By Kelly Davis / Independent-Mail
September 7, 2003

BELTON — Public education funding, improving personal financial savvy and getting a handle on the state’s income are among the priority issues South Carolina’s black legislative leaders will concern themselves with when the General Assembly convenes in January.

Holding their annual retreat for the first time in Anderson County, specifically at the Studio One Hotel on Civic Center Boulevard, the 32 members of the South Carolina Legislative Black Caucus have been touring the area’s historic sights and enjoying local events and receptions in their honor.

Those included a Sunday morning prayer breakfast at Welfare Baptist Church, hosted by the county’s six black elected officials: Belton City Council member Hattie Green, Honea Path Town Council member Carroll Parker, Pendleton Town Council members Sandra Gantt and Leroy Galloway, Anderson City Council member Bea Thompson and Anderson County Council member Gracie Floyd.

Caucus Chairman Rep. Jerry Govan, D- Orangeburg, said he and his colleagues, consisting of eight senators and 24 representatives, chose Anderson to get the members out of the Columbia "beltway" and to emphasize that the caucus represents issues that transcend geography and race. Anderson County has never elected a black man or woman to the Statehouse.

They also are meeting earlier than usual because of the number of issues on the agenda, Rep. Govan said. The usual November retreat period will be used instead for a statewide summit in Columbia for the caucus and black town and county elected officials.

While bipartisan according to its bylaws, every member of the Legislative Black Caucus at the moment is a Democrat.

"The truth is, if citizens look closely at what the Democrats have stood for over the years — bringing social and economic justice to working class families — we have a lot in common (with Republicans)," Rep. Govan said. "We still care about education, health care, the elderly."

Public funding for rural education is of particular concern, and Rep. Govan said the outcome of a current trial in Manning on funding disparities could be as big as Brown v. Board of Education, a watershed case in the civil rights movement.

"An uneducated child is someone less likely to make a contribution to society," he said.

Education for all people on their personal finances and protecting their credit is another major issue, given the state’s problems with consumer credit debt, personal bankruptcy and predatory lending.

Choosing how to split up a shrinking state budget and how to increase that budget, including pushing through a tobacco tax increase to help pay for Medicaid, is a third major issue the caucus is taking on, Rep. Govan said.

"We need funding for health care, early childhood programs and basic services, without burdening the citizens who can least afford those services," he said.

Many of those issues are bipartisan, but the caucus also is interested in the health of the Democratic Party, which depends on its success highlighting the mission of the party, Rep. Govan said.

With 73 Republican representatives compared with 51 Democrats, it also depends on getting the vote out, said Rep. Joey E. Brown, a Columbia resident who was born and raised in Pendleton.

The estimated 35 percent to 40 percent of Democratic voters turning out cannot overcome the 65-percent turnout among Republicans, Rep. Brown said.

"We need voter registration drives everywhere," he said.The retreat began Friday and winds up Tuesday morning.

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