Reprinted from The Post and Courier
By Allyson Bird

Running on both the Green Party platform and as a petition candidate, Eugene Platt thinks he’s the right fit for state House District 115.

“James Island and Folly Beach are, if anything, independent,” Platt said.

The longtime member of the James Island Public Service District Commission campaigns on bolstering education, adjusting taxes and protecting the environment. A product of local public schools, Platt said, “I’d be an ingrate not to be supportive.”

A veteran and published poet, he calls the existing tax structure “a three-legged stool” consisting of income, property and sales taxes. He wants property tax money to go back to services directly related to property, such as fire protection and garbage collection.

Platt also supports changing the income tax structure if needed to fill state coffers. “The ‘beauty’ of income tax is it’s always based on current income,” he said. “If someone makes a lot of money, they can expect to pay a lot of tax money.”

A retired federal civil service employee who worked for the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and the U.S. Labor Department, Platt wants to see reasonable incentives for luring economic development to the area. He thinks a stronger education system also serves that purpose.

“Better public schools would make our state more attractive to prospective employers,” he said.

Eugene Platt

AGE: 71.

FAMILY: Widower; two children and two grandchildren.

RESIDENCE: James Island.

OCCUPATION: Retired from federal civil service.

EDUCATION: Bachelor’s degree in political science, University of South Carolina, 1964; master’s degree equivalent from Trinity College Dublin, 1970.

PRIOR PUBLIC OFFICE: James Island Public Service District Commission, 1993-present.

CAMPAIGN WEB SITE: www.voteplatt.com.

CONTACT: info@voteplatt.com; 795-9442.

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Reach Allyson Bird at 937-5594.