Blue Note 2-5

►The Bimonthly Newsletter of the Dorchester County Democratic Party◄

October/November 2010 Volume 2, Issue 5

It's an exciting time for Democrats in South Carolina. It is an especially exciting time to be a Dorchester County Democrat. Our reason to be is to get Democrats to run for office, and to get Democrats elected. And now it is Showtime! Now is the time to get involved in Election 2010! We have only 33 days to work hard to get Christine Jackson, Kenny Waggoner, Patsy Knight and Willie Davis elected. And we must have a Democratic Governor elected! We do not need eight more years of Mark Sanford-style libertarian government for our state – it has only led to high unemployment, stagnant growth, and a poor public education program. So plan on coming to the Alice Cicenia dinner to hear our next Lieutenant Governor, Ashley Coo-per, speak, along with our special guest, the fa-ther of our next Governor, Mr. Fred Sheheen. Have a good dinner and get excited and moti-vated to work hard the next 33 days for our can-didates. There are plenty of jobs you can do for the elec-tions, too. Just ask Kenny or Chrissy what you can do for their campaigns. They will be at the dinner ready to sign you up! If you have any questions, visit our web page (www.dordems.org), send an email ([email protected]), or just call me at any-time (813-2168)!

Richard Hayes, Chair

Dinner, Election and ... VICTORY

Table of Contents 2010 Annual Alice Cicenia Dinner—page 2

Ashley Cooper for Lt. Governor—page 2

Re-elect Patsy Knight—page 3

Re-elect Willie Davis—page 3

Johnson for Secretary of State—page 4

Barber for Comptroller General—page 4

Re-elect Kenny Waggoner—page 6

Elect Chrissy Jackson—page 7

Sheheen vs. Haley—page 8

Holleman vs. Zais—page 9

Update on County Council & TIF—page 10

Open House—page 11

Vote NO to Amendment 2—page 11

Calendar of Events—page 12

What you need to remember about

Tuesday, November 2nd!

Polls open at 7 a.m.

Polls close at 7 p.m. (as long as you are in

line before that time, you will still be able

to vote!)

Remind your family, friends, neighbors and

coworkers about the election.

You can’t wear any campaign t-shirts or

buttons to the polls.

Bring your driver’s license or state identifi-

cation card, or bring your voter registration

card. (Just to be safe, bring both!)

By Pamela Ward, Fundraising Chair

The annual fundraising dinner for the Dorchester County Democrats will be held on Saturday, October 2 at the Holiday Inn Express, Summerville. The dinner has tradi-tionally been our largest fundraiser of the year. As the Fundraising Chair for our local party, I would like to invite everyone to attend. This year's dinner will begin with a social hour at 6 p.m. During the social hour, Ms. Naomi Nimmo, Pianist and Executive Director of the Sum-merville Orchestra, will provide a beautiful musical back-drop. Our young democrats will be serving appetizers to accompany your beverage of choice. Dinner will begin at 7 pm, with a selection of hearty fall dishes and delicious desserts prepared by our own party members.

This year our keynote speaker is Mr. Ashley Cooper, can-didate for Lieutenant Governor. We will also hear from our other candidates running for office in November. In addition, Fred Sheheen, father of gubernatorial candidate Vincent Sheheen, will also attend our dinner. The fundraising committee hopes that you will enjoy a wonderful evening filled with informative speeches, hearty food, and inspiring music. As Chair, I would also like to thank Dr. Bert Cicenia for his continued contribution to the Alice Cicenia Dinner. His generosity makes this evening possible. I look forward to seeing you at the dinner. If you have not already made your reservation, you may RSVP at 843-224-4133. You may also purchase your dinner ticket at the door.

We all hear politicians and political candi-

dates say they will improve education,

bring jobs to the state, and work on the

energy technology, but Ashley Cooper,

our Democratic candidate for Lt. Gover-

nor is serious about these issues.

Born and raised in the Lowcountry, Ash-

ley received his undergraduate degree

from Clemson and law degree from the

University of South Carolina. He prac-

ticed law for several years then went to

work for U.S. Senator Fritz Hollings,

serving as Legislative Director and Coun-

sel. That is where he garnered the actual

experience dealing with local issues from

improving security at the Port of Charles-

ton, to addressing the needs of law en-

forcement, to working with our technical

schools and higher education institutions.

Ashley, however, is not a career politi-

cian, and he believes we need more pri-

vate sector leaders that want to better

South Carolina, not debt-paying politi-

cians who are working for special inter-

ests.

Ashley wants to make South Carolina the

best place in the country to start a small

business by ridding our state of red tape

and government bureaucracy. He will

encourage business by promoting the idea

of giving tax incentives for creating jobs.

If the jobs are not created, the incentives

will be required to be repaid to the state.

South Carolina is already a leader in nu-

clear energy, and Ashley believes we can

become a leader in new energy technol-

ogy which will create jobs and decrease

South Carolina’s dependency on foreign

oil. South Carolina can become a leader

both nationally and internationally in the

development of this technology.

Ashley believes in pulling people together

to solve problems without the partisan

politics. He is reaching out and encourag-

ing ideas to challenge people to partici-

pate.

Ashley and his wife Hartley are the proud

parents of two children, Caroline and

John.

He is running for Lt. Governor because he

wants South Carolina to be one of the best

states in America to live, work, and raise a

family.

A Lowcountry Gentleman for Lt. Governor By Marty Turney

(above) Cooper speaks at a recent DCDP breakfast meeting. He’ll also be the keynote speaker at our upcoming dinner, too.

An Invitation To

The 2010 Alice Cicenia Dinner

Re-Elect Rep. Patsy

Knight from District 97

By Debbie Mortellaro People who meet Patsy Knight feel as if they have known her for years. That is because they probably have. The mother of two – and grandmother of two – was the Dorchester County Treasurer from 1980 to 2006.

During her tenure as Treasurer, Patsy served on numerous councils and committees and garnered many accolades for her service. One of Patsy’s most notable accomplishments while Treasurer was her hands-on involvement of modernizing and computerizing the Dorchester Treasurer’s Office that served as a model for the rest of the state’s counties. Following so many years of service as the county treasurer, Patsy ran for and was elected to the House of Representatives for District 97 in 2006. Patsy was reelected to another term in 2008. During her first two terms in the House, Patsy has worked on some notable projects that include getting Boeing to locate to South Carolina, working with SCDOT to get much-needed traffic lights at key intersections (a project she notes is still in pro-gress), working on infrastructure within the county and working in concert with the Dorchester County Council and towns to improve the county as a whole. Another major coup was Patsy’s work in getting the QuickJobs Training Center to open in Dorchester County. Now running for her third term, Patsy is looking to future pro-jects and admits she has a lot on her plate. Some priorities in-clude working to improve traffic areas around Old Orangeburg Road, Butternut and Mallard Roads, having a four-lane highway constructed from Hwy. 78 at Jedburg to Interstate-26, and bringing industry to Dorchester County that will have a long-term effect for good jobs. Another project that Patsy has started work on is getting a sidewalk constructed from Indian Springs Subdivision up to the intersection of Old Orangeburg Road, so the public as well as school children will have the privilege of walking to school from their homes. In addition to her work improving the county as a whole, Patsy also serves on various committees in the House of Representa-tives including Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environ-mental Affairs and Operations and Management.

Re-Elect Councilman Willie Davis

By Richard Hayes Councilman Willie Davis is a native of St. George, and a graduate of Williams Memorial High School. Councilman Davis holds a bachelor's degree in science and biology from Claflin Univer-sity, as well as a Master's Degree in counseling from South Carolina State University. Councilman Davis has committed his life to our serving in the State of South Carolina in education as a teacher and adminis-trator, and has served in the Colleton County school system for thirty-six years! Councilman Davis has faithfully served the citizens of Dorches-ter County as the Democratic Councilman for 20 years -- from 1990 to the present! His 20 years of service to Dorchester County have been characterized by his advocacy, dedication, and responsiveness to constituents and his fellow county coun-cilmen have demonstrated their respect for his outstanding leadership by selecting him to serve as vice chairman of county council for four consecutive years. Councilman Davis’ second best decision was joining the De-mocratic Party – his best decision was marrying Joyce Wash-ington Davis, his wife of 30 years – together they have three lovely children. Councilman Davis has always been a man of faith, and is a member of the St. Mark United Methodist Church, where he is a class leader, certified lay speaker, Sunday school teacher, and treasurer. Besides being a life-long Democrat, Councilman Davis has been actively involved in his community; he serves as president of the St. George branch of the NAACP. He is also past chair-man of the Berkeley-Dorchester Economic Development Corpo-ration, Upper Dorchester Community Development Council, and Shady Grove LOUD Corporation. To the delight of his fellow citizens, Councilman Davis founded the annual MLK Weekend Celebration and Parade in Dorches-ter County, much anticipated and enjoyed by hundreds. To fur-ther benefit his constituents, Mr. Davis cosponsored the Seniors Work Program for Dorchester and the Summer Youth Employ-ment Program for Dorchester County Government. Councilman Willie R. Davis is the heart and soul of the Dor-chester County Democratic Party. We are proud and honored to call Willie our good friend and strongest supporter.

Check Your Ballots

Use the following link to see what the ballot for your individual precinct will look like on November 2nd!

http://dorchestervotes.org/2010/09/21/2010-general-election-sample-ballots/

She is a realist. She is a pragmatist. And, she is the only female running for a statewide office. Her name is Marjorie Johnson, and she is running to be the next Secre-tary of State of South Caro-lina. A native of Washington, D.C., Marjorie is a graduate of the University of Maryland, earning a B.A. in English and journalism, and completed Masters Studies in general administrative management at University College. She worked for many years in

public service at the Washington Suburban Sanitary Com-mission and has served in various directorial positions in public affairs, minority affairs and communications. After retiring, Marjorie moved to South Carolina where she continued to be quite active. Her activities have included serving as President of the Richland Democratic Women,

being a member of the South Carolina Democratic Women’s Council and serving as her precinct chairman. Asked why she wanted to run for office, Marjorie said, “In South Carolina, eligible women voters make up 51 percent of the voter population. Women are represented by ZERO percent at the statewide elected office level. That is not representative of our capabilities and/or intelli-gence. Women deserve to be represented, deserve a seat at the table of decision-making in this state and I want to be that chosen person.” Since deciding to run for Secretary of State, Marjorie has crisscrossed the state many times, even attending a meet and greet event hosted by the Dorchester County Democ-ratic Party in April at the Pine Forest Country Club. But while the campaign trail is hectic, Marjorie sees a bright future for our state. “I want to paint a better picture, with South Carolina in its midst. I want to show onlookers we are trying hard to look new, look flexible, look up-graded, look 21st century, look capable, look professional, look ready to perform today's tasks, in today's time frame. I have the desire. I have the drive. But, I need lots of help. I need You!”

By David Rison Robert Barber was born in Charleston in 1949. He moved to Columbia with his parents in 1959. He completed high school in Columbia and then attended Wofford College, where he was graduated in 1971. Robert enrolled in Duke University where he earned a Masters of Divinity Degree in 1976. He served as a pastor in Laurens County and then decided to go to law school and enrolled in the South Texas College of Law. He received his law degree in 1982. He returned to Charleston where he practiced law for several years before being elected to the Charleston County School Board. In 1988 he was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives from Charleston County. In 1994 he ran for Congress from the First District, but lost to Mark Sanford. After serving in the state legislature, Barber ran the Bowen’s Island Seafood Restaurant which has been in his family since the 1940s. He also served as a consultant for several non-profit groups such as the South Carolina Wildlife Federation, the American Cancer Society, and the Sierra Club. In 2006, Barber was the Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor. He ran against the incumbent Andre Bauer. It was a close race, but Barber lost. This year, Barber is the Democratic

candidate for SC Comp-troller General. He is op-posed by the Republican incumbent Richard Eck-strom.

Robert has strong connec-tions to Dorchester County. He and his wife LaNelle have two children, Hope and Matt, who both live in Summerville. Hope is married to Bill McIntosh, a former chair of the Dorchester County Democratic Party.

Barber believes that his experience as a small businessman prepares him to serve the people of South Caro-lina as Comptroller General. As Comptroller General, he prom-ises to restore transparency to state government. He says, “I would do my darndest to find ways to cut fraud and nonessen-tial services.” Robert Barber is a candidate of whom all Democ-rats can be proud. Robert would bring a breath of fresh air to Columbia. Voters can contact the Barber campaign at www.barber2010.com or 609-5335.

MARJORIE JOHNSON: Our next Secretary of State! By Debbie Mortellaro

ROBERT BARBER for Comptroller General

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One Flew Over The Bailey’s Nest

George Bailey has run for office as a Demo- crat. He’s also run for office as a Republican. Bailey has even tried to run for office as both a Democrat and a Republican in the same election. He claims to live in St. George. But he owns five different houses around the state, and pays the lower resident property tax rate on his home in Orangeburg. He claims to have a college degree. But he never graduated high school. He claims to be a Marine Corps veteran. But he never served in the military, and the closest he ever came was an ROTC program at the high school he attended (and never graduated from). After being defeated in two successive elections for State House Dis-trict 97, now Bailey is attempting to run for County Council against our very own Kenny Waggoner, the Democratic incumbent for that office. And because he thinks many people in that large District 3 area, espe-cially in the lower part of the county, don’t know about him. But those voters will be learning about him very quickly. And we have to make sure that they do, too. For example, Bailey doesn’t want voters to know that he’s already mak-ing $100,000 a year off the state government, and by property rental. In attempt to block that information from coming out, he didn't file the required Statement of Economic Interests with the state Ethics Com-mission. Instead, he tried a loophole trick of only providing that informa-tion to the state house Republican Party. We need to make sure that voters across the county know this informa-tion, plus a whole lot more, about George Bailey. If you’d like to help spread the word about George, please send a mes-sage to [email protected].

By Deborah Mortellaro, Chair of the Kenny Waggoner Fan Club Dorchester County has had the good fortune of having an experi-enced, credible and compassionate voice speaking for its people on its county council – that of incumbent councilman Kenny Waggoner. Kenny has continuously served as District 3 councilman for a re-markable 34 years. While many other also-ran candidates come and go, Kenny has been the one

steady, responsible councilman who voters have trusted since 1976 and continued to re-elect for nearly nine terms. For many years, Kenny has been instrumental in making decisions that affect our county in significant ways. Whether voting on budgetary issues, infrastructure projects or ways to help with job creation, Kenny’s devotion to his community has helped him make the right choices for all of the people. This year, Kenny faced Democratic challenger Matthew Creel in the primary election on June 8th, and handily won with 66 percent of the vote. In November, Kenny faces Republican challenger George Bailey, a former State House representative and a former candidate for that same office who challenged Patsy Knight during the last two election cycles and lost. Kenny’s experience and proven track-record give him an advantage over Bailey, but he expects this to be a tough race. To say that this is a crucial race for Democrats in Dorches-ter County would be an understatement. While we are all positive that Kenny can win, it is vitally important that we retain his seat on the County Council. There are only two Democrats currently serving on the council – Kenny from District 3 – and Willie Davis from District 1 – and it is critical that we keep both seats. Kenny needs your help to win this election – whether making phone calls or walking the neighborhoods handing out campaign literature, putting up yard signs or display-ing bumper stickers – all are needed and appreciated. Please contact Kenny to ask how you can help his cam-paign. It is imperative that we keep Kenny on the Dorches-ter County Council. For further information, call Kenny at 843-563-2428 or email: [email protected]

About Kenny: A father of four and grandfather of 15, Kenny lives in Dor-chester. Kenny graduated from high school in Knoxville, TN in 1952, and served in the U.S. Air Force from 1952 to 1956. He worked for the Norfolk Southern Corp. for 30 years, retiring in 1990. Kenny has served on the Dorchester County Council for 34 years since 1976, which was the year our County Council was first created.

Re-elect Kenny Waggoner!

It isn't every day that a brand-

new candidate steps forward

with the passion and courage to

make a difference. We are lucky

to have just such a candidate in

Christine "Chrissy" Jackson, who

is running in State House District

98.

She is not a lawyer or a realtor,

but an informed citizen who is

willing to fight the entrenched

establishment in Columbia on our behalf. Unlike her oppo-

nent, she is not tied to any special interest group or indus-

try.

Anyone who believes in the value of public education will

find a strong ally in Chrissy. She will fight for adequate

funding for public schools, and she'll work to support the

arts in school, increased vocational programs, and a state-

wide civics program where students give back to their

community by volunteering their time and talents.

Chrissy believes that education, conservation and job crea-

tion go hand in hand: an educated population will attract

employers; investment in solar, wind and bio-fuel tech-

nologies will create jobs. South Carolina can be a leader

in green technology by investing in our own people while

helping to conserve our environment and valuable natural

resources. In addition, jobs can be created and sustained

through the state government contracting with local busi-

nesses, rather than large corporations or out of state busi-

nesses.

At the core of Chrissy's campaign is her commitment to

serve the people. She lives in Westcott Plantation in Sum-

merville, with her husband, Ken, a small business

owner. They have four children who attend public

schools. She is a policy analyst and conservationist. She

still manages to find time for volunteer activities. These

things make her uniquely qualified to comprehend the con-

cerns of average families in today's world.

Christine Jackson is a breath of fresh air for District

98. She will represent her constituents with intelligence,

wit and commitment. At last, the voters of House District

98 have a choice!

Visit: www.jacksonforsc.com

Elect Chrissy Jackson! By Susen Shapiro from the Jackson Campaign

We know you have plenty of reasons to vote for Chrissy Jackson, but we thought we could give you a few reasons not to vote for her opponent, Chris Murphy, too. And it didn’t take very much time at all to gather up those reasons, either. First of all, Murphy’s record indicates him to be a flip-flopper. That’s right—voting one way on one day, then changing his mind and voting the oppo-site. For example, in July 2008 county councilman Murphy voted to give himself a $5,000 annual raise. Just a few months later in January 2009, and after hearing complaints after the fact, he decided to pass on the raise. And he left those complaining constituents in the dark, too, by not telling them that the motion behind this $5,000 raise would also take away an expense account, thus resulting in less money overall. And even though he claimed to have suddenly realized that the county couldn’t afford to issue pay raises, four weeks later in February 2009 he voted to increase the salaries of the county’s treasurer and auditor (who are both active members in his Republican Party, by the way). What’s even stranger isn’t his use of a famous quotation as his campaign slogan; it’s that he

attributes that quotation to the wrong person. Murphy’s ads include the quote ―that government is best that governs least,‖ attributed to Thomas Paine. What makes the ad indicate Murphy to be unquali-fied, if not also uneducated, is that those words actually come from Henry David Thoreau in his ―Civil Disobedience‖ essay, and not author and philosopher Thomas Paine. And this erroneous quotation attribution appears not just on website ads, but also on Murphy’s printed campaign materials and all over his facebook page, too. This false citation to Paine doesn’t just indicate a lack of qualification, but lack of preparation, too, as if Murphy took yet another knee-jerk response with-out any proper research. Making it odder that Murphy would seek identifica-tion with Thomas Paine is that Paine was actually rather liberal – a supporter of progressive taxation, enhanced public education and guaranteed mini-

mum income wages. Murphy, however, campaigns for re-ducing all types of taxes, including those that fund South Carolina schools. At this very moment, our state’s Dept. of Education funding is being slashed to 1995 budget levels, which will result in the loss of 6,000 jobs from our public education system. Instead of over-hauling and correcting our state’s broken tax sys-tem, Murphy just wants to break it down even more. In this case, Murphy’s Ad seems to uphold Mur-phy’s Law: anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. And that’s why we can’t let Chris Murphy take State House 98. He’s wronged us enough already through flip-flop indecision and not re-searching things properly before acting. I do hope Murphy will abide by one of Paine’s ac-tual quotes, though. ―Lead, follow, or get out of the way.‖ And I think we all know which of those options Murphy should take.

Make Up Your Mind, Murphy (and go back to school, while you’re at it)

Endorsed by Jim Hodges (former governor of South Caro-lina), Joe Riley (mayor of Charleston) and our very own Rep. Patsy Knight from St. George

Endorsed by 34 Democratic state legislators and six former chairs of the state Democratic Party during the primary

Endorsed by the Project to Recruit Women

Endorsed by Conservation League of South Carolina

Endorsed by the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce—actually, legitimately, no bull

Accused of skipping out on a fundraising event so that he could celebrate his wedding anniversary with his wife, Amy

Appearing all over the state, from Charleston to Greenville and from Aiken to Myrtle Beach, speaking to voters, local newspapers and local television stations after winning the primary

A protégé of his father, Fred Sheheen, member of the SCDP Executive Committee and former state Commissioner of Higher Education

Spends six months of every year in Columbia, doesn’t skip votes or miss meetings, and never skips out on his elected duties.

Introduced 98 bills in 2009 alone

Named “Legislator of the Year” by the South Carolina Solici-tors’ Association, the Wild Turkey Federation and the Rec-reation & Parks Association

Endorsed by Mitt Romney (former governor of Massachu-setts), Tim Pawlenty (governor of Minnesota) and Sarah Palin (queen of outer space)

Endorsed by only seven state legislators from her own Re-publican Party during the primary

A female candidate for governor

Claims to be conservative

Makes a misleading claim on her website that she is a “chamber-of-commerce conservative”

Accused of having many extramarital affairs with Republican Party campaign workers

Appearing all over national news networks and magazines since winning the GOP primary, while ignoring all local news—not communicating with local media even once since June 8, in fact

A protégé of Gov. Mark Sanford, closet Libertarian, interna-tional philanderer and recent divorcee.

Was absent for 70 percent of all State Assembly votes this year, and absent for all meetings of the Education & Public Works committee and the Higher Education and Motor Ve-hicle sub-committees so far this year, too.

Introduced 13 bills in her six years in office

Winner of Talking Points Memo’s “Sleaziest Race of the Year” award

It should be obvious, but Nikki Haley does-n’t seem to know that, if you want to be governor of South Carolina, you need to

be in touch with South Carolina. After all, since she won the Republican Party nomi-nation on June 8, the state hasn’t had

much contact with her.

In fact, after winning the primary election, she’s been appearing all over national news channels and magazines, but didn’t give local television stations or newspapers any time at all. And so far this year, she’s missed 70 percent of the votes in the State Assembly. That leaves many voters wonder-

ing if Haley cares at all about South Caro-lina to begin with. She’s been the protégé of the same Gov. Mark Sanford who ran our state into the ground, after all. Even her endorsements are far removed from the state.

So if her only concerns are what’s happen-ing outside of South Carolina, and if she only gives the time of day to people out-side of South Carolina, then what good can Nikki Haley people do for the state of South Carolina and it’s people?

Let’s compare her to our very own Vincent Sheheen, the Democratic candidate for governor.

Nikki Haley: Out of Touch, Out of Mind

HALEY vs. SHEHEEN

Supports taxpayer-funded vouchers that would undermine public education

Has spent ten years as the president of a private college and has never worked professionally with South Carolina’s pub-lic schools

Has dismissed pre-kindergarten education as daycare and opposes the expansion of programs that prepare disadvan-taged preschoolers for school

Would have South Carolina pull out of the “Race to the Top” for $175 million in federal money for education

Says South Carolina already spends enough money on edu-cation

Would not even accept additional federal education money, despite the dire conditions in many of our schools

Is so out of touch with the reality of our cash-starved school system that he said “teachers don’t leave *public schools+ because of low pay”

Would leave children whose parents can’t or won’t navigate the “tax credit” (voucher) process in under-funded and un-der-performing public schools

Has spent his career working on public education at the pri-mary and secondary levels

Believes we must invest in early childhood education to en-sure that all children are ready to learn when they enter first grade

Favors tax reform to give local school districts more reliable sources of funding

As former U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education, has the ex-perience and ties to make sure South Carolina gets its fair share of federal education funding

Is committed to giving teachers the pay and benefits they deserve

Knows that local, state, and federal governments can work together to ensure our children the best possible education

Knows that teachers, administrators, government, busi-nesses, parents, and students all have to work together to improve all our schools

Supports public education

If there’s anyone who needs an improved education, it’s obviously the Republican candidate for Supervisor of Education. Mick Zais thinks our public schools have adequate funding; and wants what little funds there are to cover tuition at private schools. Zais thinks we don’t need any other funding to compensate for the meager state budget,

which will be the lowest its been in 15 years when school starts this September. And his position at a private university only furthers the distance he has from our state’s public schools and their needs. Let’s compare Zais, who is uneducated re-garding the needs of our state’s educational system, to our party’s candidate Frank S. Holleman.

Go back to school, Mick

HOLLEMAN ZAIS

vs.

Want to help spread the

truth about Nikki Haley? Forward these links around

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By Katharine Eastvold Developers and their representatives were out in force last Monday night (Sept. 20) as the Dorchester County Council con-sidered a proposal to levy a transportation impact fee on new construction. Although a long line of speakers played on the Council’s sympa-thies by quoting unemployment numbers for the construction industry and insisting that impact fees will steer job-creating growth to other counties, the vote on the second reading was 5-2 in favor of the fees, which will help the county build and maintain roads to service new businesses and residential devel-opments. Several ordinary citizens noted it’s only fair developers pay their share of improvements that benefit them, especially when unchecked growth has led to so many problems in the county, including congested roads in need of widening and/or repair. But plenty of developers and construction company owners were present, hat in hand, to beg the Council to cut them some slack during this economic downturn. Council Chairman Jamie Feltner pointed out that road building and maintenance must proceed, regardless of the economy, and that the alternative to impact fees is raising property taxes

or gas taxes on everybody, including unemployed construction workers and contractors. He asked who on the Council would be willing to raise taxes across the board. No hands went up – certainly not that of Republican House candidate Chris Murphy, who nevertheless continues to oppose impact fees (and, seem-ingly, all other common-sense solutions). Murphy’s opponent, Democrat Chrissy Jackson, meanwhile released a statement in favor of impact fees as part of a strat-egy of smart, sustainable growth in Dorchester County. Some of the councilmen who voted in favor of the fees on this second reading have reservations – for instance, the amount of the fee, or the fact that (as currently written) schools and churches are not exempt. Hopefully some of these details will be ironed out and productive compromises struck by next month. The third reading and final vote on the proposal will take place in either October or November. Councilman Murphy is pushing to have to vote postponed until November so that it will take place in Summerville rather than St. George – giving the Summerville-area developers easy ac-cess to the meeting and discouraging upper-county residents from having their say.

County Council Continues on Traffic Impact Fees (no thanks to Chris Murphy, though)

Absentee Voting Begins October 4

Anyone interested in casting his or her vote before election day will have the opportunity very soon. The county Election Commis-sion office in St. George (Kenny Waggoner County Services Build-ing, 201 Johnston St) will begin accepting absentee votes begin-ning Monday, Oct. 4. The same service will be available at the County Council Chambers in Summerville (500 N Main St) begin-ning Oct. 22.

If your work schedule or school schedule won’t let you make it to your precinct location on time, or if you’ll be away on vacation that day, you qualify for absentee voting. So are any disabled per-sons, as well as those who care for the disabled. All senior citizens can cast their votes by absentee, too. (And so can all of us who work as poll managers or who volunteer to be poll watchers!) There are other reasons you can qualify for absentee voting, too—just go to http://www.dorchestervotes.org/absentee-voting/ to see if you meet the criteria.

If you do qualify, all you have to do is show up at one of the voting locations to complete an application; it will be reviewed on the spot and, if approved, you get to vote right after.

You can also apply for absentee voting by mail, too. You just fill out an application that is available online (http://www.dorchestervotes.org/absentee-voting/absentee-ballot-application/). You’ll receive an approval notice by mail.

The Dorchester County Democratic Women once again served a delicious meal to Palmetto House Residents on Saturday, Aug. 28. Members from the group give back to our community by providing a home-cooked meal every other month at Pal-metto House. In the other months, the Democratic Women collect goods that Palmetto House needs. For the August serving date, the Summerville Journal Scene was present to cover the event. See the following link: http://www.journalscene.com/news/The-Dorchester-County-Democratic-Women-Give-Back-at-The-Palmetto-House Thanks to the Dorchester County Democratic Women for providing this much needed service at Palmetto House.

Democratic Women Serve Palmetto House

The official opening of our new office at Ridgeville Town Hall was held Sunday, Aug. 29. Party Chairman Richard Hayes presided over the festivities which included tours of the new office and speeches from local and state candidates.

The featured speaker was Frank Holleman, former Deputy Secre-tary of the U.S. Depart-ment of Education who is currently a candidate for State Superinten-dent of Education.

Holleman discussed the challenges our current education system is

facing and how his vision for change differs drastically from that of his Republican oppo-nent Mick Zais. Holleman is a strong supporter of public edu-cation, including better fund-ing, better facilities and no tax-payer support to private schools.

Also speaking at the Open House was State Representa-tive Patsy Knight from District 97, Dorchester County Council-men Willie Davis from District 1 and Kenny Waggoner from District 3. All are currently seeking re-election. Christine Jackson, a candidate for State Representative for District 98 who was unable to attend due to illness, was represented by cam-paign manager, Susen Shapiro.

Open House in Ridgeville

The Amendment 2 question on the ballot in November is the outcome of SC House Bill H. 3305 that was initiated by Republican Eric Beding-field of District 28, Greenville Co. To get the story on it, you only have to take a quick look at Mr. Bedingfield's website. There, in discussing the Save our Secret Ballot (SOS) organization, it says: "is orchestrating a push for state constitutional amendments to counter the Employee Free Choice Act ..."

The Employee Free Choice Act was explained in the April 2009 edition of the Blue Note by a writer more knowledgeable than I, and has been endorsed by our county and the South Carolina Democratic Party. In short, it seeks to amend federal labor law to make it easier for work-ers to get collective bargaining contracts and increases the penalties for illegal activities covered in the labor law.

As shown above, the Republican Party and its corporate masters have made no secret about how they want to keep cutting the pay and bene-fits to the workers. They've openly fought any legislation, like the Em-ployee Free Choice Act, that gives workers a better chance at collective bargaining that improves the chance of fair wages and benefits.

Let's also talk a bit about those Save our Secret Ballot (SOS) guys that Republican Bedingfield mentioned on his website. Seems they are pushing these ballot initiatives like Amendment 2 in a number of states. They claim to be fighting for employees rights - but strangely (or per-haps not) - the organization or its supporters don't seem to be inter-ested in fighting for other employee rights - like a contract, better pay, benefits like healthcare - stuff workers really need - and the stuff the Employee Free Choice Act is designed to help them get. So, consider the source.

Another important point is that the processes and rules the Employee Free Choice Act aims to change are federal law, and have been for over 50 years. Even if the "Act" doesn't get passed, in the end, a state law or constitution that attempts to subvert such settled federal law will not stand. It will require court cases which will waste both our federal and state tax dollars, but in the end won't be enforceable.

So if Amendment 2 passes, the corporations will be laying some of the cost of fighting the Employee Free Choice Act on the South Carolina government and taxpayers.

Another item I think is of interest is the fact that Amendment 2 does not actually guarantee an employee will get a ballot, just that “when they are voting,” it should be secret. The Republican's corporate mas-ters spend much time and money trying to keep employees from get-ting to vote in the first place. They sure wouldn't want to guarantee employees a vote.

I've included the text of the Amendment 2 question that you will see in November below. On first glance it actually looks like it's trying to pro-tect something. But in the end, if you consider the facts and the source, I think you'll see it as just more Republican anti-labor crap that's already wasted our tax dollars, and that could waste more in the future. Something that de-serves a NO.

Amendment 2 Must Article II of the Constitution of this State, relating to the right of suffrage, be amended by adding Section 12 so as to provide that the fundamental right of an individual to vote by secret ballot is guaranteed for a designation, a selec-tion, or an authorization for employee representation by a labor organization?

Explanation A ‘Yes' vote will give employees the constitutional right to vote by secret ballot when they are voting on whether to be represented by a labor union.

Yes [] No [ ]

Why you should vote "NO" on Amendment 2 (or, “Don't Be Fooled by More Republican Anti-Labor Crap!”)

by Clayton Seufert - Ashley River Precinct and Secretary-Treasurer, Charleston Central Labor Council

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Calendar of Events

October

October 2 Voter Registration Deadline

This is the last day to register to vote in order to participate in November 2 elections!!

Annual Alice J. Cicenia Dinner Keynote Speaker: Ashley Cooper Social Hour: 6 p.m., Dinner: 7 p.m.

Holiday Inn Express 120 Holiday Dr in Summerville

Fred Sheheen, father of gubernatorial candidate Vincent Sheheen, will also attend.

Tickets: $25 RSVP at [email protected] or 843-224-4133

October 3

Sheheen Rally Meet Sen. Vincent Sheheen,

our Democratic nominee for governor! 2 p.m. at St. Paul Park

940 St. Paul Road in Harleyville

October 16 Monthly Breakfast

Guest speaker is Joe Debney, executive director of the county election commission, who will discuss

the upcoming election and will have a voting machine on hand.

9 a.m. at Shoney’s on N Main St in Summerville $11 includes breakfast buffet

October 25

Executive Committee Meeting 7 p.m. at Summerville County Council Building

500 N. Main Street

November

November 2 ELECTION DAY!

7 a.m. til 7 p.m. at your precinct! Our party headquarters office in Ridgeville will be open that day, as will the Tri-County Headquarters (4925 Lacrosse in North Charleston). We could cer-tainly use your help! Visit the party website (www.dordems.org) for updates on what will be going on at these facilities for Election Day.

November 20 Monthly Breakfast

9 a.m. at Shoney’s on N Main St in Summerville $11 includes breakfast buffet

CHECK OUR ONLINE CALENDAR AT WWW.DORDEMS.ORG

FOR FURTHER UPDATES!