It will be a three-way race to replace Robert Ford as the state senator representing Dist. 42, with two major party candidates and one Libertarian, in the Oct. 1 special election.
A Democrat and Civil Rights veteran who served in the state Senate since 1993, Ford resigned under a cloud in May. He claimed at the time it was because of health reasons. He was also facing serious charges of ethics violations, which included converting campaign funds for allegedly “personal” uses.
Dist. 42 includes a swath of West Ashley, bordered by highways 17 and 61, up Glenn McConnell Parkway, stopping at Forest Lakes Boulevard. It also includes the Upper Peninsula, continuing through the Neck, covering the neighborhoods between the Ashley River and Interstate 26, up to Otranto Road in North Charleston.
The three candidates that will appear on the ballot are Libertarian Alex Thornton, Republican Billy Shuman, and Democrat Marlon Kimpson. The Oct. 1 election will decide who fill out the final years in Ford’s unexpired term.
West Of had a chance to speak to all three candidates last week
Alex Thornton
A native of Tennessee, Libertarian Alex Thornton is the only one of the three candidates who lives in West Ashley. When it comes to most Tea Party-friendly issues, Thornton does a fairly good political impersonation of Gov. Nikki Haley.
A local photographer, Thornton calls for smaller and more transparent government, increased personal freedoms, and the doing away with the state’s personal income tax.
Thornton argues that state income tax only represents 12 percent of the state budget, and the money would be better spent in the hands of taxpayers than what she termed “inefficient” state government.
A big fan of the conservative watchdog S.C. Policy Council, Thornton said she has found that “people are positively responding to my message of liberty,” which includes government at all levels getting out of the lives of private citizens in areas like marijuana use.
Thornton wants to do away with the “silly” law that incarcerates people for non-violent marijuana offenses, and save the state the millions it spends on incarceration.
“I believe we can still have nice things and a balanced budget and keep our income tax,” she said.
Marlon Kimpson
Kimpson, a product of Morehouse College and the University of South Carolina School of Law, is a corporate attorney specializing in fraud cases for the powerful Motley Rice law firm. The grandson of a sharecropper, Kimpson lives in the Longborough neighborhood in peninsular Wagener Terrace.
Kimpson has assembled a traditional Democratic campaign platform, constructed with traditional issue planks, like improving jobs and public education, and expanding health care.
“I think an open state Senate seat doesn’t come around very often, and this district deserves leadership for the 21st century,” said Kimpson, who sees a district rich in opportunity for jobs and economic development.
“This is a working class district and I have a working class agenda,” said Kimpson, who said that, as a lawyer, he would make a natural lawmaker.
Other lawyers in the legislature have already been criticized for not recusing themselves on votes for electing state judges they may appear in front of, potentially creating an unfair situation.
Kimpson said that he would not automatically recuse himself from voting on district court judges, as it’s not likely he’d appear in front of them, as there are 46 district court judges across the state.
Kimpson said he was running to represent the entire district, white and black and everything in between, and said that he found it regretful that other candidates are running campaigns hinged on lower voter turnout.
Billy Shuman
Shuman, who did not answer a bevy of calls and requests for comment for this story, was not available to refute Kimpson’s criticism. Shuman is a North Charleston real estate agent who, according to his website profile, is focused on business issues and educational opportunities.
Shuman stated it was vitally important to the district to work on creating higher-paying jobs in the district, like the ones available at Boeing, MUSC, the port, and other economic engines “in our backyard.”
The special election will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 1. Please go to scvotes.org if you have any questions about your voting status, or polling place location.
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