Candidates debate 1 year before election

ORANGEBURG -- Debating gubernatorial candidates agreed Tuesday that protecting South Carolina's environment is important but differed on how to strike a balance between that and economic development.

The debate, in which five Republican and five Democratic candidates participated, comes at a time when climate-change questions loom large on the national scene, and the Charleston area works to find balance between preserving its fragile, low-lying environment and accommodating business growth.

The S.C. Natural Resources Society provided a forum along with ETV for "The Big Picture Election Special: Spotlight on the Candidates" at Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College, exactly one year before the state's next governor is elected. A crowd of about 250 gathered for the 90-minute debate.

The candidates played up the need for leadership without making lofty and empty promises, and also began to carve out their political identities.

At the top of the list is state Sen. Larry Grooms, R-Bonneau, who was the only one to doubt the scientific existence of man-made global warming. Grooms said he wouldn't interfere with businesses and high-paying jobs for an "unproven science."

In contrast, Democratic state Sen. Vincent Sheheen of Camden tried to describe a vision for the environment that extends beyond his candidacy, including the introduction of state legislation to put rules in place for the use of water resources.

While all the Republicans in the debate stressed nuclear energy as the state's preferred energy source in the future, Attorney General Henry McMaster, a Republican, was emphatic about it.

"The path to prosperity in South Carolina is lit with nuclear power," he said.

Charleston attorney Mullins McLeod, a Democrat, also left the audience with one takeaway point: Career politicians and their rhetoric stand in the way of South Carolina's progress. McLeod said that if he was elected, he would not seek any other office in the future.

State Sen. Robert Ford, D-Charleston, didn't address the environmental issues head-on, but rather repeated that the role of a governor is to work with the Legislature, which sits in the driver's seat in South Carolina.

Columbia attorney Dwight Drake, a Democrat, was pointedly honest about the limitations of a governor in influencing major environmental issues. He said that to talk about drilling for oil off the coast is moot because federal law prohibits contracts until 2014. The governor needs to be focused on the "here and now," he said.

Third District U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett of Westminster, a Republican, said the key is to tap the potential for renewable energy and the power it has to create jobs. "You can have it all," Barrett said.

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That was the closest a Republican and Democrat came to agreeing on the subject of the debate.

State Superintendent of Education Jim Rex, a Democrat, said "clean and green and competitive" belong in the same sentence. "That is the direction the entire planet is heading," Rex said.

State Rep. Nikki Haley, R-Lexington, stayed close to a topic that is the hallmark of her campaign: improving the business climate. When asked about whether to restructure the state Department of Health and Environmental Control, Haley said reform was necessary because the agency has a reputation for stalling business plans.

Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer, R-Charleston, stood out for staying on point all night. He answered the question asked and stuck to environmental issues with detailed responses.

Bauer said the state needs to support green industry by offering tax credits and eliminating corporate taxes for businesses that meet certain clean standards. "We would be known as the green capital of the world," Bauer said.

Cash on hand

The amounts of cash the gubernatorial candidates have on hand, according to the latest filings. Some have money from previous elections they can tap with permission.

--Barrett, $1.34 million

--Bauer, $16,850

--Drake, $230,600

--Elliott, $0

--Ford, $21,500

--Grooms, $300,000

--Haley, $273,000

--Lovelace, $0

--McLeod, $319,000

--McMaster, $1.01 million

--Powell, $13

--Rex, $44,400

--Sheheen, $627,000