In Upstate debate, Democrats endorse pay raises for state workers

Two of three S.C. Democratic gubernatorial candidates said Sunday they want teachers and prison guards to be paid more, particularly correctional officers in the wake of a prison riot that left seven inmates dead and 22 others injured at Lee Correctional Institution in Bishopville.

That brawl, which stretched over parts of two days, has highlighted staffing woes at the state's second-largest agency.

Charleston businessman Phil Noble and Florence attorney Marguerite Willis also said they oppose offshore drilling along South Carolina's coast. Both Democrats also said they support protections for the so-called "Dreamers," young men and women brought to the United States illegally as children, through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA.

During Sunday's hour-long debate at Furman University Noble and Willis tried to set themselves apart in June's competitive primary. However, when it came to questions of national and state policy, the two hardly disagreed on what the result they want — they just didn't always agree on the route to take.

State Rep. James Smith, D-Richland — considered to be the primary's favorite — did not attend the debate. Instead, he was in Chicago for a meeting of the Democratic Governors Association.

Asked about the $9 billion V.C. Summer nuclear construction debacle, Noble called for a "permanent" special prosecutor to investigate SCE&G, the state-owned Santee Cooper utility and the S.C. Legislature.

"The Legislature has become a wholly-owned subsidiary of the utilities because the utilities spread around millions of dollars — over-the-table and under-the-table money — and they are the ones responsible for this," Noble said.

"The reality is, we ought to be guided by two principles: No. 1, we ought to get our money back ... and people ought to go to jail."

If elected governor, Willis said her first day wouldn't include firing anyone — just yet — over the nuclear debacle.

"I’m going to get all the books and records, and see where all the money has gone, and how I can suggest that we solve this problem," she said. "We have got to have a good pathway forward where our ratepayers are protected."

In the wake of last year's gas-tax hike — an increase of two cents a year for six years, a total of 12 cents, to fix some of the state's crumbling roads — Noble called for an even higher gas tax, arguing much of the revenue from the tax comes from out-of-state visitors, not South Carolinians.

"(Then we can) rebate some of that back in tax relief for middle- and low-income South Carolinians," Noble said to some applause.

But that was too far for Willis, who said the state should reach more into the federal government's coffers.

"There's money in the federal government for infrastructure," she said. "We need to hold those folks accountable."

This story was originally published April 22, 2018 at 9:45 PM with the headline "In Upstate debate, Democrats endorse pay raises for state workers."