Democrats share goals in Florence
FLORENCE, S.C. — Democrats recently came together to share their platforms with Pee Dee voters.
John Vincent, a candidate for the 7th Congressional District, said he organized the event to make sure voters heard from the candidates.
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“My vision for this was fairly simple,” he said. “I’ve always been on the voting side, never on this side, and more often than not, when I went into the booth, I was wondering who the heck these people are that I was voting for.
“My vision was, ‘Can I get four to five hundred voters to meet 20 or 30 candidates and also our incumbents?’”
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He estimates 300 people showed up at the event.
Rep. Terry Alexander of Florence emphasized the importance of voting, especially given recent discussions about redistricting. The event occurred before the South Carolina Senate killed efforts to redraw congressional districts.
“If you didn’t think your vote counts, why are they trying to diminish it?” he asked.
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“Right now, the 7th District is intact. Next week, we may not know where the 7th District is,” Alexander said.
The event started with a candidate meet-and-greet allowing Florence residents to speak with the candidates directly, followed by a forum in the auditorium.
Democratic gubernatorial candidates
Two gubernatorial candidates were in attendance at Vincent’s forum: Billy Webster and Rep. Jermaine Johnson.
Each candidate started by introducing themselves and talking about what inspired them to run.
Webster grew up in Greenville and has worked in building and investing. He also worked in Washington for Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton.
“When I look around this state, I see crumbling infrastructure, I see unbridled development that's threatening our beautiful places, our clean water, our rivers, our estuaries, our salt marshes, our beaches, our oceans,” Webster said. “I see 500,000 uninsured South Carolinians, and I see an affordability crisis. ...
“In those areas, I have spent my life. I understand them. I think I know what the solutions for our state are, and I'm looking forward, as your governor, to dealing with those.”
Johnson, who represents Kershaw and Richland counties, has been in the Statehouse for three terms.
“If any of y'all have been tuned in to what's been happening in our statehouse over the last few days, you've seen that we have been up there fighting this ridiculous redistricting situation that we've had,” Johnson said. “I've been up there all day fighting what they're trying to do to us. They are trying to silence our voices all across the state and all across this country.”
Vincent asked each candidate what inspired them to run.
Johnson said he was inspired to run for governor because “our priorities are way off base every single year.”
“Since I've been elected, we've debated abortion. Every single year since I've been elected, we've talked about guns. Every single year since I've been elected, we've talked about restricting women's rights. Every year, for whatever reason, they don't want to talk about the priorities of the people of South Carolina,” he said.
Priorities for Johnson include expanding mental health resources, Medicaid and access to health care.
Webster said he’s running because politics has turned into a “grudge match.”
“Politics has become vindictive, vicious and it's just wrong,” Webster said. “The Book of Matthew tells us how to live our lives and how politics should be conducted, but we don't do that. Civility is gone, and it's been replaced by something evil, and I hate, and I will not stand for it.”
State treasurer
Candidates running for other offices were invited to come and speak to the audience for three to four minutes on their own.
Two candidates for treasurer were present: Vincent Coe and Trav Robertson. They seek to challenge Treasurer Curtis Loftis, a Republican running for re-election.
Coe is a Darlington native and former bank examiner and has worked for the FDIC and Federal Reserve.
“I stand before you all today to let you know that I am in this for the people,” Coe said. He said it’s “time that we get off the sidelines and do something about it, so I will become your next treasurer for the state of South Carolina. … I am a former bank examiner. I have been trained to verify and sworn to protect.”
Robertson said he was taught how to run the office by Grady Patterson, longtime treasurer of South Carolina. He also was taught to live within a budget and within his means by his parents.
“They taught us about integrity, about honor, and financial stability,” Robertson said. “This is the part where I continue to go on and on, but I need to say right now: People are struggling. People are having a hard time buying a gallon of gas, a hard time buying a gallon of milk. The chicken that I buy used to cost about $12 or $13 is now almost $30. We paid Curtis Loftis $165,000 a year.”
Secretary of State
Two Democratic candidates for secretary of state were also in attendance: Jason Belmont and Edwina Winter.
Belmont said he was running to make resources from the state more accessible to nonprofits providing essential services to South Carolina residents.
“One of the plans I plan on doing is putting satellite offices in each county,” Belmont said.
Winter is running to grow the office's responsibilities.
“It's really about record keeping and licensing and oversight and things like that, but it could be so much more, and that's really what I want to do,” Winter said. "I want to turn the office into an engine for small business and nonprofit growth."
Other candidates
Various other candidates ranging from U.S. Senate to local city council races also were given the chance to speak at the forum.
Brandon Brown spoke briefly about his bid for the seat held by U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham.
"(Lindsey Graham) supports this president that just this past week says he doesn't care about your pocketbook. Took a war of choice that is costing a billion dollars a day, and with your help, the first thing I'm going to do in Washington, D.C. is offer articles of impeachment to Donald Trump," Brown said.
Brown closed by leading a chant saying, “send Lindsey home.”
Commissioner of agriculture candidate DeShawn Blanding spoke about what the position does as well as why he would be a good fit. He is a fourth-generation farmer, now working in agricultural policy in Washington, and wants to prioritize improving food security in South Carolina.
“Agriculture touches every part of our lives, whether you grow on the farm or you shop at the grocery store,” Blanding said. “It touches every one of our lives. Agriculture is a thing that sustains us. It's the food, the fiber, the fuel we need in order to sustain ourselves, and our commissioner of ag should be someone who is knowledgeable, who is passionate about the work, and actually wants to make sure we get things done to help our community grow and develop.”
Superintendent of education candidate Sylvia Wright is making a bid for Ellen Weaver's seat. Her priority is improving the state education system through “leadership, management and judgement.” She also wants to establish universal pre-K, improve school safety and strengthen the teacher pipeline.
“I've been a classroom teacher, a department leader, an instructional coach, a school coordinator, and a district coordinator. Actually, I resigned for my district coordinator position to run full time for state superintendent of education, because that's how dedicated I am.”
Candidate for comptroller general, or “state accountant,” Bruce Cole also spoke about his campaign. He wants to help fix what he called a “hot mess.”
“You know, we misplaced $5.3 million, we're under investigation by the SEC, our bond rate goes down, our interest rates are going to go up, our taxes are going to go up,” he said. “It's a hot mess and you deserve better.”
On the local level, LaNika "Shelly" Williams, campaigning for Florence City Council’s at-large seat, and Dammoni “Monni” Clayton, who’s running for Florence City Council District 3, spoke about their campaign. They are also running as a mother-daughter ticket.
“We are running because we want to serve,” Williams said. "We want to continue to serve. We've done a lot with no title. It’s not about a title, it's not about power, it's not about donations, it's not about recognitions, because if it was, we would have stopped a long time ago.
“We are here for the people, and we will continue to be here for the people."
Coe is a Darlington native and former bank examiner and has worked for the FDIC and Federal Reserve.
“I stand before you all today to let you know that I am in this for the people,” Coe said. “It is spare time that we get off the sidelines and do something about it, so I will become your next treasurer for the state of South Carolina…I am a former bank examiner. I have been trained to verify and sworn to protect.”
Robertson said he wants to run because he had been taught how to run the office by Brady Patterson, longtime treasurer of South Carolina. He also was taught to live within a budget and within his means by his parents.
“They taught us about integrity, about honor, and financial stability,” Robertson said. “This is the part where I continue to go on and on, but I need to say right now people are struggling. People are having a hard time buying a gallon of gas, a hard time buying a gallon of milk. The chicken that I buy used to cost about 12 or $13 is now almost $30. We paid Curtis Loftus $165,000 a year.”
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