Hart would bring urgency, focus

WHILE REP. JOE Brown speaks in general terms about improving health care, he says his focus is on serving his constituents, from sending them birthday cards to writing letters of recommendation. If he’s re-elected, his priority for the next two years will be working with neighborhoods in District 73 to get them annexed into the city of Columbia.

That’s a valuable public service — but it’s a service that he could continue to provide in or out of office.

Mr. Brown is a fine gentleman who has devoted his life to public service, first as a principal and, since 1986, as a House member. He has served conscientiously. But we believe voters would be better served by a House member who focuses on policy matters that could improve the lives of all South Carolinians.

That’s what political newcomer Chris Hart promises.

Mr. Hart doesn’t have any revolutionary ideas, but he has smart ideas, and the big-picture focus that many legislators either lack or have lost over the years.

He notes that you can’t talk about property taxes without talking about how we fund our schools — and he talks about overhauling that and the entire tax system. He wants to eliminate the fragmentation borne of 85 separate state agencies, so government can provide better service for the buck. And he wants legislators to leave local decision making to local governments, which would leave lawmakers more time to focus on improving South Carolina.

Mr. Hart suggests that Mr. Brown has lost touch. He points, for instance, to the incumbent’s failure to play a key role in the debate over school vouchers and his vote for a constitutional amendment to abolish residential property taxes — a plan that would have depended upon the higher sales tax that Mr. Brown wisely opposes.

But mostly, Mr. Hart talks about what he would bring to the office — a sense of urgency about improving education and creating jobs, so kids in the poorest corners of South Carolina can compete regionally, nationally and globally. That’s something that would benefit voters in District 73 and throughout the state. It’s why we believe voters would do well to send Mr. Hart to the State House.