Myrtle Beach Mayor John Rhodes said council is not to blame for the low turnout and lost business during the spring Harley-Davidson motorcycle rally. Rhodes said the people who declared they would not spend a dime in ’09 in Myrtle Beach, kept rally-goers out of the city. Rhodes said he liked that the bikers who were here were riding through Myrtle Beach the way council asked them to and showed respect to neighbors and residents with no loud pipes and no engines racing. ”I think yes we accomplished what we (council) were trying to do, as we’ve said many times that we do not want to promote bike rallies, we don’t feel that we have the staff and all to handle bike rallies, but we do welcome bikers.”
When asked what he wants to say to business owners who claimed they lost thousand of dollars because of the low turnout due to some of city council’s decisions, including passing a helmet law, Rhodes said, ”We did not want to see anybody that’s going to get out there and get themselves into bad financial bind, there’s no question about it, but we knew there were going to be ramifications to stopping what was going on, we had to gain control back from the events that were taking place in our city.” Rhodes said if he and other city leaders had not made changes, they would not be doing the job for citizens who elected.
Rhodes said it will take time to recoup lost revenue, but events like the A.C.C. baseball tournament in 2011, 2012, and 2013, and Military Appreciation Days are a start, but will take time to build up attendance and revenue. ”It really is unfortunate any time that you make change there’s going to be a certain amount of given time that there’s going to be suffering, but once the suffering is over I think that the change we’ve made, what comes in, what takes the place is going to be very positive and hopefully the people in Myrtle Beach and the business community will be pleased with it.”
Public Information Officer Mark Kruea added that for all the people who came to Myrtle Beach during the month of May, many people didn’t come because of rallies.
Rhodes said he is absolutely running for re-election in November, is not resigning and welcomes other candidates. He said he’s aware he has a lot of critics, including some business owners, some bikers and some residents. Rhodes said he’s aware of a “facebook" page from a group called "let’s get rid of Myrtle Beach Mayor John Rhodes and city council.” The page includes pictures of signs and t-shirts, with strong comments aimed at Rhodes, emblazoned on them. ”When it comes to the t-shirt’s, I really wish they’d send the right size, so you know, you listen to it, but you got to let it roll off your back, you cannot let it get to you and I don’t do that, those who know me know, that I don’t back down and I don’t yield.” Rhodes said.
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