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Article published: Dec 10,
2006 Sumter still
playing 2nd fiddle in House
Another legislative session is set to begin
with Sumter continuing to play the part of the red-headed stepchild.
The
House of Representatives appointments were finalized earlier this week with
little good news for our local delegation. Neither Rep. Murrell Smith, R-Sumter,
nor Rep. David Weeks, D-Sumter, were picked to serve on the House Ways and Means
Committee, arguably the most powerful committee in the House as well as the
entire Legislature. Nevertheless, Smith indicated he expects to be in line for
appointment to the committee in two years if re-elected.
However, Rep.
Joe Neal, D-Hopkins, is joining the committee. Neal’s district, while primarily
in Richland County, does include a sliver of Sumter County and he could be
helpful in securing at least some dollars for our county in the future. But not
having at least one of our own representatives on that committee means Sumter is
once again playing second fiddle to many other counties around the
state.
The House Ways and Means Committee is arguably the most
influential in the General Assembly because it is the starting point for the
$6.6 billion state budget.
By state law, the state budget begins in
there, which means those members get the first chance at allocating dollars to
their own districts. Additionally, committee members typically wield the most
power in the House when it comes to making deals with other
representatives.
It’s been more than 16 years since anyone from our local
delegation has served on that committee. The last local state representative was
Larry Blanding, who served in the House of Representatives for 14 years and even
chaired the Ways and Means Committee, as did the late R.J. Aycock from Pinewood
many years before him. Blanding was recently elected to county council and will
serve beginning at the first of the year.
Neal can make an impact in
helping Sumter if he has the desire to do so. Historically, having just a
portion of another county in your district doesn’t mean much but it certainly
doesn’t have to be that way.
Unfortunately, Sumter will have to continue
to play catchup to other counties like Florence and Orangeburg because of the
defeat of the penny sales tax last month. Florence and Orangeburg passed their
own versions, which means they can quickly proceed with quality of life and
infrastructure projects. They didn’t have water parks on their
ballots.
Sumter continues to be the most forgotten
over-100,000-population county in the entire state. In spite of being stiffed by
Gov. Mark Sanford and the Legislature in local efforts to obtain four-year
status for USC Sumter or overlooked by the state Department of Transportation in
giving consideration to completing the four-laning of Highway 521 from Rembert
to Interstate 20 and Camden, to name a couple of examples of state government’s
neglect, this county is continuing to grow economically. However, the task of
community-building would be much easier if Sumter County received more respect
from the Legislature and the Governor’s Office.
Sumter will of course
survive and continue to be a great community that many people love and call
home. But if we want to see some serious progress in the coming years and get
the most out of Shaw Air Force Base’s expansion, along with other promising
growth initiatives just over the horizon, we have to take responsibility for
ourselves as long as Sumter County is relegated to second-class status by the
powers that be in Columbia.
