McGowan was viewed as a fair commissioner. From a 2004 article in The State "'He gave a chance to females and blacks and average Joes like me, who wasn't very educated when he hired me in 1978' said Ron Creamer who left the Labor Department in 1990. 'Selecting you as Labor Commissioner was certainly one of the best (if not the best) appointments I made during my term as Governor,' West wrote when McGowan announced his retirement."McGowan Directed S.C. Labor Policy, The State, February 2004
