A new Lexington County senator is making waves in the Statehouse.

Sen. Dick Harpootlian, a Democrat who represents the Irmo area in the state Senate, questioned the appointment of former House member Mike Pitts.

In a letter to Doug Harper, the state Conservation Bank board director, Pitts wrote that he was withdrawing his name from consideration.

Pitts said he was “not prepared for the aggressive inquisition” before the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee.

His decision to drop his bid to become the state land preservation agency’s next director is rare compared to former lawmakers who glided into government jobs.

Pitts was the House Ethics Committee chairman when he resigned as a lawmaker last December after accepting an offer from the state Conservation Bank board to become its next director.

The $97,135 job had been vacant since former director Marvin Davant retired.

A bill last year dealing with the Conservation Bank would have banned lawmakers from being hired for the director’s job within a year after leaving office. That provision was removed from the final version.

Ex-lawmakers usually have no trouble getting government jobs. Take, for example, former longtime Senate president pro tempo-re and Judiciary Committee chairman Glenn McConnell.

The Charleston County Republican was considered one of the state’s most powerful lawmakers.

He was tapped in 2014 to become president of the College of Charleston although he had no experience in higher education.

When he announced his retirement from the college last year, McConnell, 70, was making at least $300,000 annually, plus another $48,515 in state retirement benefits, Ethics Commission records show.

Brundrett is the news editor of The Nerve (www.the-nerve.org). Contact him at 803-254-4411 or rick@the-nerve.org .