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Lieutenant governor candidate touts energy, cigarette-tax ideas

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BLUFFTON -- Alternative fuels and higher cigarette taxes were championed Tuesday evening by Democratic lieutenant governor candidate Robert Barber, while he said South Carolina should be leery of any movement toward drilling for oil off the state's shores.

Barber spoke to the local chapter of the Sierra Club at the Palmetto Electric Cooperative building near Sun City Hilton Head, touching on a range of topics he's fought for during his time as a lobbyist and consultant for several health and environmental groups over the past decade.

The candidate said any measure to allow off-shore drilling along the South Carolina coast should be met with caution, recalling his time in coastal Texas, where spills would cause oil to bead on the beach.

Barber promoted alternative-energy fuels, such as hydrogen technologies and bio-diesel, as a means to decrease oil dependence.

He also said Columbia should have pushed harder for a higher cigarette tax, which the General Assembly has been reluctant to hike in this year's session. Citing studies that say youths are less likely to start smoking the higher the cost, Barber said he'd favor as much as a 90-cent increase to bring nation's lowest cigarette tax into balance with other states.

"If it was up to me," he said, "I'd raise it a lot."

Barber will face the winner of the three candidates vying for the Republican nomination, including incumbent Andre Bauer, in November's general election.

A largely ceremonial position, the lieutenant governor presides over the Senate, is second in the chain of command behind the governor and oversees the state Office on Aging. But Barber sees more to the job.

"It leaves a lot of opportunity for someone who is hard-working and creative," he said.

A native of Charleston and former lawyer, Barber served in the state House of Representatives from 1989 to 1994. After leaving office, he ran Bowen's Island Seafood Restaurant near Charleston in addition to working as a lobbyist and consultant.

Contact Justin Paprocki at 706-8143 or . To comment on this story, please go to islandpacket.com.