South Carolina schools must improve if the state is to compete financially and its citizens are to be successful. Mick Zais has turned a failing college into a respected one. Voters should elect him to apply the same energy and skills to improving our public schools. Dr. Zais would bring impressive academic and service credentials to the office of Superintendent of Education. And his plans for the state office are based on sound educational and management principles. At the core of his approach is his commitment to give local school boards and principals more authority to spend state money and
Longtime Democratic incumbents are a seriously endangered species. In House races, they are trailing their Republican challengers by margins that suggest their careers are about to be extinguished, according to The Hill 2010 Midterm Election Poll. Budget Committee Chairman John Spratt (D-S.C.) is down 10 percentage points, while Reps. Allen Boyd (D-Fla.) and Chet Edwards (D-Texas) are each losing by 12. Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D-Pa.), who is serving his 13th term, is trailing by five. Republicans have targeted all of these Democrats before, but are closer than ever to ousting them. Edwards has served two decades in Congress, while Boyd
The congressional race between Mick Mulvaney and John Spratt is undoubtedly one of the biggest races in the country. With less than a week to go, we need your help to finish strong in this pivotal election. Please fill out the form below to commit to volunteering 10 hours of your time for the Mick Mulvaney campaign this weekend:
With all the attention given to popular congressional or gubernatorial campaigns, sometimes the lower key (but still important) races get overlooked. In some cases, these races occasionally even get overlooked by an entire state party. For instance, below are two critical positions that both have strong conservative candidates running for them… Secretary of State: Mark Hammond As current Secretary of State, Mark initiated reforms that targeted trademark and charity fraud Unveiled SC Business One Stop (SCBOS), which is a web-based program that helps new and existing businesses with licensing Helped seize over $13 million in counterfeit money Focused on helping
During his two terms as comptroller general, Richard Eckstrom has helped make state and local government more accountable by enhancing public oversight of their expenditures. He should be given another term to expand those efforts into the area of higher education. Two years ago, Mr. Eckstrom launched state government’s “transparency” website, detailing expenditures of 80 state agencies. That initiative has expanded throughout the state as 21 local governments, including the city of Charleston and Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester counties, have begun voluntarily posting their check registers on the web. So have a majority of the state’s public school districts. Mr.
“Ard for lieutenant governor” Ken Ard is a businessman and Florence County Council member who has the experience and the perspective needed in Columbia. South Carolinians should choose him as a lieutenant governor who could do more with the job. The Palmetto State’s lieutenant governor is seen as mostly a ceremonial position. The office holds little power. The lieutenant governor presides over the state Senate and handles the Office on Aging. And he would become governor if the governor could not continue in office. The latter condition rarely happens. Ard says he wants to do more. He wants to work
Three state Republican Party leaders today called on Robert Barber, the Democratic candidate for Comptroller General, to release his lobbying records to the media. On Oct. 11, Charleston County GOP chairwoman Lin Bennett wrote Barber to request that he disclose his previous lobbying clients, as well as how much he made from each while lobbying state government. Barber was a registered lobbyist for ten years until 2005, when he de-registered to run unsuccessfully for Lt. Governor. In her letter, Bennett wrote: “I would never request information from you that I did not feel was relevant to the duties of the
As we all know, the biggest issue of this election cycle is the economy. We need individuals with strong fiscal aptitude and solid business skills. The Office of Comptroller General is responsible for our state’s bookkeeping, so it is extremely important that we elect someone to this position who has the experience and knowledge necessary to keep spending under control. Here are your two options… The Conservative Choice: Richard Eckstrom As the state’s Chief Accountant, he has championed fiscal restraint, accountability and transparency in all government financial transactions Richard is a renowned leader in the fight to reign in out-of-control
Richard Eckstrom’s consistent and effective efforts on behalf of open government and state government reform give voters more than enough reason to re-elect him. Many politicians talk about government transparency. Few elected officials have done as much as Eckstrom to actually achieve transparency. The comptroller general advocated putting state agency checkbooks online so voters could see how the state is spending its money. When the agencies balked, Eckstrom did it for them. He then started to work on local governments and has assisted more than 30 cities and counties in putting their finances online. The comptroller general also serves on
This week we watched the Lt. Governor candidates debate and the differences could not have been more clear. Here are your two options… The Conservative Choice: Ken Ard Proven business leader with extensive experience in budgeting for the future Renowned for rolling up his sleeves and working harder than anyone else Served on the County Council and voted to decrease taxes every time the matter came up Ken is ready to get serious about tort reform and recognizes the urgency to tighten our state’s budget The Liberal Choice: Ashley Cooper Loves to point fingers and blame others Lacks the business
