Governor: Vincent Sheheen (Democrat)
Year of birth: 1971
life-long resident of South Carolina
Family: Wife Amy, twin sons Joseph and Austin who are attending their first year at Clemson, and son Anthony, 14 who lives with us in Camden and attends the same public school that I went to.
Education: Camden High School, Clemson University, University of South Carolina Law School
Current occupation/employer: Partner at Savage, Royall and Sheheen; state Senator representing district 27
Employment, military and volunteer history: Clerk, U.S. District Court; Adjunct Instructor, USC Law; Prosecutor, City of Camden; Lawyer, Savage, Royall and Sheheen
Please list all public offices to which you’ve been elected, when and where: South Carolina House of Representatives 2001 - 2004, South Carolina Senate 2004 - Present
Please list year and office of any unsuccessful runs for public office: Governor, 2010
Other political and government experience: Clerk for the Federal Court, SC House, SC Senate
Key endorsements you’ve received: Conservation Voters of South Carolina, South Carolina Education Association, National Association of Social Workers
1. What makes you the most qualified person to hold this position? (Be specific.)
I am a pragmatic and results-driven leader who works with both parties to get things done and am not afraid to stand up to either party to do what’s right. Throughout my career, I have worked across the aisle to address the real challenges our state faces, and delivered results. I have a deep love for this state, and I have dedicated my career to making it a better place for our children. Sadly, in recent years, South Carolinians have been repeatedly put at risk as a result of government failing on the most basic functions, and seen cover-ups when things go wrong. Under Nikki Haley, there's been no accountability, no honesty - just failures of leadership. We deserve better. It’s time for honest leadership and real accountability, and I will bring those ideals to the Governor’s office.
2. What will be your top three priorities if you are elected? (100 words for each issue)
For a more detailed breakdown of some of my ideas and priorities, please read through my book, “ The Right Way: Getting the Palmetto State Back on Track.”
Education: As the son of a teacher and principal, and someone who attended South Carolina public schools his entire life, I know that a high-quality public education system is the key to South Carolina’s long-term economic success and to creating a brighter future for our children. That’s just one of the reasons why all three of my sons attend the same public schools that I went to in Camden. I have been a forceful advocate for public education and have always worked across the aisle to deliver results. As governor, I will expand access to early childhood education by making voluntary 4-year-old kindergarten universal across the state; improve the quality of education by increasing teacher pay to attract and retain high-quality teachers; lower class sizes by dedicating funding back into the classroom and cutting red tape; and institute a “One South Carolina” approach to reform our tax code and improve public education at schools in ALL areas across the state. I will be a governor who talks about education all the time, not just in an election year. By working across the aisle as I have always done, we will achieve these changes together.
Accountability & Transparency: South Carolinians deserve a government that works and works for them, with leaders they can trust. And when government doesn't, they don't need excuses, they deserve action and results. Most of all, they deserve to know the truth of what’s going on with their leaders and how their tax dollars are being spent. As Governor, I will appoint qualified South Carolinians to lead our agencies and hold them accountable, increase transparency, and focus on improving results not just lowering numbers. I will fight to improve whistleblower protections in our state, and create a culture of honesty so we always know what’s truly going on. We know that leadership starts at the top, and to have open and honest government we need to elect new leaders as well as update our outdated laws. By setting an example and building a bipartisan coalition around ethics, we will also make meaningful changes and enact substantive ethics reform.
Build an Economy From Within: Hardworking, responsible middle-class families and small-business owners have a harder time succeeding in South Carolina than almost anywhere else in the country because of falling wages and an outdated economic approach that sticks in-state businesses at the back of the line. In order to succeed, we must build our economy from within. That means supporting South Carolina’s small businesses as much as those we are trying to attract from out of state. It means siding with hardworking middle-class families instead of DC political operatives and doing what’s in the best interests of our state regardless of the national politics, like accepting our own Medicaid tax dollars. It means responsibly investing in our roads and bridges to strengthen South Carolina for the long-term and supporting our local economy. And it especially means having a fiscally-responsible approach to government that funds our priorities, stops the waste, and cuts inefficiency to protect hard-earned tax dollars.
3a. For non-incumbents: How would your approach to your job differ from the incumbent’s?
Nikki Haley has proven she can’t be trusted to get her job done well or tell the truth when things go wrong. From allowing children to be kept in danger and tragically die due to mismanagement at DSS, to covering up the hacking of our Social Security numbers, to hiding a TB outbreak at a public school, to relentlessly misrepresenting numbers on jobs and other state statistics, Nikki Haley has repeatedly shown she can’t be trusted to tell the truth. South Carolina deserves a governor who cares less about how the numbers are making them look and more about how the people of South Carolina are doing. I believe that the test of leadership is not what you do when things are easy, but how you react when things go wrong. And time and again, Governor Haley has failed to be open and honest with the public in order to protect her image. I will be accountable as governor, appoint qualified leaders and hold them accountable. And if something goes wrong, I’ll be forthcoming with the people and get right to work addressing the crisis instead of trying to figure out how to spin it.
4. Describe at least one significant political position you hold that would clash with your political base.
I believe that we should lower the industrial and commercial property taxes in South Carolina, and overhaul our tax system to make it more fair and better fund our education system. Right now, our small businesses and commercial property tax owners are paying the highest commercial and industrial property taxes in the country, and it’s stifling our economy. Worse yet, they are bearing the brunt of funding schools, which means there’s an unstable source of revenue for schools that isn’t meeting our needs and is creating a system of haves and have-nots. I believe we need to restructure our property tax system and overhaul Act 388. I was one of only a few people who voted against Act 388, and many of my colleagues still believe in simply raising more revenue to fund education. I believe we need to make sweeping change to address these challenges and truly reform and improve our education system.
5. Have you ever been convicted of a crime, been disciplined by a professional licensing board or organization or had an ethics complaint filed against you? If so, please give the details.
The state Republican Party had a frivolous ethics complaint against my campaign in 2013 that wasted taxpayer money and was summarily dismissed by the Ethics Commission.
6. Have you ever filed for bankruptcy or been delinquent on your federal, state or local taxes? If so, please give the details.
I have always paid my taxes on time and never filed for bankruptcy.
7. Are there any personal details about you that voters would be interested in knowing?
I married my college sweetheart Amy, and we have raised our family in my hometown in order to instill in them the values I was raised with – hard work and service to others.
In small towns like Camden, everyone has to work together to get things done. We all had to pitch in, and as we were doing our best for our town we would run into opposition from the state and other entities that didn’t work that way and catered too much to politics. That’s when I decided I wanted to run for office when the House seat in Camden became available – because I had seen what we could do in a small town by putting partisanship aside, bringing everyone to the table, and just making the decision to get something done to improve life. No one had the luxury of toeing a party line – we all had jobs to do and things that needed to get done, so we found a way to come together and make it happen. That’s what I wanted to bring to Columbia, and what I will bring to the Governor’s office.
This story was originally published October 25, 2014 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Governor: Vincent Sheheen (Democrat)."