Staton to test Floyd

BILL ROBINSON, The State
Published January 4, 2006

Prominent Midlands civic leader Bob Staton is scheduled to announce this morning his entry into the race for state superintendent of education.

For Staton, chairman of the state school reform oversight panel, today's public declaration is a mere formality. In October, he filed a candidate campaign disclosure form with the S.C. Ethics Commission, legally establishing his intent to seek office.

But Staton's public entry into the race means a growing Republican primary field just got more competitive. With support from Gov. Mark Sanford and other top Republican elected officials, many had placed Spartanburg businesswoman Karen Floyd as the race's front-runner.

Floyd, a former chairwoman of the Spartanburg County Council, said she is not bothered by competition for the GOP nod.

"Competition makes us all strong. This information doesn't really change our campaign," Floyd said. "I have a vision for the state of South Carolina that encourages access to education for every child, and we'll stay focused on that."

Staton said the state department of education could benefit from his business background.

"I think it's very important that the business community and the education community be tightly connected because our interests are interdependent," he said. "We can both help the other succeed."

Staton has been involved in the state's education system since 1997 when then-Gov. David Beasley appointed him to a state education accountability panel that was the forerunner to the Education Oversight Committee, which Staton has chaired for the past four years.

The committee plans to elect a new chairman in February, but Staton said he intends to remain a member.

Staton said he postponed his announcement until now because "I just wanted to try to get my thinking clear, get things in order, before I jumped out there."

On the topic of school choice, Staton opposes legislation that would send

public tax dollars to private school tuition, but supports expanding charter schools.

"My preference would be to focus on choice within the public schools," he said.

A crowded field

Cathy Hazelwood, the commission's assistant director and general counsel, said Tuesday that in addition to Staton, the agency also has on file disclosure forms for Floyd and Kerry Wood, a computer programmer from Batesburg-Leesville. All are planning to run in the Republican primary.

Frank Holleman, a Greenville attorney who was weighing a run for the office as a Democrat, said Tuesday he has decided against it.

The incumbent, Democrat Inez Tenenbaum, announced in August she would not seek a third four-year term.

The only Democrat to declare is Cecil Taliaferro, a former college administrator from Columbia.

Two other Republicans who say they want to succeed Tenenbaum are: Elizabeth Moffly, a real estate agent from Charleston; and Michael L. Ryan, an Horry County Council member who works as an assistant principal at Wando High School in Mount Pleasant.

In South Carolina, the Republican and Democratic parties organize primary elections. The filing period to run as a candidate in the primaries is from March 16 until March 30. Primaries will be June 13. Runoffs for the primaries, if needed, would be June 27.

The state superintendent of education is the agency director for the state Department of Education. The job pays $92,007.

-- The Associated Press contributed to this report.

User Comments

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Re: (No heading)
Lamb - If you'll run - I'll vote for you! But hurry and announce. Don't guess you'd care to share whether it's Miss Lamb, Mrs. Lamb, Ms. Lamb or Mr. Lamb, would you?
Jim
- ~Jim

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(No heading)
Floyd said. "I have a vision for the state of South Carolina that encourages access to education for every child, and we'll stay focused on that."
- Lamb

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