Outside or in? S Carolina Democrats have choice for governor

https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/article/Outside-or-in-S-Carolina-Democrats-have-choice-12980878.php

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Democrats in South Carolina face a familiar choice Tuesday when they choose their candidate for governor - do they pick a legislator trying to woo independents and some Republicans? Or do they go with a candidate outside the Statehouse less interested in moderation? 

State Rep. James Smith is the front-runner, a veteran who went to Afghanistan and spent 22 years in the South Carolina House before stepping aside for a run for governor. 

One opponent, Charleston businessman Phil Noble, who talks at about every appearance about his "big, bold and audacious ideas" for South Carolina, such as doubling teacher pay but having strict accountably goals in place to weed out poor teachers. 

The other opponent, Florence attorney Marguerite Willis, said she was driven into the race by "the racist, sexist president of the United States" and said a woman is needed to take on the good old boy network and fight for better lives for women and the poor. 

Republicans in South Carolina like outsiders. In The past two primaries with open seats, the eventual winner has charged from the outside and soundly beat the more established candidates. 

Democrats have been the opposite. A legislator who has been the favorite from the start has won the nomination each election since 1998, while the GOP has won four governor's races in a row as the state turns more Republican. 

"Every time they nominate somebody who gives some rah-rah speeches trying to be Republican light and he gets beat," Noble said. "How many more times do they have to lose before they figure out that doesn't work?" 

Each of those legislators who lost at the polls is a man, Willis said. 

"Every four years they find a legislator - it's his time; it's never her - his time has come they all get behind him they all endorse him they push him forward and they lose," she said. 

That criticism missed a few important points to Democratic success: the party can't win by turning off voters and electing someone without any experience in government, Smith said. 

"We've seen what a lack of experience does in the White House. I think we want some experience here in the Statehouse," Smith said. 

All three candidates support unions, Medicaid expansion, better pay for teachers and other Democratic staples. They disagree on how to implement their visions. Noble talks about blowing things up and starting all over, while Willis and Smith take a more cautious approach of bipartisanship in a state where President Donald Trump received 55 percent of the vote in 2016. 

In traditional political measures, Smith is well ahead. He has raised $1.1 million from individual contributors and $162,000 as the race heated up in April and May. Donors have given $171,000 to Wills, but just $40,000 in the past two months. She did loan her campaign $300,000 on March 30, but not given it any more of her own cash. 

Noble has raised $207,000 from individual donors with $56,000 coming in the past few months. 

Smith also touts his endorsements from a wide range of groups from the social activists in the South Carolina Progressive Network to the environmentalists in the Sierra Club to the gun control supporters at Moms Demand Action. Individually, Smith has support ranging from former Vice President Joe Biden to South Carolina's only black congressman Jim Clyburn to the state last two Democratic governors and more than 20 African-American state senators and House members. 

"I've brought this party together," Smith said. 

The Democratic race for governor in South Carolina also doesn't look a lot like the party in the state. In the last contested Democratic governor's primary in 2010, 59 percent of voters were black. 

Noble has picked an African-American woman, educator Gloria Bromell Tinubu to be his lieutenant governor nominee, while Willis selected black state Sen. John Scott to be her running mate. 

Smith selected a white woman, state Rep. Mandy Powers Norell. Women also made up 59 percent of the electorate in the 2010 vote. 

Follow Jeffrey Collins on Twitter at https://twitter.com/JSCollinsAP . Read his work at https://apnews.com/search/jeffrey%20collins

Dems call for 'blue tsunami' in 2018

Oconee County Democratic Party chair Paulette Keffas-Chassin encourages the party faithful to work for Democratic candidates in the 2018 elections at a meeting at South Cove Park on Sunday. Norm Cannada | The Journal

SENECA — Oconee County Democratic leaders called for a “blue tsunami” in 2018 and encouraged the party faithful to work for Democratic candidates in hopes of turning the state from a “red” Republican state to a “blue” Democratic state.

About 180 people attended the annual Democratic Party event Sunday night at South Cove Park. They heard from seven candidates, including two running for governor, two vying for Congress and three local candidates.

Paulette Keffas-Chassin, chair of the county Democratic Party, said she is seeing the local party gaining strength with more candidates and enthusiasm, though she added more effort is needed in order to make the goal a reality.

“The blue tsunami is a great phenomenon, and that could happen in this county, in this state and in this country, but it’s not a magical thing,” Keffas-Chassin said. “The only way we will take Congress back and the Columbia legislature and this state and this county is by the work of everybody in this room.”

The Democrats heard from Phil Noble and James Smith, two of the three candidates vying for the party’s nomination for governor in next week’s primary election.

Noble called for “doubling” the salaries of public school teachers.  “If you’re going to try to do something big and bold and significant in education, you’ve got to first deal with the teachers,” he said.  “What we pay our teachers now is just atrocious,” he added. “We have about 6,000 or 7,000 teachers that just leave, just never come back.”  He called Smith a “career politician who has spent his life in the legislature.” He also criticized his opponent in the room, saying Smith has been endorsed three times by the National Rifle Association.

Smith responded by saying the Democratic Party is the “party of ideas, not personal attacks.”  Smith said he did have “positive scores” from the NRA years ago. He said the scores “had nothing to do with gun safety.”  “I’m not concerned about what they think,” he said. “The fact is these scores had to do with things like hunting issues — I’ve been a hunter my whole life. They don’t have anything to do with gun safety.”

Seneca businessman Hosea Cleveland and Anderson educator Mary Geren said they have tried to show one another respect in their race for the Third District Congressional seat currently held by U.S. Rep. Jeff Duncan. Both were critical of Duncan and said they wanted to see him defeated.  Cleveland called for more efforts to improve and invest in renewable energy and pointed to the fleet of electric buses that are in Seneca as part of the Clemson Area Transit system. He said a congressman could bring more money back to the district to provide funding for more efforts in renewable energy. He said he also supported bringing more new jobs to the area.  “We need to invest in the right kind of jobs so folks can make a decent living,” Cleveland said.

Geren, who taught English at Tri-County Technical College before leaving her job to make a run for Congress, said she grew up in poverty in Northeast Georgia and was able to get out of poverty through the encouragement and help of public school administrators and teachers.  “I am running for Congress because I believe in public education more than anything; it saved my life,” Geren said. “We are fighting for the American dream, and I have been blessed to live it. That is a real dream, but it is slipping away.”

Jody Gaulin, who is challenging Republican State Rep. Bill Sandifer in the general election, said “competition is good — it keeps everyone honest.”

If elected to the State House of Representatives, Gaulin said she would work for “equal pay for equal work.”  “I feel like I do have a good feel for what is going on in Oconee County,” she said. “I’ve been exposed to those who are chronically under- or unemployed, and that is a hard nut to crack, and it’s a hard problem to solve. I feel like I have some degree of understanding of those issues.”  Other priorities for Gaulin would be improving public safety, public education, workforce preparedness, maintaining and improving infrastructure, affordable higher education and expanded access to health care.  “All of these are critical to a thriving economy, strong families and livable communities,” she said.

Bill Bruehl, who is running for Oconee County Council District 1 in November, said government leaders need to “collaborate if you want to produce.”

“I believe that the fundamental problem we face here, whether it’s locally or nationally, is polarization,” Bruehl said.  He called for leaders to talk and listen with “respect” and work together.

Sandra Sloan, who plans to run for the Oconee County School Board, said she wants to work to improve education.

“Our district is doing a good job, but there is always room for improvement,” said Sloan, a former teacher. “We must never forget that the children are our future, who will serve in various capacities as we age. Therefore we must ensure that they have the education to adequately perform the lower skills as well as the highly technological jobs in the workforce in a most rigorous manner.”  She also called for more diversity in school staff.  “Everyone needs to see someone that looks like them,” she said.

ncannada@upstatetoday.com | (864) 973-6680

Follow on Twitter @NormCannada

Posted on June 5, 2018

By Norm Cannada

The Journal, Seneca, SC

Democratic congressional hopefuls face off in Anderson

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.

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

Follow on Twitter @GoldenCornerCat

The Journal, Seneca, SC

May 31, 2018

Democrat Bruehl plan to 'listen' in county council run

SENECA — As he prepares for his first run for elected office this fall, Democrat Bill Bruehl says he doesn’t have a “stump speech” to give every time he goes out to meet voters. And he doesn’t plan to put one together.

     “I don’t have any speeches to give,” Bruehl recently told The Journal. “I want to listen to people. I will go anywhere, and if somebody says, ‘OK, go ahead and talk,’ I’ll say, ‘Tell me what you want; tell me what concerns you,’ and we’ll have a conversation. If people want to shout me down, I’ll say, ‘Come on up here and we’ll talk on the stage.’ I think it’s time for us to listen to one another with respect, and that’s where I am.”

Bruehl, 86, is a retired professor and former department chair of the Theatre Arts Department at Stony Brook University in Long Island, N.Y. He has written about 25 plays in his career and in retirement still spends four to six hours a day working on his latest novel.

     He and his wife, Marty, are natives of Pennsylvania and have been married for 62 years. They moved to their home on Lake Keowee in Oconee County about 17 years ago. He said they came down to visit and knew this was the area where they wanted to live because of “the natural beauty of the area.”

“We came down here because it was beautiful, the paradise we’ve been searching for all over this country — this was it,” he said. “We came down on a Friday to visit friends, and on Saturday morning we had a Realtor. Nine months later, they found this house for us. “

     Bruehl said he had tried to get other friends to run for public office, but finally decided to run himself to give Democrats like him a choice in elections. He said local party leaders suggested he run for the county council seat in his district. He will face the winner of the June 12 Republican primary between John Elliott and Edda Cammick in the November general election.

     “We would go to the polls every year to vote and there weren’t any Democrats — all those slots were empty,” Bruehl said. “Democrats didn’t have Democrats to vote for.”

He plans to spend the next couple of months attending meetings and studying the local issues.

“I intend to go (to council meetings) on a regular basis, watch and listen to the people see how they operate,” he said. “It gives me a chance to go to school and find out what I need to know.”

     He said he would like to work to bring people together.

     “The basic problem in our country is the division we have, dividing ourselves essentially into two camps that are fighting and generating hatred,” Bruehl said. “I know that’s a national issue. If I can contribute a little to undermining that division and hatred, if I can bring people together, that’s what I’d like to do.”

     While he said he knows the chances of a Democrat winning a county council seat in Oconee are “pretty slim,” he is looking forward to the “adventure” of being a candidate.

“I was raised to serve,” he said. “The last time I served the country I was 19 during the Korean War, for three years. Here I am again, and I’m saying, ‘I am going to try to do this.’”

The Journal

Norm Cannada

ncannada@upstatetoday.com | (864) 973-6680

Follow on Twitter @NormCannada

6th Annual FUNdraiser

Sunday, June 3, from 5 to 8 pm, is Oconee County Democratic Party's 6th Annual FUNdraiser at South Cove Park in Seneca.  Come join us and have fun with your democratic thinking friends. We will have great food, entertainment (jazz and gospel), and several candidates on hand.  Come hear from James Smith (Governor), Hosea Cleveland and Mary Geren (3rd Congressional District), Jody Gaulin (SC House 2), Bill Bruehl (County Council 1), and Sandra Sloan (Oconee School Board).  The ticket is $25 and includes admission to South Cove Park.

Buy your ticket here:  https://secure.actblue.com/donate/ocdpweb

League of Women Voters' Forum

The Clemson League of Women Voters will sponsor a forum of Primary Candidates for the 3rd Congressional District on May 29th at 7 pm at the Anderson Library ( 300 N. McDuffie St
Anderson, SC).  Come and hear from Hosea Cleveland and Mary Geren.  More details soon.

H. 3548 would ban access to nearly all safe and legal abortions in SC

From SCDP: H. 3548 would have devastating consequences for women's reproductive health in South Carolina and we must do everything we can to defeat it.  This is NOT a DRILL — H. 3548 is a bill that would ban access to nearly all safe and legal abortions in South Carolina and it's up for its final vote in the South Carolina Senate RIGHT NOW. We need to show our support for the Democrats that are filibustering this bill. They need to see you, Philip, in the gallery of the Senate. They're doing everything they can to support the women of South Carolina and we need to be there for them.  We'll be providing regular updates through the SCDP Twitter account, be sure to follow along, and you can catch the live stream here if you're not in Columbia today. Again, this is not a drill and we need you in the Senate gallery right now.  What’s going on in the Senate right now. The House Bill (3548) was originally what's known as the 'dismemberment' bill that would ban a certain type of abortion. After some legislative wrangling, the bill ended up in a format that Democrats hoped 1. could be defeated outright 2. would be filibustered if not 3. would be struck down by the courts if it made it through both Houses and received the Governor's signature.Senator Kimpson from Charleston is currently at the well filibustering this bill with lots of support from his colleagues. They're doing a tremendous job of standing up for South Carolina's women and we'd love any support you can give them, particularly with folks coming to Columbia to be in the gallery and lobby of the Senate.

May Breakfast Meeting

OCDP's monthly Breakfast meeting will be in a different location this month.  Take note and Join us!

May 19 - 9 am - 11 am
Oconee Heritage Center
123 Browns Square Drive, Walhalla, SC

Oconee County is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year, and we have arranged for Center curator Jennifer Moss to address our breakfast. As usual, please bring a breakfast item to share.
Want to know more about the Oconee Heritage Center? Click here.