Blain, was Horry County’s first black police officer, hired in 1963 during the Civil Rights Movement and patroling in his personal vehicle. Like Frazier and others, Blain used kindness and persistence to break barriers of Jim Crow segregation.

As she was sworn in as mayor, Blain-Bellamy recalled life lessons from her dad, regarding generosity and persistence as well as race. “Good things are not necessarily easy, but you just work at them until you get them done. I’m as proud as I can be to be that person that followed my dad’s footsteps.”

This story was originally published February 1, 2016 at 9:37 AM with the headline "James Frazier set fine example for public service."