Managing Principal
Taft Matney is a Mauldin, South Carolina native, a graduate of the University of South Carolina-Spartanburg, and Managing Principal of TM Public Relations & Governmental Affairs.
Taft volunteered in his first campaign when he was six years old and never seemed to stop. As a political consultant and manager, his public affairs pursuits expanded into the private arena and led to forming TMPR in 2001.
His experience in advocacy, media relations, legislative affairs, and strategy allow Taft to understand what’s necessary to achieve a client’s objectives effectively and efficiently.
Taft was a frequent editorial contributor to the “Our Turn” opinion section in The Greenville (SC) News and provides political commentary to local, national, and international media.
Taft married the former Addy Schmitz in 1998, added “Father” to his job description in October 2003, and was featured with his son Trey in the May 2005 issue of TALK Greenville magazine.
Taft is an usher team captain at Mauldin Methodist Church and also serves on the board of the Knollwood Foundation, a non-profit organization he started with some childhood friends to provide food to our community’s youth in need.
Previously, he served as chair of the Mauldin High School Athletic Booster Club. He was a member of the Mauldin High and Mauldin Middle School Improvement Councils (SICs), a board member of the YMCA of Greenville, a past chair of its Youth In Government (YIG) / Teen Services branch, and a board member of the Prisma Health Family YMCA branch. He volunteered as an assistant coach for Mauldin High School’s debate team, as a board member of Easter Seals of Greenville, and served on several additional committees at Mauldin Methodist including the History Committee and as a co-chair of the church’s Preschool & Kindergarten.
He was a member of the Advisory Council of Prisma Health (formerly the Greenville Health System) and Memorial Medical Campus and the Government Task Force of Greenville Forward.
He was tapped to serve on the City Center, Economic Development, and Cultural Resources subcommittee for the City of Mauldin’s Comprehensive Plan in June 2008 and on the city’s Main Street Steering Committee in early July of that year.
If you’re attending a football game at Mauldin High School’s Freeman Field and hear a familiar voice over the public address system, Taft is also the PA announcer for varsity football.
In November 2013, Taft was elected to serve in Seat 1 on Mauldin City Council and was reelected in 2017 and 2021. As a member of Mauldin City Council, Taft chairs the Economic Planning and Development Committee and is a member of the Business and Development Services and Recreation Committees. He served on the Public Safety Committee from 2014-2019.
