Published July 29, 2005

Lots of help left to give

LINDA CONLEY, Staff Writer

State Rep. Brenda Lee is switching from representing state government to working for it.

Lee, a Democrat and the first black woman from Spartanburg elected to the state Legislature, resigned from her House District 31 seat Thursday.

She recently accepted a job in the S.C. Office of Regulatory Staff and begins her new job Monday.

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State Rep. Brenda Lee, shown conferring with a colleague in 2004 on the House floor in Columbia, resigned Thursday to take a job with the S.C. Office of Regulatory Staff. Lee, a Democrat, is the first black woman from Spartanburg to be elected to the state Legislature.
Photo: FILE

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The Spartanburg native was elected to the Legislature in 1995 in a special election to replace Donald Beatty, who left the seat to become a circuit judge.

Lee, 57, said after serving 10 years, it was time to review her legislative career and pursue other challenges.

"I had already made a decision that this term would be my last because it is time to pursue other opportunities," she said. "I want to continue to make a contribution, and I still have a viable opportunity to do that."

Her new job is program manager for S.C. Lifeline and Link-up Programs. The salary range for the job is $41,835 to $77,397, depending on experience.

The new job will require traveling across the state informing low-income families about funding available to help them pay their telephone bills. The program's funding comes from the Universal Service Fund.

Lee applied for the job June 27. She said she had been looking for something that would allow her to continue helping others.

C. Dukes Scott, executive director of the S.C. Office of Regulatory Staff, said Lee's job is informing people about the funds available to help them pay for their phone bills. The money comes from fees paid monthly with telephone bills. He said the state could receive more of the federal funds available through the program and help more people if they enrolled. He said Lee's position was created to tell people about it.

"She (Lee) is going to be wonderful in the position," Scott said. "We couldn't have found anybody close to having the experience she has and what she can do for this program."

Rumors started circulating last week that Lee was resigning from the House seat. Before quitting, Lee, who served on the House Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee, resigned from a Public Utilities subcommittee to prevent a conflict.

In a letter dated July 27 to House Speaker Bobby Harrell, Lee stated her "overall service to the Legislature has been rewarding … but it was time to seek other avenues of service."

Legislative colleagues said they are going to miss Lee, but understood why she was leaving.

"I am going to miss her dreadfully," said Rep. Bill Sandifer, R-Seneca, who is the chairman of the public utilities subcommittee. He believes Lee's new job is ideal for her.

"She is going from serving a constituency in Spartanburg to serving a statewide constituency," Sandifer said. "She is going to be able to help a huge number of people who deserve and need help."

Rep. Ralph Davenport, R-Boiling Springs, has sat beside Lee for the past 10 years in the Legislature. He said Lee has become almost like a sister to him.

"I am really torn up about it because I tried to talk her out of it," Davenport said. "Her word is her bond and that means a lot in politics."

Rep. Leon Howard, D-Columbia and chairman-elect of the S.C. Legislative Black Caucus, said he and Lee talked about a possible career change several times over the past six months.

"The S.C. Office of Regulatory Staff is truly the winner, because Brenda has a lot of good relationships with members of the General Assembly," Howard said. "There will not be much that we will be to turn her down on."

Howard said the Black Caucus, which includes 31 of the Legislature's 170 members, plans to keep in touch with Lee.

State Sen. Glenn Reese, D-Boiling Springs, is the only other Democrat in the Spartanburg legislative delegation. He said he would miss Lee because the two worked closely together in the Legislature to help constituents.

"She is going to be hard to replace," Reese said. "I hate to see her go, but I understand things have to wind down."

Lee said her passion is serving people, and her new job will allow her to continue helping others. She also plans to remain active in the community.

"This job will allow me to continue to make a contribution and help people," she said. "I will continue to be visible and viable in the community."

She plans to commute between Spartanburg and Columbia and continue supporting local initiatives such as the Community Heritage Day parade, which she founded, during Black History Month. She's also making plans to help promote a book coming out in the fall about a former black neighborhood on the city's south side.

"I congratulate her on the new opportunity, but we are going to miss her," said Willie Dee Young, owner of Dee Traxx, a convenience store on the city's south side. "She did a lot of things quietly without a lot of attention."

Young said it took months to get a BellSouth payment center completely set up in his store, but Lee worked with him and telephone officials to get it done. The center was needed because residents were traveling across town to make payments. He has known Lee since their high school days at Carver High School.

"She has been a tremendous help to this community," Young said. "If she says she will remain active in the community, I believe her, because she is that kind of a person."

Linda Conley can be reached at 562-7213 or at linda.conley@shj.com.

More Information

Lee's Career

Highlights:

First African-

American to serve as an officer on the Labor, Commerce and Industry House Committee.
Served as second vice chair on the Labor, Commerce and Industry

Committee.
Secured funding for breast cancer education for black women in the Upstate.
Introduced a

resolution

designating a stretch of South Church Street in honor of Martin Luther King Jr.
Created the annual Black History Parade for Spartanburg County.
Walked out of a

legislative session with 28 other

members of the S.C. Legislative Black

Caucus to protest judicial nominations.