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| Seneca businessman Hosea Cleveland speaks as Mary Geren, his opponent in next month’s Democratic primary for the U.S. House District 3 seat, listens during a forum Tuesday at the Anderson County Library. (Caitlin Herrington | The Journal)
ANDERSON — The two Democratic candidates vying in next month’s primary for the chance to try to unseat Third District Congressman Jeff Duncan took time to answer questions from voters on Tuesday night at the Anderson County Library.
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Tri-County Technical College professor Mary Geren and Seneca businessman Hosea Cleveland addressed topics ranging from school safety to environmental concerns on Tuesday while pointing out the importance of voting in the June 12 primary election and making their presence known.
“People don’t even know there’s a primary,” Geren said. “Mr. Cleveland and I are running for Congress.”
The candidates took hard lines on gun control and school safety Tuesday night, with Geren telling voters AR-15-style weapons “do not belong on the streets.”
“This is not a popular stance for me to take,” she said. “We have got to have some common-sense gun legislation.”
Cleveland, a U.S. Army veteran, said a large portion of the gun control problem should be credited to how people treat one another.
“Common sense should have governed the day,” he said. “In public, in the school systems, wherever we are, we are our best friend when it comes to public safety. We’ve got to be aware of what’s going on around us.”
Both agreed some reform was needed to the Affordable Care Act but supported the idea of universal health care.
“I support a Medicare-for-all program and I do believe if (Democrats) get the majority we’re hoping to, we can move forward,” Geren said, later adding the individual mandate repealed in December was a large part of the problem with the ACA.
Cleveland noted the state opted out of Medicaid expansion, leading to larger problems for South Carolina residents struggling to afford health care. He said the uninsured and underinsured “are costing us trillions of dollars a year,” and that the subsidies should boost the program to solvency.
Cleveland and Geren would both enter Congress as minorities, and neither is deterred by that fact. Geren said women “do not have the representation they need in our government,” and Cleveland added he would love to see a day when Congress more accurately reflected the country it represents.
Both candidates acknowledged climate change, and Geren specifically took a hard line against using fossil fuels, which she said Duncan has been pushing for for years.
“Climate change is real. It is not a hoax by the Chinese,” she said, calling it a non-partisan issue.
Cleveland mentioned alternate sources of energy such as solar and wind turbines while touting Seneca’s all-electric bus fleet.
“Can we create enough energy to create so many new jobs that it would change our whole dynamics in terms of our infrastructure?” Cleveland asked voters after mentioning the buses.
The candidates ended the night encouraging everyone to get out and vote and encourage their friends and family to do the same on June 12.
cherrington@upstatetoday.com | (864) 973-6686
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The Journal, Seneca, SC
May 31, 2018
