Sun News Endorsement
SUN NEWS
Opinion
Sunday, Oct. 19, 2008
Return Miller, Edge, Barfield to S.C. House
Incumbents do well by their constituents
Facing the District 58 incumbent, Rep. Liston Barfield, R-Conway, is Fonzie Lewis, an Aynor Democrat with a good grasp of state legislative issues. Keying in on Barfield's sponsorship of a $100,000 state economic development grant to finance a Myrtle Beach visit by German dignitaries, Lewis says the incumbent has done too little to rein in wasteful spending. Barfield defends the grants as an investment in international tourism, which he and many others envision as the best way to grow Grand Strand tourism.
He and Lewis differ on budget priorities, education funding, health funding and other key issues. Individual voters will have to decide for themselves which view is correct. But because Barfield has served our communities well in the House, especially as a member of the budget-writing Ways and Means Committee, he receives the newspaper's recommendation.
In Georgetown County-based District 108, Democratic incumbent Rep. Vida Miller faces her strongest challenge yet from Jill Kelso, a businesswoman with a conservative vision of how legislative service ought to be. Kelso argues that because Miller is a member of the minority party in the House, she's not as effective as a Republican alternative could be.
Miller, however, makes a good case that party is less important a factor in the House than seniority and experience, and defends her record of accomplishment as a legislator. A businesswoman herself, she is no tax-and-spend liberal. And she's a stronger supporter of public education than Kelso appears to be. She's done a good job for her constituents and merits the chance to continue speaking for them in Columbia.
In House District 104, incumbent Rep. Tracy Edge, R-North Myrtle Beach, faces a spirited challenge from Constitution Party candidate Patricia Matthews of Longs. Matthews argues that business as usual in Columbia no longer works. The legislature, she said, should have done far more to abate illegal immigration, ensuring that their children don't attend public schools or use publicly funded health-care resources. She also objects to state-bonded indebtedness, dismissing as immaterial that legislators must balance the state's annual operating budget.
She's a good person who might, in time, develop into a good legislator. But Edge, a Ways and Means Committee member who works hard on the issues that matter most to our communities - transportation improvement, health care improvement and tourism growth - is a fine legislator. He garners The Sun News recommendation.
Opinion
Sunday, Oct. 19, 2008
Return Miller, Edge, Barfield to S.C. House
Incumbents do well by their constituents
Facing the District 58 incumbent, Rep. Liston Barfield, R-Conway, is Fonzie Lewis, an Aynor Democrat with a good grasp of state legislative issues. Keying in on Barfield's sponsorship of a $100,000 state economic development grant to finance a Myrtle Beach visit by German dignitaries, Lewis says the incumbent has done too little to rein in wasteful spending. Barfield defends the grants as an investment in international tourism, which he and many others envision as the best way to grow Grand Strand tourism.
He and Lewis differ on budget priorities, education funding, health funding and other key issues. Individual voters will have to decide for themselves which view is correct. But because Barfield has served our communities well in the House, especially as a member of the budget-writing Ways and Means Committee, he receives the newspaper's recommendation.
In Georgetown County-based District 108, Democratic incumbent Rep. Vida Miller faces her strongest challenge yet from Jill Kelso, a businesswoman with a conservative vision of how legislative service ought to be. Kelso argues that because Miller is a member of the minority party in the House, she's not as effective as a Republican alternative could be.
Miller, however, makes a good case that party is less important a factor in the House than seniority and experience, and defends her record of accomplishment as a legislator. A businesswoman herself, she is no tax-and-spend liberal. And she's a stronger supporter of public education than Kelso appears to be. She's done a good job for her constituents and merits the chance to continue speaking for them in Columbia.
In House District 104, incumbent Rep. Tracy Edge, R-North Myrtle Beach, faces a spirited challenge from Constitution Party candidate Patricia Matthews of Longs. Matthews argues that business as usual in Columbia no longer works. The legislature, she said, should have done far more to abate illegal immigration, ensuring that their children don't attend public schools or use publicly funded health-care resources. She also objects to state-bonded indebtedness, dismissing as immaterial that legislators must balance the state's annual operating budget.
She's a good person who might, in time, develop into a good legislator. But Edge, a Ways and Means Committee member who works hard on the issues that matter most to our communities - transportation improvement, health care improvement and tourism growth - is a fine legislator. He garners The Sun News recommendation.
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