Recent court defeats should raise questions about Gov. Henry McMaster’s leadership

On McMaster

Is anybody else beginning to see a pattern of overzealous and discriminatory governing at work here?

Gov. Henry McMaster and his Republican Party enablers have been desperately trying to enforce their wishes about funding private/religious schools with public funds while simultaneously attempting to prevent women — in this case medically needy women — from having access to reproductive health care because of their religious beliefs.

In both instances the wishes of McMaster and his enablers are not supported by the majority of South Carolinians — nor the Supreme Court of the United States.

McMaster would seem to support theocracy over democracy and as such he is in need of constant oversight.

When coupled with McMaster’s obvious failure to enact policies to protect us from a virus that has been raging for the past six months — and which has crippled our economy because of his fecklessness — it is time for the governor to resign or be recalled.

Gere Fulton, Columbia

On health care training

COVID-19 has been a tremendous challenge for South Carolina, as it has been for the entire country.

As a state representative it is my duty to know what is going on in the community I serve, and by listening to my constituents I know the diverse needs and concerns we all have as we live through this unprecedented time.

While our political divisions make headlines I believe that there is so much that unites us. One thing we can all agree on is our support for the health care professionals on the frontlines of the fight to stop COVID-19.

Since the beginning of the pandemic doctors, nurses and support staff have risked their health to help their patients. They have worked long hours in large hospitals and small clinics to fight this invisible enemy.

All health care professionals deserve our gratitude for their tireless work and sacrifice, and this crisis has underscored the importance of our health care personnel.

But it has also laid bare the shortcomings in South Carolina’s health care system, and one area where we must improve is in training and retaining the medical professionals who make South Carolina’s health care system work.

Projections show that South Carolina will have the fourth-worst nursing shortage in the country by 2030; the Palmetto State will need 10,400 more nurses if we are to meet the demand of our growing population. Similarly there is a shortage of doctors, particularly in our rural communities.

The state of South Carolina must make training nurses and doctors a priority, and I urge my colleagues in the Legislature to allocate the funding necessary to meet this need.

I believe a portion of any future federal COVID-19 relief funding should go towards the education of health care professionals.

We should not allow cost to be a barrier for those who seek to enter the medical profession.

By lowering or eliminating the cost of health care education we can show that our state truly values our health care workers.

State Rep. Annie McDaniel, Winnsboro

McDaniel represents District 41, which includes Richland, Chester and Fairfield counties.

On Richland One

The Richland One School Board needs an overhaul.

I recently watched the telecast of the School Board’s meeting to hear the plans for reopening schools; instead I heard the board members make multiple attempts to block the voices of their constituents.

First, the School Board members debated a motion to allow constituents more time to submit public comments prior to virtual meetings. Only two commissioners, Jonathan Milling and Beatrice King, supported the motion.

Commissioner Aaron Bishop argued that the school district staff needed sufficient time to review and print comments. But there were only three submissions, and they had all been reviewed.

More distressingly Chairman Jamie Devine did not allow the single comment that met the School Board’s stringent criteria to be read in its entirety.

There is a three-minute per comment policy, but it is intended to ensure that meetings do not run long. In this case there was ONE comment that was informative to me as a parent. I wanted to hear that comment in its entirety, and Devine should have shared my desire.

Parents with children attending Richland One schools, this is what is happening on our School Board. That’s why we need new leaders who prioritize the concerns of parents, students and teachers above the technical, bureaucratic red tape they impose.

Jennifer Augustine, Columbia

This story was originally published October 17, 2020 at 6:55 AM.