Candidates for Governor and Their Plans for South Carolina

Interviews by Mike DuBose and Blake DuBose

 

The citizens of South Carolina have a big vote coming up in 2018’s midterm elections. In November, they will choose either Henry McMaster, a Republican, or James Smith, a Democrat, to serve as the state’s next governor. To gain a better understanding about their personal backgrounds, economic platforms, and dreams for South Carolina’s future, we interviewed the candidates, each of whom impressed us with their approachability, ideas, and passion for the Palmetto State.

Fortunately for South Carolina, whomever is elected will be a strong, competent leader with good values. Both McMaster and Smith have been lauded for their character by Cindi Ross Scoppe, who studied and reported on politics for The State newspaper for decades. In a recent piece entitled “Why I’m Happy with Our Choices for Governor for the First Time…Ever,” Scoppe wrote: “Both men have taken positions I disagree with and been endorsed by people whose values and judgment I don’t share. But both are committed to public service and believe deeply in the power of government to be a positive force in people’s lives, even if they have different ideas about precisely how big or active a force it ought to be. Both have demonstrated their ability, enthusiasm even, for working across party lines. Neither is an extremist. Both are people who come to mind when I think about ethics reforms and other good-government measures. Both are people I trust to tell me the truth.”

Based on our interviews with McMaster and Smith, their public comments on various issues, and additional research, here’s what we think South Carolinians should know when casting their votes in the upcoming gubernatorial election.

About James Smith

It’s fortunate that Representative James Smith counts amongst his strengths a skill for “rolling up your sleeves and doing the hard work.” Each day, he juggles a number of competing roles: Democratic candidate for governor of South Carolina, 11-term state legislator, small business owner, combat veteran, attorney, and Army National Guardsman, to name a few. He’s also husband to Mary Kirkland Thomas Smith and father to four children, James Emerson III, Thomas Bridges, Paul Bradford, and Shannon Elizabeth.

Smith’s family has a history of military service that extends back to the Revolutionary War, and he said that he always felt a “positive pressure” to serve. During a visit to Ground Zero in New York City shortly after 9/11, Smith was inspired to re-enlist as an infantryman (he had previously served eight years as a JAG officer). He resigned his officer commission and re-entered basic training at age 37.

“I wouldn’t have traded anything for that,” he said. “I was serving as a House member at that time and had just passed legislation for First Steps…and all of a sudden I’m cleaning latrines at 3 A.M.”

Smith spent 12 months in Afghanistan embedded with Afghan National Security Forces as a combat advisor and served a second tour in Saudi Arabia. He was awarded the Bronze Star, the Combat Infantryman’s Badge, and the Purple Heart for his service.

Smith believes in working across partisan lines, and he shares founding father John Adams’ concerns about political parties and how blind allegiance to them can hamper progress. (Adams once said, “There is nothing which I dread so much as a division of the republic into two great parties, each arranged under its leader, and concerting measures in opposition to each other. This, in my humble apprehension, is to be dreaded as the greatest political evil under our Constitution.”) For example, Smith sponsored the South Carolina Abandoned Buildings Revitalization Act, which offers tax breaks for renovating vacant buildings that have fallen into disrepair. He credits his Republican colleagues with improving and refining his original proposal to arrive at the current law, particularly praising the contributions of Rep. Todd Atwater.

About Henry McMaster

Governor Henry McMaster, a conservative Republican and Trump supporter, rose to the governorship when Nikki Haley was tapped to become the American ambassador to the United Nations. McMaster’s political history in South Carolina extends back decades. Over the years, he has been an intern for Senator Strom Thurmond, a federal prosecutor, a US attorney, and a member of the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education. McMaster is married to Peggy McMaster and has two children, Henry D. McMaster, Jr. and Mary Rogers McMaster.

McMaster has a talent for putting those he is speaking with at ease, and his love of South Carolina is evident in his speech. He describes the state as a “paradise,” blessed with mountains and the ocean just a few hours away from each other. Perhaps reflecting his esteem for the state, he supports conservation efforts and wants to protect some areas from commercial development.

McMaster has also shown a willingness to break from traditional party lines with his vehement opposition to offshore drilling. Although the drilling might be good for the economy, McMaster noted that tourism is a top priority in South Carolina, and one oil spill could damage the coastline for years. In addition, he has supported several preservation measures as governor, including one protecting St. Phillips Island near Beaufort, SC.

In terms of each candidate’s plans for the SC economy and how to address the major issues facing it, there are some similarities and many differences.

Fixing South Carolina’s Infrastructure Problems

South Carolina is well-known for its crumbling roads, with many drivers stating that they can tell when they cross state lines by the bumpiness of the ride! Fixing this problem, however, will come at a steep price. According to a recent State News article by Cassie Cope, “The Transportation Department has estimated it needs an added $1 billion a year to repair S.C. roads and bridges.”

Both Smith and McMaster agree that infrastructure improvement is one of the most important issues to address in terms of the South Carolina economy; however, they disagree on where funding should originate. Smith voted for H3516, a bill to increase South Carolina’s gas tax to pay for the repairs. He acknowledged that raising taxes is typically an unpopular move, but said that it’s lawmakers’ duty to “care more about doing the job than keeping the job.”

McMaster exercised his veto power on H3516 when it came to his desk, citing a belief that spending reforms within the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) should pay for the repairs instead. (In May 2017, members of both parties in the SC Senate and House voted to override his veto.) He said that he has a ten-year plan to fix South Carolina’s roads and bridges without raising taxes, but wants more control over how local governments spend the monies designated for local infrastructure repairs and projects. McMaster has also appointed six new board members to SCDOT, saying, “I want to see more transparency in the future on how our scarce monies are spent.”

Beyond repairing roads and bridges, the candidates have additional plans for SC’s infrastructure. To increase its competitiveness, McMaster proposes deepening Charleston Harbor to make it the deepest port on the east coast. He’d also like to expand the highway system, specifically I-73 to the Grand Strand and Pee Dee and the I-526 extension across Johns and James Islands, to improve access to those areas.

Linked to his belief that “you cannot move this state forward if you’re willing to leave some behind,” Smith’s platform places an emphasis on expanding internet access to rural areas. He also proposes expanding smaller aviation runways to 5,000 feet to allow more (and larger) planes to fly in and out of these areas, with the aim of improving accessibility.

Both Smith and McMaster expressed concern about the availability of adequate healthcare to all South Carolina residents. Smith noted that several rural hospitals have closed in recent years; following a national trend, South Carolina has lost facilities serving Barnwell County, Bamberg County, and, most recently, Fairfield County. During our interview with him, McMaster proposed a potential solution to these closures: allowing highly-qualified healthcare professionals in urban areas to connect with rural patients through telemedicine (using technology to facilitate a variety of medical services).

Improving Education

Another area of grave need in South Carolina is education—especially attracting more educators to teach in the state. According to a May 2018 by Cindi Ross Scoppe, “It’s not news that South Carolina has a teacher shortage: Students in 540 classrooms started the school year without a regular, full-time teacher, and with education-school enrollments plummeting and a legislatively created one-time retirement wave cresting this summer, it’s only going to get worse if we don’t take the problem seriously.”

Smith proposed raising teacher salaries to above the southeastern average to attract more people to the field. He also plans to create an education taskforce of teachers with classroom experience to tap into their knowledge and advice, and to decrease bureaucracy, excessive student testing, and unnecessary paperwork to give teachers more time to spend on instruction. Smith supports allowing the governor to appoint the state Secretary of Education (currently, this is an elected office), with the caveat that only individuals with ten or more years of teaching experience would be eligible for the position.

McMaster did not elaborate on specific plans to address the teacher shortage during our interview, although he has said that he will “push for new teachers for coding and computer science classroom instruction in every school in the state.” He has stated that his top priority in terms of education is school safety, and he has urged the state legislature to pull together enough money in the state budget to fund a trained law enforcement officer in every South Carolina school.

Training a Skilled Workforce

Both candidates have expressed a desire to better tailor education in South Carolina to the needs of employers, helping the state to attract big and small businesses with a diverse pool of skilled employees. McMaster would like more students (and their parents) to consider technical training as an option alongside four-year universities. SC technical education centers are “some of the best in the nation,” he said, noting that skilled labor is needed—a fact reflected in salaries for those jobs. “Skilled, experienced auto mechanics and welders are making $80,000 a year, while many college graduates can’t find work,” McMaster said.

McMaster plans to use grants and incentives to encourage small businesses to work with talented interns from high school, technical, and four-year colleges. The idea is to give students real-life experience, while also benefiting the businesses. He said he would encourage more research development agreements with our universities, such as the University of South Carolina and Clemson have done with Samsung. He also supports workforce training for prison inmates who have finished their sentences, allowing them to obtain jobs and hopefully stay away from crime.

Smith foresees making South Carolina “a competitor in the world talent race by creating scholarships and linking together businesses and educational institutions” through workforce education. He proposes introducing classroom activities like project-based learning, a strategy that has already been successful in some poor school districts along the I-95 corridor. Reflecting his experience in the military, his economic platform also places an emphasis on matching veterans with jobs through training programs and continuing education opportunities.

Bringing Jobs into the State

South Carolina has enjoyed economic success under McMaster’s governorship. Unemployment rates have been some of the lowest in decades; in August 2018, for example, the rate was 3.4 percent; in areas like Charleston, it has been reported to be as low as 3 percent. Also, according to a September 2018 article in The State by Tom Barton, “McMaster has announced more than 22,000 new jobs and $7 billion in new investment in the Palmetto State since taking office. “

“I believe that a strong state economy produces jobs and helps our prosperity, but it also creates positive morale among our people,” McMaster said, crediting recent federal tax cuts for the strong employment figures. His stance is that “conservative, pro-growth policies” that reduce regulations will attract businesses to locate in South Carolina, and he has ordered state agencies to reduce paperwork and eliminate unnecessary regulations. He also plans to meet with business leaders to gain their input on what would make it easier for them to operate in South Carolina.

One of Smith’s major areas of focus in terms of job creation is the knowledge economy. Although South Carolina has traditionally been good at attracting manufacturers, “huge challenges” remain in attracting knowledge-based jobs, Smith said. To grow and retain the talented workers required to fill these jobs, he believes that South Carolina must improve the quality of life it offers residents through providing better healthcare, fostering a vibrant creative community, and improving education.

Attracting businesses based in “emerging fields” like solar and renewable energy should also be a priority for the state, according to Smith. Although North Carolina is a leader in solar energy, producing thousands of kilowatts of electricity per year, South Carolina’s output lags far behind that of its northern neighbor, likely due to lobbying by utility companies.

“The sun shines just as bright here in South Carolina,” Smith said, noting that South Carolina is capable of generating significant solar energy as well. Expanding solar power would necessitate building energy facilities and hiring more workers, and residents could potentially sell back any extra kilowatts generated to electricity companies. Solar energy could also help reduce South Carolina’s high utility rates, which Smith said can hurt its chances in the eyes of new businesses. In addition, he proposes requiring a consumer advocate to balance the interests of utility companies and their customers, as well as having the energy office report directly to the governor.

Smith also noted the success of tax incentives aimed at enticing movies to film in South Carolina, and confirmed that he would continue to promote the film industry if elected governor. He praised South Carolina’s naturally beautiful landscape as a big draw for movie producers, saying, “The location resources we have here are just tremendous.”

Retaining Existing Jobs

Smith and McMaster each recognize the importance of keeping large employers like Boeing, Volvo, and BMW in South Carolina. Not only do these big companies generate jobs for citizens and money for the state (via taxes), they also encourage the growth of small businesses that spring up in supporting or corollary roles.

Therefore, both Smith and McMaster are concerned over the impact of tariffs being imposed by President Trump. In fact, BMW has already warned the US Commerce Secretary that the tariffs would endanger jobs at the company’s Spartanburg County factory! According to Smith, the tariffs will not only harm the auto industry, but also agribusiness. This could present a serious problem to South Carolina, where about 25 percent of land is dedicated to farming, according to SC Department of Agriculture figures.

The tariffs have not yet been put into action, and McMaster said that he has asked President Trump to reconsider them, particularly those that impact the auto industry. “We’re going to do all we can to see that South Carolina and our businesses and people are not negatively hurt by tariffs, taxes or anything else that’s done in Washington,” McMaster told the Post and Courier in July 2018.

 

The bottom line: Both candidates in South Carolina’s upcoming election for governor are passionate about serving the state and its people. Although they may disagree on strategies, both are dedicated to helping South Carolina and its residents thrive.

 

About the Authors: Our corporate and personal purpose is to “create opportunities to improve lives” by sharing our knowledge, research, experiences, successes, and mistakes. You can e-mail us at [email protected].

Mike DuBose received his graduate degree from the University of South Carolina and is the author of The Art of Building a Great Business. He has been in business since 1981 and is the owner of Research Associates, The Evaluation Group, Columbia Conference Center, and DuBose Fitness Center. Visit his nonprofit website www.mikedubose.com for a free copy of his book and additional business, travel, and personal articles, as well as health articles written with Dr. Surb Guram, MD.

Blake DuBose graduated from Newberry College’s Schools of Business and Psychology and is president of DuBose Web Group (www.duboseweb.com).

Katie Beck serves as Director of Communications for the DuBose Family of Companies. She graduated from the USC School of Journalism and Honors College.

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