Editorials from across South Carolina: redistricting, wrecks, Sen Martin
Redistricting Karma?
When South Carolina legislators redraw district boundaries every 10 years they are supposed to give consideration, among other things, to “not dividing county boundaries” according to rules the Senate used after the last census in 2010.
Nearly lost in last week’s run-off election when Sen. Lee Bright was defeated by challenger Scott Talley is that the Legislature let Bright and then-colleague Phillip Shoopman ignore that consideration when they made a backroom deal to redraw the boundaries of their Senate districts.…
4 SC Senate incumbents fall in runoffs
The deal came to light after Bright’s defeat because, ironically, the majority of Bright’s margin of defeat came from the 12 precincts from Greenville County that were added to his Spartanburg County district in 2011 to bolster his chances of reelection then.
According to a report last week by Greenville News reporter Rudolph Bell, Bright was eager to unload the Holly Springs community in Spartanburg County because he had angered voters there with appointments to a fire district; and Shoopman wanted to get 12 precincts on Greenville County’s Eastside out of his district to head off a potential challenge from businessman Bob Castellani, who lived in the part of the district that was moved.
The deal highlights a problem. If legislators are able to change their district boundaries purely to shore up their chances of victory (or eliminate a potential challenger), what’s to hold them to other requirements in the redistricting rules, namely those that ensure equity for voters of all demographics?
Too many road deaths
Eliminating accidents is the goal of South Carolina law enforcement and should be the goal of every South Carolinian in a state that has a terribly high number of highway deaths.
The South Carolina Department of Public Safety reported a deadly Fourth of July weekend, with 11 people being killed on the state’s roadways from Friday, July 1, at 6 p.m. until Monday, July 4, at midnight.…
As of July 4, 460 people have died on South Carolina highways. That compares to 473 highway deaths during the same time period in 2015.
Of the 306 motor vehicle occupants killed in 2016, 148 were not wearing safety belts.
To restate an important point: Statistical evidence shows nearly half of the 148 would be alive today had they been buckled up. Over July 4, four of the six people killed in motor-vehicle crashes were not wearing seat belts.
Gracious example
A longtime South Carolina legislator taught a sadly rare lesson in how to accept defeat at the polls with grace.
Larry Martin, during his six terms in the state Senate, has earned a reputation for integrity, insight and bipartisan cooperation. The Pickens County Republican has been willing to buck the hard-right positions of many fellow GOP lawmakers in Columbia. Last year, he backed the removal of the Confederate flag from the Statehouse grounds. This year, as head of the Judiciary Committee, he agreed to hold hearings on gun-control proposals this summer.
SCOPPE: First Wes Hayes, now Larry Martin: a Senate diminished
However, Sen. Martin’s quests for compromise, along with growing public disdain for incumbents and political business as usual, made him more vulnerable to this year’s primary challenge from former state Rep. Rex Rice.…
Sen. Martin didn’t whine over the voters’ verdict. Instead, he offered impressive congratulations to Mr. Rice, telling The Greenville News: “I hand it to Rex and his campaign and wish him the very best. The people of the county have been very good to me for a number of years in their support of me and I hope they will be equally supportive of him.”
And we hope that after the votes are counted in November, more people will follow Sen. Martin’s admirable example, facilitating common-ground solutions in the process.
Sen. Martin isn’t just a good legislator.
He’s a good sport.