Published Wednesday, February 03, 2010 8:49 AM
Updated Wednesday, February 03, 2010 8:50 AM
Sheheen visits Goose Creek
“In the book of Proverbs,” State Sen. Vincent Sheheen said, “it says that without a vision, the people will perish. It’s been a long time since South Carolina had a vision.”
Sheheen, from Kershaw County, was warmly received as he made a campaign stop on Jan. 23 at the Berkeley Electric Co-op in Goose Creek to talk with local Democrats about his bid to become the state’s next governor.
Sheheen is one of several Democrats vying for the party’s nomination.
The monthly meeting of the Berkeley County Democratic Party saw Sheheen receive the endorsement of Rep. Joe Jefferson ,who called Sheheen “a great candidate … he’s a very strong senator who has been working for all of the people.”
Jefferson said that Sheheen will be a governor “who will not embarrass the state of South Carolina. We have a chance to turn things around, and make things better for all of the people.”
Sheheen vowed to strongly support small businesses and the Charleston port, and to focus on “things that are important in public education” if elected.
“We believe that government can play a legitimate role in improving people’s lives,” he said. “It is not the (only) solution – but it’s not the (only) problem.”
Sheheen said he has fought the payday lending industry while a senator, and has advocated higher teacher pay and smaller classroom sizes. Sheheen is a leading advocate for revamping the way public schools are funded, and leveling the playing field for schools in the poorest parts of South Carolina.
He said the state needs to “root out waste, fraud and abuse.”
Sheheen, who served in the House of Representatives before becoming a senator, said he supports raising South Carolina’s cigarette tax to “help get health care to working South Carolinians.”
Currently, the state’s cigarette tax is “not even half the national average” he said.
He said South Carolina Democrats have a “rendezvous with destiny” in 2010, and reminded his audience that “it hasn’t been Democrats” in charge while the state’s unemployment rate has steadily increased in the last few years.
Sheheen, a Clemson graduate, is married and has two teen-aged sons.