Author Archives: Becci

Money in SC Politics forum video

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If you missed our roundtable at USC’s School of Law on Feb. 6, you can watch it here. Panelists included Lynn Teague, Vice President, League of Women Voters of SC; John Crangle, Govt. Relations Director, SC Progressive Network; Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter (D-Orangeburg); Sen. Mike Fanning (D-Fairfield); Rep. Gary Clary (R-Pickens); and Sen. William Timmons (R-Greenville). Marcurius Byrd with the American Constitution Society at USC law school opened the program, which was moderated by Network Director Brett Bursey.

To read about anti-corruption bills we are tracking and backing, click here.

See our photo album of the event on Flickr.

SC State House elections are nation’s least competitive

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Lawmakers and advocates to pose solutions at Feb. 6 public forum in Columbia

South Carolina has the least competitive elections in the country, according to a recent study that concluded only 6 percent of legislative races in the Palmetto State offer voters a viable choice of candidates.

The National Institute on Money in State Politics used three measures to determine the competitiveness of state legislative races, gauging the monetary spread between winners and losers, the success rate of incumbents, and whether candidates had opposition. In 98 percent of legislative races, the winner spent at least twice what the loser did, representing the greatest money gap in the Institute’s 20 years of national surveys.

The study highlights the critical need for reforming the system. Toward that end, the SC Progressive Network has assembled a bipartisan panel of lawmakers and good-government advocates to discuss legislative remedies at a public forum Feb. 6, 7-9pm at the USC School of Law, 1525 Senate St. in Columbia. The Money in SC Politics roundtable will be live streamed at the SC Progressive Network’s web site. A reception will follow the panel discussion.

“It’s our mission to educate South Carolina citizens, including politicians, about the lack of competition in our elections and how that fuels corruption,” said Kyle Criminger, co-chair of the SC Progressive Network’s research and policy institute.

John Crangle, the Network’s director of government relations, has been monitoring State House ethics for 30 years. “It’s the worst I’ve ever seen it,” Crangle said. “I haven’t had representation in the Senate since last April because my senator was charged with embezzling campaign funds. If he’s found guilty, I’m going to have to pay both county and state taxes for a special election to replace him.”

Crangle’s senator, John Courson, is one of four legislators indicted on corruption charges who faced no major party competition in their last election. Sen. Mike Fanning has introduced a bill (S-533) to require politicians convicted of corruption to pay for the special election to replace them.

The political scandal prompted Attorney General Alan Wilson to recuse himself from the investigation. He has taken money from — and given money to — parties now accused of using campaign funds for personal gain. In 2014, Wilson raised over $800,000 in his race for re-election, exceeding legal limits. Wilson took the maximum contribution from SCANA, a corporation he now is being called on to investigate. His Democratic opponent that year raised only $19,000.

Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter will explain her bill (H-4498) to allow candidates for attorney general to get a grant to run for office if they refuse all private money, including their own. “Our top law enforcement officer shouldn’t take money from citizens and corporations that he or she may have to investigate,” she said.

Rep. Cobb-Hunter and Sen. Fanning will be joined on the panel by Rep. Gary Clary (R-Pickens), who has introduced a bill calling for an independent redistricting commission (H-4456) to promote competitive elections and reduce partisan gridlock. Sen. Bill Timmons (R-Greenville) will discuss legislation requiring candidates to release their tax returns (S-765), and a bill to increase funding for the state Ethics Commission.

Lynn Teague, with the League of Women Voters – SC, will also be on the panel. “We need to look at the common threads in our ethics problems, our need for redistricting, and utility reform,” she said, “because they are all rooted in common causes.”

Anti-corruption bills to watch in 2018

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Building on the work done since the SC Progressive Network‘s forum Corruption in the Palmetto State last May, we want to go beyond identifying the problems in our ailing democracy to focus on remedies, both legislative and cultural.

The Progressive Network’s Education Fund has written five bills that have been introduced by our partners in the Progressive Legislative Caucus that address campaign finance and corruption. Another bill is in the works that focuses on the fact that 77 percent of SC voters have only one name on their general election ballot for their House and/or Senate representative. Our politically gerrymandered districts facilitate corruption through lack of competition. Only 8.6% of the state’s registered voters elected the Republican majority in the 2016 primary election.

All the bills filed to date calling for an independent redistricting commission fail to make the commission truly independent as they are appointed by the Governor and the legislature and default to the legislature if the “independent” commission fails to reach a decision. We will be introducing a bill for a Citizens Redistricting Commission this session, along with a constitutional amendment to let the citizens draw the districts, not the incumbents.

We are working with Republican legislators on other bills they have introduced to make our campaign finance system more transparent and accountable.

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S-533 (Sen. Mike Fanning, D-Fairfield and Rep. Cobb-Hunter, D-Orangeburg) would make politicians removed from office due to a criminal conviction pay for the special elections to replace them. The millions in corporate campaign cash to legislators who face no opposition has contributed to corruption. Each special election to replace incumbent state legislators removed from office due to a conviction costs taxpayers between $35,000 to $125,000, depending on the district and whether it’s a senator of representative being replaced. A special election for a US congressman can run up to $500,000. Since these costs are split between state and county taxes, the constituents of the convicted politician pay the greatest share

H-4443 (Rep. Clary, R-Pickens) requires candidates to disclose if they, or an immediate family member is paid by a company that lobbies their office. A current campaign finance report must be filed 72 hours before and election, campaign expenditures are clearly enumerated and accounted for and independent expenditures are restricted.

H-4444 (Rep. Clary, R-Pickens) prohibits an elected official from appointing a campaign donor to a public office for four years after the donation.

H-4498 (Rep. Cobb-Hunter, D-Orangeburg and Sen. Fanning, D-Fairfield) calls for giving qualified candidates for attorney general who refuse all private donations a publicly financed grant to run for office. In his last race, state Attorney General Alan Wilson took maximum campaign contributions from SCANA, and has taken more than $500,000 from lawyers and off-duty lobbyists in his last three campaigns. Public financing would allow candidates to run for attorney general without taking any campaign contributions from individuals or corporations that may later need to be investigated or indicted. In 2001, then Republican Party Chair Henry McMaster understood the problems inherent in allowing the state’s top law enforcement officer to rely on private cash to run for office. McMaster told Gov. Hodge’s Campaign Finance Reform Commission that the race for attorney general is the one elected office that should be publicly financed.

H-4499 (Rep. Cobb-Hunter, D-Orangeburg and Sen. Fanning, D-Fairfield) places a constitutional amendment on the general election ballot that lets the people vote to allow public financing for Attorney General candidates.

H-4501 (Rep. Cobb-Hunter, D-Orangeburg and Sen. Fanning, D-Fairfield) would prohibit regulated utilities from making campaign contributions to the candidates and politicians who regulate them. An example is the 2007 legislation that allowed SCE&G to charge ratepayers in advance for nuclear reactors that have since been abandoned.

H-4500 (Rep. Cobb-Hunter, D-Orangeburg and Sen. Fanning, D-Fairfield) would place a small fee on all campaign contributions that would fund an automated public disclosure system and generate money for attorney general candidates who want to opt into a publicly financed campaign. The State Ethics Commission is woefully underfunded, short-staffed, and has a public disclosure web site that is opaque. Furthermore, candidates make unintentional mistakes – as well as intentional – in filing. This bill offers a low-cost, high-tech solution to multiple problems. S-766 requires all campaign contributions to be deposited in interest bearing accounts with the interest going to the benefit of the State Ethics Commission.

H-4456 (Rep. Clary, R-Pickens) is a bipartisan bill calling for a committee of non-elected citizens to draw district lines for the legislature and US congressional districts. Redistricting is a critical part of restoring democracy in SC, and the process is an earnest work in progress. Consider: 77% of SC lawmakers are elected with no opposition in the general election. Just 8.6% of the state’s registered voters chose the ruling majority of the General Assembly in the Republican primary.

S-764 (Sen. Timmons, R-Greenville) makes candidates tax returns available to the State Ethics Commission during an investigation or complaint.

S-765 (Sen. Timmons, R-Greenville) redefines lobbyist to include those work, without compensation, for another party to influence official actions.

Questions? Contact the Network at 803-808-3384, network@scpronet.com.

Forum to address corrupting role of money in state politics

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Money in SC Politics: a roundtable discussion

Feb. 6, 7-9pm

USC Law School Auditorium, 1525 Senate St., Columbia

As South Carolina reels from the growing corruption scandal in the State House, the public is invited to a timely round-table discussion about how we can reduce the influence of money in state politics and policy-making. Legislators and good-government advocates will debate ways to make state government more representative, competitive, and responsive to South Carolina citizens.

At the table: Rep. Gilda Cobb Hunter (D-Orangeburg); Sen. Mike Fanning (D-Fairfield); Rep. Gary Clary (R-Oconee); Sen. William Timmons (R-Greenville); Lynn Teague, Vice President, League of Women Voters South Carolina; and John Crangle, Government Relations Director, SC Progressive Network.

The audience will be invited to ask questions and offer comment.

Reception to follow.

Click HERE to read about a package of anti-corruption bills the Network is backing and tracking.

The free event is sponsored by the nonpartisan Education Fund of the SC Progressive Network and the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy, USC School of Law. It is listed on the House and Senate’s legislative calendar.

RSVP/Share on Facebook.

 

Dr. Sarah Keeling honored with USC social justice award

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The SC Progressive Network applauds our membership liaison Dr. Sarah Keeling for the much-deserved recognition of her social justice work by the University of South Carolina. She was among four honored with the 2018 MLK Social Justice Award.

Sarah is a graduate of the Modjeska Simkins School for Human Rights (a Network project), and was elected to the Network’s executive committee at our fall retreat. She helped lead the recent tour of the State House monuments, featured in this Columbia’s Free Times story, and is working on expanding that project.

Read more about Sarah and her fellow honorees here.

Sarah Keeling puts the African American monument into context on a recent tour reinterpreting some of the monuments on the State House grounds. See more photos of the tour in our photo album.

 

Progressive Legislative Caucus introduces anti-corruption bills

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The SC Progressive Legislative Caucus has introduced four bills prepared by the SC Progressive Network’s Research and Policy Institute to reduce the corrupting influence of money in state policies.

The timing of this legislative package is critical, as South Carolina’s ethics scandals stretch into an election year. With public appetite for cleaning house at a record high, the Network is prepared to advance common-sense bills for reforms to make government more transparent and accountable.

Special election restitution

H-4502 would make politicians removed from office due to a criminal conviction pay for the special elections to replace them. Progressive Caucus member Sen. Mike Fanning (D-Fairfield) filed (S-533) bill in the Senate during the last session. (Watch a clip of him explaining the legislation.) Caucus Chair Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, the bill’s primary House sponsor, says that the flood of campaign cash to legislators who face no opposition has contributed to corruption.

Each special election to replace incumbent legislators removed from office due to a conviction costs taxpayers around $120,000 for a House seat; and $180,000 for a Senate seat. The state only pays for 40% of the cost, leaving counties paying the balance out of their underfunded budgets. To replace convicted attorneys general or other constitutional officers costs about $30,000 if a special session of the legislature is called.

The late Sen. Clementa Pinckney speaks at a press conference to promote the Network-backed bill he sponsored for clean elections (also called publicly financed elections). While it has been introduced year after year, the provision may now get traction as a bill to allow public financing for attorney general races.

Public financing of candidates for SC attorney general

As South Carolina’s corruption scandal widens, the time is ripe to renew our call for publicly financed elections, beginning with the attorney general. H-4499 calls for giving qualified candidates for attorney general who refuse all private donations a publicly financed grant to run for office.

State Attorney General Alan Wilson took maximum campaign contributions in his last race from both the McNair firm and SCANA. He took more than $500,000 from lawyers and off-duty lobbyists in his last three campaigns. After his 2014 campaign, Wilson returned $3,500 to former House Speaker Bobby Harrell after Harrell was indicted, and Wilson had to refund about $50,000 in donations that exceeded contribution limits.

Public financing would allow candidates to run for attorney general without taking any campaign contributions from individuals or corporations that may later need to be investigated or indicted. In 2001, then Republican Party Chairman Henry McMaster understood the problems inherent in allowing the state’s top law enforcement officer to rely on private cash to run for office. McMaster told Gov. Hodge’s Campaign Finance Reform Commission that the race for attorney general is the one elected office that should be publicly financed.

Banning campaign donations by regulated utilities

4501 would prohibit regulated utilities from making campaign contributions to the candidates and politicians who are responsible for regulating them. An example is the 2007 legislation that allowed SCE&G to charge ratepayers in advance for nuclear reactors that have since been abandoned.

“The power company paid former Gov. McNair’s law firm to write the bill,” Cobb-Hunter said. Then both the utility and the law firm made $60,000 of strategic, bipartisan donations to legislators. “They even gave me a donation,” she said. The bill passed both bodies without a public hearing or debate. The Senate didn’t even take a roll call vote.

Public transparency and accounting fee for campaign donations

H-4500 would place a small fee on all campaign contributions that would fund an automated public disclosure system and generate money for attorney general candidates who want to opt into a publicly financed campaign.

The State Ethics Commission is woefully underfunded, short-staffed, and has a public disclosure web site that is opaque. Furthermore, candidates make unintentional mistakes – as well as intentional – in filing. We’ve crafted a low-cost, high-tech solution to multiple problems.

Live inspired in 2018!

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Order your calendar TODAY and be inspired all year by photographs and quotes of Modjeska Monteith Simkins.

Proceeds will support the Modjeska Simkins School for Human Rights, a project of the SC Progressive Network. Calendars are $10 each; includes shipping. (See preview.)

Click HERE to order, or call 803-808-3384.

Bobby Donaldson: “The legacy of Modjeska Simkins is not dead”

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In 1938, just days before her 39th birthday, Modjeska Simkins drew up plans for her own funeral. “For reasons known only to myself,” she wrote directives for a simple ceremony to be carried out “in the event of my demise.” It included a list of hymns and readings, and a note to the mortician to refuse floral arrangements.

We can only guess what prompted her to write the document, which USC history professor Dr. Bobby Donaldson shared at this year’s Modjeska party, an annual birthday celebration the SC Progressive Network holds at her Columbia home. He said it appears nobody ever read it, perhaps because it was buried in the piles of books and papers that filled her home.

This much is clear: there was much ado and flowers aplenty when Modjeska died in 1992. And for good reason.

Dr. Bobby Donaldson speaks from the back porch of the Modjeska Simkins House.

“Fortunately for us,” Donaldson said, “Modjeska did not die in 1938. If she had, we would not have a SC NAACP, established in 1939. If she had died, we would not have had an extraordinary letter written in 1944 to the governor, Olin D. Johnston, demanding he debate the merits of white supremacy. If she had died in 1938, we would not have the Modjeska in 1946 who helps organize one of the most extraordinary youth gatherings in the history of this country.”

He ticked off a list of things that would not exist were not for Modjeska, including the Harbison Training Institute that taught progressive activists in the late 1940s (with a curriculum mirroring that of the Modjeska Simkins School for Human Rights) and the 1951 Briggs v Elliott case, a critical component of what would become Brown v Board in 1954.

Donaldson ended with a call to action. “The legacy of Ms. Simkins is not dead,” he said. “And if we ever needed a Modjeska Simkins movement inspired by her legacy, you look around this world; we need it now.”

As part of the Network’s commitment to educating and mobilizing that movement, we are preparing to reprint Network Communications Director Becci Robbins’ booklet Modjeska Monteith Simkins: A South Carolina Revolutionary. It will include a new section with historical details discovered since the original printing.

The booklet, published in 2014 through a grant from the Richland County Conservation Commission, has been circulated widely in the Midlands and at no cost to readers. We’d like to keep the booklet free. You can help make that possible.

To date, we have received a generous donation from Historic Columbia and a number of individual supporters, raising $1,700 of the $3,900 we need.

Please help us reach our goal by donating at our secure site or by calling our office at 803-808-3384.

To view more photos from this year’s party, see our album.

Listen to Modjeska Simkins School graduate Vikki Perry in this clip.

Revolutionaries to gather at intersection of art and activism

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Dream dangerously and party like a revolutionary during two days of art, culture, education, entertainment, and activism at the 2nd Subversive Art Festival Extravaganza (SAFE 2.0) on Nov. 3 and 4 in Columbia.

New Legacy Project, the youth coordinating body of SC Progressive Network, invites the public to join them for a weekend of education, arts, and culture that is intended to entertain, engage, and empower.

“SAFE 2.0 is a space to challenge the limits of what is presented as the only ‘workable’ systems of organizing our society,” said Daniel Deweese, New Legacy Project co-founder and SAFE organizer.

Festivities will kick off on Friday, Nov. 3, with a Find the Power Rally from 6pm to 8:30pm at the SC State House. The rally will begin with a guided tour of the grounds with recent graduates of the Modjeska Simkins School giving a people’s history of the monuments. It will close with a discussion on ways to build power to create positive change for the future of South Carolina. All are welcome to this free event.

On Saturday beginning at 5pm, join artists and activists for an art and culture festival at Tapp’s Art Center, 1644 Main St. There will be live music, spoken word performances, comedy, visual art, education, camaraderie, and more! Tickets for SAFE 2.0 are $7.

Connor Brunson performs at last year’s SAFE festival.

Art changes people, and people change the world. There is a long tradition of art meeting activism to create social and political change – even in South Carolina. With the recent emboldening of racist, bigoted, nationalistic, and misogynistic sentiment, it is increasingly important to present a united front against oppressive systems that silence and subjugate marginalized communities, especially when these systems are working for a miniscule percentage of Americans. Art and activism will always intersect in a way that educates and empowers people to effect change. The aim of SAFE 2.0 is to do just that.

The New Legacy Project values the collective wisdom and discipline of the progressive organizers who came before us working for radical, structural change. Our main objective is mentorship, education, and organizing young leaders who will continue building our inter-generational, multi-racial, multi-issue statewide popular movement for racial, economic and social justice and equality. To learn more about New Legacy Project and upcoming events, please see their Facebook page.