Candidates sound off on gas tax, education

Candidates running for State Senate discussed prominent issues impacting the Upstate at the Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce’s Voice of Business Brunch Monday afternoon.

Duncan Mayor Lisa Cooley Scott, who recently announced her run for the Senate District 12 seat, was on hand for the forum. She was joined by David McCraw and Scott Talley, who are also running in District 12 (Lee Bright was invited, but did not attend).

Sen. Tom Corbin and John B. White were also there to debate issues impacting Senate District 5 voters.

The candidates traded opinions on raising the gas tax in order to pay for new roads in the state. Corbin took a strong stance against the idea.

“I will not support raising the gas tax,” the incumbent told a room full of likely voters. “Raising the gas tax is not necessarily going to equate to better roads. We all want better roads. There’s too much waste in Columbia. We do not need a tax increase. We have the ability to fix our roads, but in order for us to get anything moving forward, we’re going to have to get DOT reformed. No bill will pass in the General Assembly without the component of DOT reform, which I am very much in favor of.”

Scott believes the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) needed to be reformed, but said she would support a gas tax hike.

“I am in support of a gas tax (increase),” Scott said. “We have the third lowest (gas tax) in the nation. I do believe, in addition to having that gas tax, we need to look at a cut in the state income tax as well.”

Scott went on to explain the problems South Carolina drivers are facing.

“Spartanburg County has 43 bridges that are unsafe. Look at I-85 that we travel on everyday. It’s getting worse and worse. We can’t just think about our area here. Look at the flooding that occurred in the lower part of the state. Before we can start building new roads, we need to repair the roads that we have.”

Talley said Greenville and Spartanburg Counties are deserving of their “fair share.”

“There are too many hands in the DOT pot in Columbia for us to expect to get our fair share,” Talley said. “I’d like to come up with a way to get money out of the DOT in the Columbia and back into the counties and local municipalities.”

The candidates agreed that more of an emphasis needs to be placed on education within the state.

“When people look at South Carolina, they see that we have an infrastructure problem,” McCraw said. “They see that we’re in the bottom 20 percent in education year after year. We’re number one in violence against women and children. All this stuff affects your brand. When people look at South Carolina, we want them to see the positive things.”

White said the schools need to focus on training students for the workforce.

“We have to have a work force initiative where we can train people,” White said. “We’ve got 1,000 jobs in Greer that we can fill right now because we don’t have people that are trained. We have to address that. That’s the big issue.”

Corbin argued that the problems in education don’t necessarily have to do with a lack of funds.

“(Greer Middle Charter High School) doesn’t even have a building, but a building never taught a child,” Corbin said. “(Those students) have the highest test scores in the entire district. Why is that? It’s the model they have there. I have nothing against public education, but we should look at the models. We’ve got to think outside the box and improve education, but just throwing money at the problem won’t fix it.”

All five candidates were also questioned on minimum wage, higher education and their choice for president of the United States.

While some candidates stated they were not going to endorse anyone for president, others said they simply haven’t made up their mind.

“I’m undecided. They all have good points and they all have bad points,” Scott said. “Right now, I don’t really know because you find out something new every day.”

Talley also did not provide an endorsement, but said he hopes voters turn out for both the presidential election and the local elections.

“My hope is that the many people who participate in the presidential primary on Feb. 20 will participate in the state house, state senate primaries on June. 14,” Talley said.

billy@greercitizen.com | 877-2076