The Primary season in South Carolina has ended. Win or lose changes were made for many. Other offices stayed the same. In case you haven’t heard, the Greenville County Council will totally change in January 2025. I look forward to seeing what fresh people can do in a governing body that has lost its way. In the meantime, we still have challenges ahead of us.
First, Liz Seman is up for reelection and has opposition in November. John Langville is running against her as a Constitution Party candidate. We must back him. Mrs. Seman is a huge part of the problem on the County Council. She is not nor has she ever been for the citizens of Greenville County. She doesn’t like questions being asked. In order to get Mr. Langville elected, people will have to be educated to not just vote straight party tickets. They will need to vote for the individuals and that will then allow them to vote for him. Every time you have the opportunity, you need to help educate people in District 24.
Second, July 15 through August 15 is the time to sign up to run for the school board. The following Greenville County School districts are up for election in November: 17 (Carolyn Styles), 19 (Debi Bush), 21 (Angie Mosley), 23 (Glenda Morrison-Fair), 25 (Michelle Goodwin-Calwile), and 27 (Sarah Dulin). These are all non-partisan races. If you are a school board watcher and concerned about the direction of our schools, this might be something you want to consider.
Third, the Bon Secours Wellness Center management wants to do a major renovation project. Those in charge say it will take $170 million to do the project. They are seeking $70 million in general obligation bonds from the County Council. The Finance Committee has information about the project and also the audit for the Wellness Center attached to its July 8 agenda. There will be a public hearing about the bonds before the Arena District Board on July 23 and before the County Council on August 20. At this time no tax increase has been mentioned, but it could still be a possibility. That is a question that must be answered.
Fourth, the Capital Project Sales Tax fight is going to start heating up. Unless there is a huge change in the direction our County Council is going, the sales tax will be put on the November ballot. We must fight to defeat this tax. There are far too many questions about this proposed “road fix.” The actual lists of projects lack details. For example, on the Tier 1 list is Wade Hampton Boulevard for congestion and safety improvements at a cost of $20,100,000. This road covers a significant amount of the northern portion of Greenville County from the City of Greenville to the Spartanburg County line. So which section are they going to “fix”? How are they relieving congestion? What safety improvements are they doing? Is this the project that the City of Greenville has been planning for several years? If so, a year ago the City said they had the financing for the project in place. Exactly what are they going to do to relieve congestion? The plans the City has put in place will only make for more congestion not relieve it. These same questions need to be asked about Stone Avenue the next line item on Tier 1 and could be asked about almost every project on all 4 Tiers.
Furthermore, Jason Elliott the current state legislator for district 22 and the newly elected state senator for district 6 campaigned that he brought home the Department of Transportation money to Greenville County to fix our roads. According to Dan Nickles, he has brought home billions of dollars. According to the Republican Senate Caucus, he has an A+ rating on bringing home money and getting our roads fixed. Therefore, if this is what Jason Elliott has done, then he needs to get the state and federal roads fixed immediately. In addition, starting immediately, Mr. Elliott must join with us in fighting to defeat this sales tax. According to his campaign materials, it clearly isn’t needed.
So, we still have much work to do. Let’s continue to work together for the good of our community. We must keep a watch on our County Council. It is hard to predict what all they will attempt to do in the next 6 months while they still have power.
