BY NADINE PARKS
Of The Post and Courier Staff
Joe Jefferson Jr. won the Democratic primary race for House District 102 in Berkeley County. With all precincts reporting, Jefferson had 78.9 percent of the votes, and Frank Wright had 21 percent.
On the eve of victory, Jefferson said that his work was just beginning.
"First, we've got to galvanize our community to make sure that we bring everybody back together," Jefferson said.
"We've got an election in November."
Jefferson will face Lisa Dun-ning in the November elec-tion. Dunning, of Cross, had no opposition in the Republican primary.
The seat was formerly held by Rep. Amos Gourdine, D-Pineville, who decided not to run again.
Historically, constituents have elected a Democrat to represent District 102, which encompasses most of rural Berkeley County, extending in an arc from Cainhoy to St. Stephen and from Cross to New Hope.
The district includes Pineville, Alvin, Jamestown, Shulerville, Pringletown and a portion of Huger and Lebanon.
Jefferson, 56, of Pineville, in November stepped down from the bench as a Berkeley County magistrate to dedicate himself to his campaign.
He was a magistrate for four years and a retired federal employee.
Both Jefferson and Wright said education is the key to helping the area's residents.
Jefferson, a former Berkeley County School Board member, said if elected, he plans to introduce legislation to direct some state lottery money to schools to hire teacher's aides, decrease the student-to-teacher ratio and increase salaries for teachers and other school employees, such as custodians and bus drivers.
Jefferson also wants to see the state add infrastructure, such as sewer and water lines, to attract more industry to Berkeley County's outlying areas.
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