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Article published: Feb 21, 2006
Cathy Harvin has her own ideas
1st-time legislator takes pages from late husband's playbook while writing new chapters

Clarendon County's new state representative arrives at the Statehouse this week with some distinct ideas of her own, but also an awareness that a freshman legislator beginning a term in mid-session is naturally limited in what she can expect to accomplish.

State Rep. Cathy Harvin, D-Summerton, will officially take over her late husband's seat when she's sworn in Thursday. She's already decided to run for the seat again in the regular election this year, which means she'll be filing to run after less than a month in office.

"I'm committed to continuing on," she said.

The time she's spent observing since the House reconvened in January has shown her the importance of building alliances and working the floor, she said. Yet she also has her own take on some of the hot issues in the General Assembly.

On the issue of property tax reform, Harvin would like to reverse the process currently under way. She'd like the state to figure out the best way to fund education, which could lead to property tax relief, rather than starting with the idea of achieving property tax relief and then trying to figure out how to fund education.

Although she acknowledges her ideas probably won't gain much traction, she has people studying the idea of a sliding-scale tax on wage earners.

"One thing I feel strongly about, as someone who has worked since age 13, is an assessment on wage earners," she said.

An assessment on wage earners wouldn't hit retirees or others who have income but aren't working, she said, yet it goes to the workplace, one of the primary beneficiaries of education, to help fund education.

She also believes a wages tax would provide a steadier source of income than a sales tax.

If the state should go to a sales tax rather than property tax to fund education, though, she's not especially worried about the impact of the additional tax on low-income residents.

"I don't see it as being the most devastating aspect of a shift to sales tax," she said.

Harvin is also interested in launching some pilot programs to improve the quality of education.

"I think for any legislator in a rural environment in South Carolina, everything has got to circle back around to how to enhance the quality of education," she said.

Part of the improvement can come from government, but part has to come from the population itself, she said.

"They've got to stay in school and take it seriously," she said.

To that end, she's interested in a pilot program that would allow a student living in Clarendon School District 1 but near Clarendon School District 2, for example, to attend school in District 2.

She doesn't use the word "busing," saying she'd hate for anyone to think she believes busing is a good idea, but she does think "trying to expose children in a lower income category to children in other income categories" could expand their horizons and encourage them to appreciate learning.

Too often, she said, education becomes almost a luxury for families that are trying to make ends meet, and the children and even their parents don't set their expectations high enough.

Harvin is also interested in improving the water and sewer infrastructure in Clarendon County, and, to that end, she supports the Briggs-Delaine-Pearson Connector.

"It's one of those things where initially I would have said, 'How can anyone support a bridge from nowhere to nowhere?'" she said.

However, because U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., is committed to the project and securing federal funds for it, she said, residents should look for the benefits.

"Since the project drags along with it water and sewer infrastructure, it certainly has value," she said.

Water and sewer doesn't guarantee economic development, she said, but the lack of water and sewer virtually guarantees a lack of development.

As she prepares for her first term, Harvin said she differs from her husband in significant ways. Because most of her working life has been in the technology sector, she's a big proponent of technology, she said, whether it's putting more government information online, distance learning or improving services with technology.

Alex Harvin, on the other hand, basically saw computers as new typewriters, she said.

On the other hand, she intends to model herself after her husband's public service ethic and listen to constituents, perhaps by holding quarterly town hall meetings. A big difference between the workplace and politics is that in the workplace, coming up with ideas on your own is important, she said.

"I've never had to base my success in life on popularity. It has always been with hard work and demonstrated results, and so I will have much growing to do to stay focused on being a consensus builder, and I am absolutely committed to never forgetting that I am in fact a representative going forth with other people's ideas, even though I might have my own," she said.

Harvin said she's also interested in increasing tourism in Clarendon, perhaps by creating an outdoor drama akin to "The Lost Colony" at North Carolina's Roanoke Island.

Contact Staff Writer Leslie Cantu at lesliec@theitem.com or 803-774-1250.