Stavrinakis puts education, conservation in spotlight

When Rep. Leon Stavrinakis first considered running for a second term for Charleston County's House District 119, he said he took a look back at his own record and examined whether he lived up to his promise of being reform-minded and bipartisan.

Stavrinakis, a Democrat who faces Republican Chris Cannon on Nov. 4, said he talked to voters two years ago about cutting taxes when possible, investing in conservation, reform- ing education funding, supporting budget reform and pushing for restructuring government.

To that end, he said he supported the Legislature's plan to eliminate the sales tax on groceries and cut the income tax.

He said he voted to fund the conservation bank and find a way to strike a balance between conservation, business and growth.

He introduced legislation to send 65 cents on a dollar directly to the classroom, although the bill didn't pass.

He said he supported efforts to put in place zero-based, priority budgeting for government spending and worked with Gov. Mark Sanford, a Republican, to restructure state government by directing more power to the executive branch, an effort he wants to continue to fight for in a second term.

"I feel like I did the things I said I was going to do," Stavrinakis, 42, said.

Stavrinakis, a lawyer, former prosecutor and past Charleston County Council chairman, won the seat in 2006 with 54 percent of the vote over Republican Suzanne R. Piper.

He replaced Republican Rep. John Graham Altman, who retired that year.

During a second term, Stavrinakis said his priorities would be to continue work on education reform, including a push for statewide 4-year-old kindergarten, economic growth, conservation and restructuring state government.

Also, Stavrinakis highlighted his support of legislation that allowed companies to pool health insurance, reform the workers' compensation system and provide small business with a tax reduction.

At the same time, he said he kept a strong conservation voting record.

Stavrinakis reported nearly $55,000 in total campaign contributions on the most recent disclosure forms filed in July. At that time, he had more than $40,000 on hand.

Leon Stavrinakis

Party: Democrat

Birthdate: Jan. 5, 1966.

Family: Wife, Anne Heinsohn Stavrinakis, three children.

Education: B.A. Political Science, College of Charleston; Law degree, University of South Carolina School of Law.

Occupation: Lawyer.

Previous elected office: Charleston County Council (1998-2006; council chairman 2005-2006).

Something most people don't know about me: "I just like spending all my free time with my family. I am actually pretty boring in my home life."

Name a specific goal you hope to accomplish if re-elected: "We need to continue to work to improve public education by reforming education funding and expanding 4-year-old kindergarten programs statewide and we need to focus on building the South Carolina economy to provide jobs, and conservation."

Contact: stavl@schouse.org; 724-1060.

Web site: www.leonforhouse.com.

Reach Yvonne Wenger at 803-799-9051 or ywenger@postandcourier.com.

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