On the Issues

We have many challenges before us as a state. By working together, our state can be First where it wants to be and Last where it wants to be. Besides working on health care needs, improving our emergency preparedness operations, taking care of our seniors, meeting the needs of law enforcement, and a host of other issues; people have stressed to me that they are concern about education, housing, and jobs.

If we do not elect someone with vision and our community needs at heart, we will not move our district and our great state forward. I am focused on working for you by making Headway Not Headlines.

EDUCATION

Our state is only as good as our public education system. We must make a firm commitment to decrease the student drop-out rate, equalize access to educational technology, professionalize teacher salaries, attract highly qualified educators, increase student performance and parent participation. This can be done if we work together in order to remove the barriers that hinder us from achieving greatness.

In order for our children to compete in the 21st Century on a global scale, we must provide them with exposure, set high standards, and provide them the tools needed to succeed. Teachers, administrators, parents, and the structure of the school and community must foster a learning environment.

Learning must begin early in the child’s life and parents must be engaged in their children’s learning during and outside the school year. Early childhood education is essential to put students on a life-long path of learning.

Because education should not end during school hours, I am committed to working with neighborhoods and non-profit organizations to provide them resources and facilitate partnerships needed for their children and parents to learn in community-based technology centers within their communities and to improve existing programs.

Use of our dollars must prove that we are supportive of our children’s future based on the amount we spend on them as a student, schools and materials compared with the amount we spend on inmates and prisons.

As your state legislator, I am committed to fully funding our public schools by changing the funding formula currently used. We must provide teachers with a competitive salary in order for us to recruit, train, and groom a bench of excellent teachers and administrators. My work will result in children being equipped with the tools needed for them to compete and achieve at any level.

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HOUSING

The American Dream of homeownership has been shattered for too many South Carolinians. The mortgage crisis throughout the country demands that individuals facing foreclosure meet with their mortgage lenders to discuss options other than foreclosure. The predominance of foreclosure in our country can in many cases be explained by consumers having an adjustable mortgage rate and the lack of information they receive before they purchase their home. There is a legislative responsibility at all levels of governance – city, state, and federal – to address this issue and prevent this problem from reoccurring.

There is a need to maintain funding and increase resources for Community Development Corporations and other not-for-profit organizations that teach financial literacy, credit counseling, home buying principals, and provide down payment assistance. These organizations are the back bone of helping people move from renting to homeownership.

It will require a public-private partnership in order for service workers, police officers, teachers, hospital employees, and military personnel to be and remain home owners. I will conduct conversations with mortgage lenders, not for the sake of having a discussion or for highlighting an institution’s operational shortcomings, but to examine existing policies within these institutions and discuss their efficacy within the context of serving the workforce market.

Seniors who have owned their homes for decades should not be taxed out of their homes. Measures must be in place to prevent them from losing their homes in order to create and pass on generalization wealth. By working with local government and developers this can happen. 

As your state legislator, I will invite financial institutions and other partners to the table to demonstrate that there is a historically underserved market that could benefit from a well-focused, one mutually beneficial to the consumer and the -well-designed product financial institution. This is the only way to provide housing to people who feel that they cannot afford a home.

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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Creating jobs that pay living wages is the best way we can invest in our community. The General Assembly has a responsibly to promote investors to build, hire, and live in our state. As your state legislator, I am required to make sure that House District 111 receives its equal share.

With the current growth in our community, it is imperative that tax credits and other incentives are given to businesses that will work with local communities to provide them with the resources that are needed to be empowered.

We must train a new workforce that focuses on technology. This is where our business and education partners come into play. Establishing wireless broadband networks in our state would boost business development and enhance the quality of life for our residents.

Most minority contractors have been left out of the bidding process for large public projects. As your state representative, I will not stand for this. I will advocate and work with our partners to widen the door for minority contractors to enter. 

Small businesses create most of the jobs that fuel our economy. Therefore, we must make sure that small business owners receive incentives and resources to start and strengthen their business and provide the health care needed for them and their employees.

I am committed to being proactive and responsive by offering legislation that will be the high tide that lifts all boats that create jobs and train people for them. By funding business incubators and working with our partners at the federal and state level, this can become our reality.

Charleston must be an equal partner with the rest of the state to provide the best and the brightest who will be committed to call the state of South Carolina home. We must have a hard-working cadre of leaders in Columbia who understands the importance of legacy building as an imperative to retain the best and brightest for South Carolina to compete in this global economy.

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