Charleston County Council Dist. 9 Candidates Also Debate on James Is.

BY ROBERT BEHRE
Reprinted from The Post and Courier

State Rep. Wallace Scarborough, R-James Island, and Democratic challenger Eugene Platt made their campaign pitches to almost 100 James Island voters Monday in a voter forum that was relatively buttoned-down compared to their previous joint appearance on talk radio.

In their race for S.C. House District 115 The two spent an hour drawing sharp contrasts between their positions on everything from finishing the Mark Clark Expressway to lowering income taxes to raising cigarette taxes.

Scarborough said he is running on his record of delivering to James Island everything from help for the Morris Island Lighthouse to Battery Island Drive to property tax rollbacks to dollars for improving Camp and Folly Roads.

“These are the things that are important to the people of James Island,” he said. “I know the people of James Island will see through the negative campaign tactics of my opponent.”

Platt used his opening remarks to complain about a third-party mailing - one that Scarborough has denied knowing about -that questioned a book of poems Platt wrote entitled, “Summer Days with Daughter.” The books’ title is from a poem inspired by Platt’s daughter. “The innuendo of this flier is that I had an incestuous relationship with my daughter,” he said.

Platt also questioned if Scarborough had a conflict of interest because of his support for completing the Mark Clark Expressway, which would tie into theexisting James Island Expressway that was named in honor of Scarborough’s father.

Scarborough replied that he calls that highway “the James Island Expressway” and accused Platt of throwing mud.

“If it’s mud I’m throwing, it’s pluff mud, and it’s fairly soft,” Platt replied.

But the audience’s questions didn’t delve into the candidates’ personal lives. Instead, they touched on public transportation, curbing development, homeowner’s insurance, the powers of the county legislative delegation, plans for a college on the former McLeod Plantation, Harborview Road, electronic voting and higher education tuition.

However, the candidates drew their sharpest contrasts on other issues. Scarborough said he supports finishing the Mark Clark, but Platt was not very enthusiastic about the project. Scarborough also said he supports Gov. Mark Sanford’s efforts to reduce income taxes and expand school choice, and he also would oppose raising the cigarette tax.

Platt said he would support an increase in the cigarette tax, adding that his father might have quit smoking and lived longer had the price of cigarettes been higher. He also said he would oppose an increase in sales taxes and considers the income tax is an important leg of the state’s taxing formula. He said he also would be leery about school vouchers. “It just seems to be fiscally irresponsible and morally questionable to take funds away from public schools and, in effect, subsidize private schools.”

The League of Women Voters forum on James Island also included another debate between Charleston County Council District 9 candidates Republican Paul Thurmond and Democrat George Tempel. The two are seeking the council seat being vacated by Councilman Leon Stavrinakis and also met at a similar forum last week on Johns Island.

Thurmond, the son of the late U.S. Sen. Strom Thurmond, said he was born and raised in South Carolina and moved to the Lowcountry as soon as he could after finishing school. He noted he is a teacher, educator, businessman and lawyer. “I think I bring a lot of skills to the table,” he said. “I’ve been involved in this community ever since I lived here.”

Tempel, a semi-retired professor at MUSC, talked about his long ties to the island, recalling some of its old restaurants gone by. “This is home. This is home because, ‘Go Trojans,’ ” he said, referring to the high school’s mascot. “I want to serve because I want to lower taxes, increase bike paths and reduce traffic on James Island.”

At last week’s forum, Thurmond was the first of the candidates to stand up when addressing the audience -and Tempel quickly followed suit. On Monday, everyone stood when they spoke.

Reach Robert Behre at 937-5771 or at rbehre@postandcourier.com.

BY ROBERT BEHRE
Reprinted from the Post and Courier

Republican State Rep. Wallace Scarborough says he wants to go back to Columbia to continue to work on the issues of interest to voters on James Island and Folly Beach, and Democratic challenger Eugene Platt says he wants to win the seat to do more to fight development.

On some issues the two candidates have much in common. Both support the constitutional amendment saying marriage should be between a man and a woman, both support the new town of James Island and both would fight legislation calling for a local government to compensate property owners if it reduces their property value through zoning.

But most similarities end there.

Scarborough is running on his six-year record of serving the district, which includes the town of James Island, a chunk of the city of Charleston on James Island and Folly Beach. As a Republican, he said he has special access to some of the state’s most powerful figures and therefore a better ability to deliver.

“I think local needs, the constituent service, is the main focus,” he said.

Platt, a member and former chairman of the James Island Public Service District, said his main issue is stopping development, and he would like to see local governments get more power to freeze development. Platt said he would like to see a state policy to discourage people from relocating here.

“Charleston has become crowded,” he said, “and it seems the business leaders and the political leaders are trying to emulate Atlanta.”

Scarborough said he would support Gov. Mark Sanford’s efforts at reducing income tax and at providing more school choice, even some form of vouchers for students attending private schools.

“Our system is broken, quite frankly. We’re 49th in education,” he said. “We cannot continue doing the same thing we’ve been doing and expect to achieve something else.”

Platt doesn’t support Sanford’s tax plan, adding that the state tax system is a three-legged stool consisting of property, sales and income taxes.

“The leg that is not being used enough is income taxes,” he said. As for school choice, “It doesn’t make economic sense or moral sense to siphon off those badly needed dollars from public schools for private schools.”

Platt said he would like the state to pass legislation holding parents more accountable for the actions of their children in school.

The intrigue of the District 115 race lies not so much in the debate over the issues as in the personal aspects of the race.

“Character has emerged as a central issue this campaign, which it should be,” Platt said. “My opponent has helped make it an issue by his own conduct.”

Scarborough is going through a divorce and has been said to be having an affair with state Rep. Catherine Ceips, R-Beaufort, an allegation that he has not confirmed or denied.

He also was charged with assault with intent to kill this summer when he fired a pistol near utility workers in the backyard of his parents’ West Ashley home, though the charges were later dropped.

Scarborough said this has not been his most difficult campaign, “but it has been the most personal campaign I’ve ever had, simply because of the attacks against me.”

College of Charleston political science professor Bill Moore said Scarborough’s personal issues have made the election more competitive.

“Whether Eugene Platt can capitalize on that remains to be seen,” he said. “The key voters are going to be the women who normally vote Republican but might not in this case.”

Platt has dedicated his campaign to his late wife, Mary, who died of breast cancer in 2003.

He said he has felt under attack himself because of a mailing by South Carolinians for Responsible Government that said he “promotes deviant sexual behavior in erotic poetry collection,” namely in his 1999 compilation, “Summer Days with Daughter.”

Platt said many people have expressed outrage to him over that mailing.

Eugene Platt

Age: 67.
Family: Widowed (wife Mary died of breast cancer in 2003), two children, one grandchild.
Education: B.A., University of South Carolina; diploma in Anglo-Irish Literature, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland.
Occupation: Retired from federal Civil Service; writer; community activist.
Previous elected office: Elected member of James Island Public Service District Commission since 1993.
Why are you running for office: Although I have enjoyed serving the people while on the James Island PSD Commission, my personal situation has changed with the death of my wife. I now have the discretionary time, as well as the desire, to serve those same good people in the State House.
What’s the toughest issue facing your district: Excessive development.

Wallace Scarborough

Age: 47.
Family: Two sons.
Education: B.S., The Citadel.
Occupation: Executive vice president and corporate secretary for Atlantic Coast Life Insurance Co.
Previous elected office: State House (2001-present).
Why are you running for office: I believe the people of James Island and Folly Beach need a conservative voice.
What’s the toughest issue facing your district: Growth, which I’ve helped on the local level by backing the town of James Island; roads, which is a safety issue; and the environment, conserving what we’ve got.

Want to go?

State House District 115 candidates Wallace Scarborough and Eugene Platt are scheduled to take part in a candidates forum at 7 p. m. today in the James Island Charter High School auditorium.

The event also will include Charleston County Council District 9 candidates Paul Thurmond and George Tempel.

Reach Robert Behre at 937-5771 or at rbehre@postandcourier.com.

Reprinted from The State
By JOHN O’CONNOR
johnoconnor@thestate.com

The balance of power in the S.C. House of Representatives is unlikely to change in the Nov. 7 election.

While there may be some turnover, the large number of “safe” seats and uncontested races likely will leave Republicans in firm control of the House, where all 124 seats are up for election. The GOP now holds 74 of those seats.

Republican officials say there are only eight to 10 competitive House races statewide. They expect to pick up or lose only three or four seats.

A Democratic House leader agreed with that assessment.

No state Senate seats are up for election this year.

Nationally, Democrats — aided by voter concerns about the war in Iraq, and Washington lobbying and House page scandals — are battling to take control of both the U.S. House and Senate.

However, the Iraq and scandal issues have not filtered down to the local level, according to candidates and experts.

“I really don’t expect that happening,” said Scott Huffmon, a political scientist at Winthrop University. “People are willing to ride an anti-incumbent sentiment at the national level but still re-elect their local legislator because he’s ‘one of us.’”

State House Majority Leader Jim Merrill has been working on behalf of Republican candidates all year. “I’m more worried about apathy than I am about a ‘throw-the-bums-out’” mentality, he said.

As a result of court decisions and redistricting, the voters in many General Assembly districts are solidly Democrat or Republican, Merrill noted. However, low voter turnout still could prove problematic for incumbents, he said.

Some legislators face stiff opposition.

In Richland County, House Judiciary chairman Jim Harrison is being pushed in District 75. Republican Harrison said voters are talking about education, taxes and jobs, not D.C. scandals.

“I’ve been going door to door,” Harrison said. “I haven’t seen any impact.”

His opponent, Democrat Boyd Summers, agreed but said the political climate favors a new face.

“There is an overall attitude of looking for change,” he said. “It’s a good time to be a challenger right now.”

Among the most competitive S.C. House contests:

• District 119 in Charleston County, where Democratic County Councilman Leon Stavrinakis and Republican Suzanne Piper are vying to replace John Graham Altman, a Republican.

• District 29 in Cherokee, Chester and York counties, where Republican Danny Stacy and Democrat Dennis Carroll Moss are looking to fill a seat vacated by Democrat DeWitt McCraw.

• District 79 in Kershaw and Richland counties, a four-way race where Republican incumbent Bill Cotty faces Democrat Anton Gunn, Republican petition candidate Michael Letts and third-party candidate John Nelums.

• District 115 in Charleston County, where GOP incumbent Wallace Scarborough has been involved in two public disputes that could affect his race against Democrat Eugene Platt, who has faced criticism for writing explicit poetry.

Scarborough was charged with a misdemeanor for threatening two utility workers with a gun and then accidentally firing a shot. The charges have been dismissed.

Later, Scarborough’s wife alleged that the Charleston Republican had an affair with a female state representative, a claim Scarborough denied.

Reach O’Connor at (803) 771-8358.

BRUCE SMITH
Associated Press
Reprinted from The State

It’s a typical election year in South Carolina with more than 70 percent of the candidates for the state House getting a free ride back to Columbia for the start of the legislative session in January.

Of the 124 seats in the House, there are only 35 contested races to be decided next month. But in those races everything from the changing face of South Carolina to school vouchers and from personal problems to poetry fit into the mix.

In District 79 in suburban northeast Columbia, six-term incumbent Republican Bill Cotty survived a June primary challenge from Sheri Few who was supported by the conservative South Carolina Club for Growth as backing “free market educational choice.”

Now Cotty faces Democrat Anton Gunn - who like Cotty opposes the idea of giving parents tax credits or vouchers for private schools - as well as independent Michael Letts, a pro-voucher candidate who says he will represent conservative Republican views better.

Cotty has been an outspoken opponent of education tax credits in the House.

But support of vouchers brought opposition for another lawmaker, Jim Harrison, a 17-year Republican veteran and chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. Harrison, who represents House District 75 in Richland County, has been a prime advocate of the “Put Parents in Charge” bill. That prompted political newcomer Boyd Summers, a Democrat, to challenge him.

One of the most competitive races in the Lowcountry is between Charleston County Council Chairman Leon Stavrinakis, a Democrat, and Suzanne Piper, Republican and real estate appraiser, for the open District 119 seat.

Outspoken state Rep. John Graham Altman, whose comments sometimes attracted national attention, gave up that seat to run for the Charleston County School Board where the Republican previously served for 20 years.

In another Lowcountry race, Republican Wallace Scarborough of Charleston is seeking a fourth term in House District 115. Last summer he was charged with two counts of assault with intent to kill after brandishing a gun at utility workers - charges that were later dropped.

Interest in the race was heightened when media outlets published details from the papers filed in Scarborough’s contested divorce. Scarborough faces Eugene Platt, a poet who once ran unsuccessfully for the 1st District congressional seat once held by Gov. Mark Sanford.

In nearby Dorchester County, longtime state Rep. George Bailey, a Republican who has served in the House for a total of two decades, is challenged by county treasurer Patsy Knight, who has been in office for 25 years.

In House District 45, Alston DeVenny, a Democrat who is chairman of the Lancaster County Council, faces Republican Mick Mulvaney, an attorney and real estate developer for the seat vacated by Rep. Eldridge Emory.

Emory is a Democrat who served a total of 27 years on county council and in Columbia. But decided to retire as more people move, most of them Republican, moved into the Charlotte, N.C., suburbs in the northern part of the district.

Wide-ranging topics include marital woes, poetry, gunshots … and mud

By ROBERT BEHRE
Printed in its entirety from The Post and Courier

Photo: MELISSA HANELINE/STAFF
Republican incumbent Wallace Scarborough (left) and Democratic challenger Eugene Platt (right) take questions in the studio with Richard Todd during “ The Morning Buzz” at WTMA studios Wednesday. Scarborough and Platt are running for the District 115 seat in the S.C. House of Representatives.

The sign on the door said this radio studio was an “Indecency Free Zone.”

But that didn’t keep incumbent Wallace Scarborough and challenger
Eugene Platt from clashing over everything from Platt’s erotic poetry
to Scarborough’s marital woes to gunshots he fired near utility
workers in July to who was slinging the most mud.

Thanks to this kind of bickering, the race seems certain to go down as
one of the more unusual state House races in Charleston’s recent
history.

Scarborough, a Republican seeking a fourth two-year term in District
115, spent almost 90 minutes Wednesday morning debating Platt, a
Democrat and member of the James Island Public Service Commission,
during Richard Todd’s morning show on WTMA-1250.

“Talk radio is like a box of chocolates,” Todd told the candidates off
the air just moments before the debate began. “You never know what
you’re going to get.”

The show began with Platt criticizing a campaign mailing from South
Carolinians for Responsible Government. Platt said the nonprofit
group’s mailing suggested he had an incestuous relationship with his
daughter, whose enlarged photograph he brought into the studio.

The mailing referred to “Summer Days with Daughter,” a book of more
than 100 of Platt’s poems, several of which have sexual content. Platt
said its title comes from a single poem that was inspired by his
daughter, and that poem is not racy.

“I would challenge my opponent, here in the presence of God and, by
extension, your listening audience, to condemn this mailing as one of
the most dastardly acts in the history of South Carolina politics,” he
said.

Scarborough replied that he would consider doing so if Platt would
denounce his campaign Web site, which has had links to detailed
stories about Scarborough’s pending divorce and his alleged affair
with state Rep. Catherine Ceips, R-Beaufort.

Todd and a few callers asked Scarborough if he had an affair with
Ceips and whether it reflected on his integrity.

“Am I having a personal crisis in my life? Absolutely,” Scarborough
said, later adding, “I don’t know what my personal life has anything
to do with building roads on

James Island or fighting for the governor’s income tax plan, which I
am for and my opponent is against.”

One caller criticized Scarborough for his handling of a case this
summer in which he was charged with assault with intent to kill for
firing a pistol near S.C. Electric & Gas linemen in a West Ashley
backyard. Scarborough called it “a very unfortunate incident,” and
added, “I think the charges being dropped speaks for itself.”

The candidates also managed to squeeze in discussion about the
upcoming marriage referendum (both for), a statewide smoking ban (both
against) and school choice (Scarborough for more strongly than Platt).

The candidates are expected to face off again in a to-date unscheduled
televised debate on Comcast Channel 2 and at 7 p.m. Oct. 23 at James
Island High School.

Reach Robert Behre at 937-5771 or at rbehre@postandcourier.com.