Miller receives Sun News endorsement
Posted on Thu, Oct. 26, 2006
SUN NEWS EDITORIAL
Re-elect S.C. House Incumbents
Edge, Clemmons, Miller all serve local folks well
Three incumbent local legislators face spirited challenges to re-election this year. Just the same, S.C. Reps. Tracy Edge, R-North Myrtle Beach; Alan Clemmons, R-Myrtle Beach; and Vida Miller, D-Pawleys Island, deserve new terms in the S.C. House. They represent Districts 104, 107 and 108, respectively.
As is the case with all legislators who take their work seriously, all three have made votes that displeased local folks, us included. But their records, taken as a whole, bespeak a deep and abiding concern with improving the region's economy and quality of life.
Edge and Clemmons, for instance, originated this year's successful proposal that the state set up a 1-for-2 public-private match fund for destination-specific tourism advertising. Clemmons notes that the resultant tourism entrepreneur spending on advertising correlates directly with a dramatically improved fall tourism season this year. Both gentlemen also work tirelessly to bring interstate highways to the Grand Strand, with Clemmons playing a starring role in behalf of Interstate 73 between Marlboro County and Myrtle Beach; Edge, meanwhile, continues his prodigious efforts to link the Carolina Bays Parkway with Interstate 74 in Brunswick County, N.C.
Miller, meanwhile, works tirelessly to protect and public school funding and to meet Georgetown County's many needs - especially funding for roads. She works well with regional legislators of both parties to improve the economies of the northeastern corner of the state, and on other issues of regional concern. Best of all, Miller is passionate about constituent service - the most important function a legislator performs. Clemmons and Edge also perform this function well.
Edge's opponent for the District 104 seat, Charles Randall, could be a capable legislator. A retired Army master sergeant and clergyman, he is well-spoken and passionate about bread-and-butter Democratic issues, such as extending health coverage to the uninsured at state expense. But he lacks Edge's knowledge of the inner workings of the legislature. It's doubtful he could be as effective.
Democrat David Utterback of Myrtle Beach, a landscape architect, opposes Clemmons for the District 107 seat. He has the brains and outlook needed for legislative service and is especially interested in environmental issues - where Clemmons arguably is weak. But it's hard to imagine him being as effective as Clemmons in solving the practical problems that need legislative attention - such as retooling the defunct SilveRxCard program to cover prescription drug costs for lower-income seniors. In that vital arena, Clemmons is a master.
Miller's opponent for the District 108 seat is Republican Ricky Horne. His chief campaign pitch against Miller - that her Democratic Party affiliation keeps Georgetown County from getting the road funds - is inaccurate. Especially considering his less-than-encyclopedic knowledge of the S.C. Department of Transportation's many road-fund-distribution methods, it is doubtful he could do any better.
The residents of Districts 104, 107 and 108 would be better off sticking with the incumbents. All three are working hard to make insurance more affordable for home, condo and commercial building owners. All three are working hard to secure every penny of road money they can. All three work hard to develop the coastal economy. The Sun News recommends all three for re-election Nov. 7.
SUN NEWS EDITORIAL
Re-elect S.C. House Incumbents
Edge, Clemmons, Miller all serve local folks well
Three incumbent local legislators face spirited challenges to re-election this year. Just the same, S.C. Reps. Tracy Edge, R-North Myrtle Beach; Alan Clemmons, R-Myrtle Beach; and Vida Miller, D-Pawleys Island, deserve new terms in the S.C. House. They represent Districts 104, 107 and 108, respectively.
As is the case with all legislators who take their work seriously, all three have made votes that displeased local folks, us included. But their records, taken as a whole, bespeak a deep and abiding concern with improving the region's economy and quality of life.
Edge and Clemmons, for instance, originated this year's successful proposal that the state set up a 1-for-2 public-private match fund for destination-specific tourism advertising. Clemmons notes that the resultant tourism entrepreneur spending on advertising correlates directly with a dramatically improved fall tourism season this year. Both gentlemen also work tirelessly to bring interstate highways to the Grand Strand, with Clemmons playing a starring role in behalf of Interstate 73 between Marlboro County and Myrtle Beach; Edge, meanwhile, continues his prodigious efforts to link the Carolina Bays Parkway with Interstate 74 in Brunswick County, N.C.
Miller, meanwhile, works tirelessly to protect and public school funding and to meet Georgetown County's many needs - especially funding for roads. She works well with regional legislators of both parties to improve the economies of the northeastern corner of the state, and on other issues of regional concern. Best of all, Miller is passionate about constituent service - the most important function a legislator performs. Clemmons and Edge also perform this function well.
Edge's opponent for the District 104 seat, Charles Randall, could be a capable legislator. A retired Army master sergeant and clergyman, he is well-spoken and passionate about bread-and-butter Democratic issues, such as extending health coverage to the uninsured at state expense. But he lacks Edge's knowledge of the inner workings of the legislature. It's doubtful he could be as effective.
Democrat David Utterback of Myrtle Beach, a landscape architect, opposes Clemmons for the District 107 seat. He has the brains and outlook needed for legislative service and is especially interested in environmental issues - where Clemmons arguably is weak. But it's hard to imagine him being as effective as Clemmons in solving the practical problems that need legislative attention - such as retooling the defunct SilveRxCard program to cover prescription drug costs for lower-income seniors. In that vital arena, Clemmons is a master.
Miller's opponent for the District 108 seat is Republican Ricky Horne. His chief campaign pitch against Miller - that her Democratic Party affiliation keeps Georgetown County from getting the road funds - is inaccurate. Especially considering his less-than-encyclopedic knowledge of the S.C. Department of Transportation's many road-fund-distribution methods, it is doubtful he could do any better.
The residents of Districts 104, 107 and 108 would be better off sticking with the incumbents. All three are working hard to make insurance more affordable for home, condo and commercial building owners. All three are working hard to secure every penny of road money they can. All three work hard to develop the coastal economy. The Sun News recommends all three for re-election Nov. 7.
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