Pataki to island: Thank you

Community honored for 9/11 response

New York Gov. George Pataki stopped by Hilton Head Island on Friday to thank island firefighters and the Hilton Head community for their charitable response to the largest terrorist attack in the nation.

"On behalf of the 19 million residents of New York, I am here to say thank you," Pataki said, standing before a line of firefighters from the Hilton Head Fire and Rescue Division in dress uniforms at the division's station on Marshland Road.

The stop was made during a two-day tour of South Carolina to shore up support for various Republican candidates.

In the weeks that followed the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, island residents raised $50,000 at a benefit concert, more than $70,000 through a local firefighters' relief fund, hosted victims' family members and invited firefighters to participate in a celebrity golf tournament.

Chief Tom Fieldstead said the efforts of the island firefighters derived from a camaraderie of emergency responders. He gave Pataki an "HHFD" ball cap and a pin showing the walls of the World Trade Center "that stood even though the terrorists tried to knock them down," the chief said.

Pataki, in turn, presented Fieldstead with a U.S. flag that once hung from a pole at the World Trade Center site.

"I walked the streets to the trade center that morning to assure residents that we will carry on," he said. "But I saw everyone respond in such a way that they reassured me.

"When that call came, it was not just firefighters assigned to the tower, but firefighters across the state, across the region rushed to the towers. ... You came to help us as well."

Pataki stopped by Sun City Hilton Head and spoke to a crowd of about 60 prior to the island visit.

The New York governor spoke in Columbia on Thursday at a fundraiser for state treasurer candidate Thomas Ravenel. He was expected to speak at fundraisers for Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom and U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint on Friday night, spokeswoman Alicia Preston said.

Eckstrom and David Beasley, governor of South Carolina from 1994 to 1998, joined Pataki at the fire station.

Some see Pataki's visits as also making connections for a possible run for the U.S. presidency in 2008. But Pataki said that's not his focus right now.

"It's a tremendous honor for people to think that," he said. "But now the focus is on Nov. 7. We're going to focus on trying to bring out the voters and support the Republican Party."

The New York governor acknowledged that the party has taken some hits recently over U.S. Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., sending improper e-mails and instant messages to a congressional page. Foley has resigned since the scandal broke.

"It's a tough year for Republican candidates," Pataki said. "(Foley) should be held accountable. That doesn't mean that the Republican Party philosophy isn't right for the future of the country."

Pataki said the one thing that has been lost since Sept. 11 is "the tremendous sense of unity" following the attacks.

"We were all Americans whose freedom had been attacked," he said. "Today people are more interested in finger-pointing instead of confronting problems head-on."

Pataki's visit to Hilton Head drew a crowd of about 30 people, some of whom had known the governor back in New York.

Joe Rampe of Beaufort, who once lived in Orange County, N.Y., said his son is the chairman of the board for Manhattan Development Corp., which is in charge of rebuilding lower Manhattan.

"We're big fans," Rampe said about why he drove from Beaufort to see Pataki. "He's a man with high principles who stands up for what he believes."

Mike Donnell, who just built a house in Palmetto Hall, agreed. Plus it helped that Pataki announced that he's rooting for the New York Yankees.

"I'm a Republican from New York and a Yankees fan," he said. "What's not to like?"