We need to plan for the future. Our Legislature should be thinking at least fifty years ahead on roads, schools, housing, and the infrastructure that comes with them. This does not mean giving up the small town character of towns across our state including ours in Lexington.

We must continue to attract jobs in manufacturing and service sectors, as well as jobs in emerging sectors. Supporting and expanding our workforce training in our high schools, technical colleges, colleges, and universities is paramount.

We must invest in improving our infrastructure. The Legislature needs to invest in roads, schools, broadband, water, and sewer systems to support growth and improve quality of life. To that end we must be able to trust leaders and decision making in agencies like SCDOT and Santee Cooper, and we will support strong oversight of these agencies tasked with maintaining our infrastructure.

Everyone deserves to be safe where they are. Our Legislature needs to ensure that state and local law enforcement, fire departments, and EMTs have the resources they need to do their jobs, and do them well. We must also fight the root causes of crime by expanding economic opportunity, housing and access to homeownership, and cracking down on repeat offenders.

We must fully fund public schools as our own laws require. Teacher pay must continue to rise to keep that pay competitive with surrounding states. We must empower teachers to teach their students and not merely prepare students for tests.