Democratic candidates kick off campaign

JASON SPENCER, Staff Writer

Suits, speeches and a buffet-style lunch at the Marriott at Renaissance Park: Election season must be here.

Four Democrats competing for two state House seats attended a meet-and-greet Monday, feeling out potential supporters.

Spartanburg County Democrats will decide two primary elections come June -- one for state Rep. Harold Mitchell's seat in District 31 and the other for the seat being vacated by Republican Rep. Phil Sinclair in District 35.

The District 31 primary will decide that race, with only incumbent Mitchell and fellow Democrat Dan Winn, a retired sheriff's deputy, on the ticket. District 31 cuts a swath through central Spartanburg and reaches into Una, Arkwright and Roebuck.

In District 35 -- the south-central and southwestern portions of the county, including Roebuck and Woodruff -- the Democratic winner will go on to run against one of three Republican contenders.

"Start planning for the future," party Chairwoman Liz Patterson urged the crowd as she introduced the men.

The four candidates came across as different as night and day.

First up: 23-year-old Jamie Tucker, a student seeking his master's degree in public administration.

"Why aren't there more young people standing where I am today?" Tucker asked. "Our young people are not failing us, but rather we have failed our young people. For every disengaged youth, there are two more individuals just like me waiting in the wings, tired of being told that they are too young to make an impact and that experience alone is the benchmark for success."

Both Tucker and his opponent, Tom Davies, are making their first stab at public office. Tucker spoke mostly about education, while Davies centered on the now-defunct landfill that Waste Management had planned to open near Enoree.

Davies, a 58-year-old carpenter and resident of the rural Kilgore community, said people he met while opposing that landfill encouraged him to run.

"I'm a student of life," he said. "I want to get involved and do good things for the county. That's pretty much it."

Whoever wins in June likely will have to struggle to overcome the District 35 Republican opponent.

Not so in and around the city of Spartanburg, though.

Mitchell last year overwhelmingly beat a Republican challenger, and no one from the GOP has filed to run for that seat this go-round.

The special election was held to fill the seat of former Rep. Brenda Lee, D-Spartanburg, who resigned to take a job with the state.

Mitchell now faces Winn, 68, a political newcomer.

"I have some goals, but I don't want to state my goals until I've heard from the people in this district," Winn said.

But some of Winn's issues seemed clear at Monday's meeting. Someone should be put in place to monitor plants here to make sure they give minorities a fair shake when hiring, he said.

Afterward, he spoke about trying to reach the "underrepresented" white constituents outside the city limits but inside District 31.

Mitchell, 40, highlighted environmental justice work he's doing in the Una area and a job training programs he's supported through ReGenesis, the nonprofit group he founded a decade ago.

"This short term that I've been in so far has really changed my perspective of public officials," he said. "It's illuminated the responsibilities of lawmakers. It's a tremendous opportunity to be that voice."

Jason Spencer can be reached at 562-7214, or jason.spencer@shj.com.