Hargett's primary challenge of Young drawing attention

SUMMERVILLE -- In what's shaping up as one of the Lowcountry's most contested primaries, 20-year legislative veteran Rep. Annette Young will have to beat back a challenge from Dorchester County Councilman Larry Hargett, who claims Young is not conservative enough.

"The issue is the incumbent's voting record," he said. "That's really what I'm about. I want to restore representation."

Young has a commanding lead in campaign cash, having almost $80,000 on hand -- about 10 times what Hargett has on hand.

Still, she is not taking her re-election for granted. "As I've said all along, this seat belongs to the people of District 98."

Hargett said he plans to focus on three of Young's recent votes: Her 2009 vote to defer restructuring of the Employment Security Commission; her vote for S.C. Supreme Court Justice Donald Beatty; and her resistance to legislation allowing a $2,500-per-home school impact fee.

"I don't believe she's a conservative anymore," Hargett said. "She bills herself as a conservative, but her votes don't show her conservative values."

Young said she voted to defer the Employment Security Commission restructuring because a legislative audit was not complete. "No one knew what was really wrong with the agency until we got the audit back," she said. "It's easy to politick on change, but you need to know what needs to be changed before you do something."

As for her vote for Beatty, Young said the judge was the only contender who had circuit court experience. His opponents only had served on the Family Court bench. And she said her main involvement in school impact fee legislation was to ensure that any such fee would be capped at $2,500 per house.

Young said the real issue this year is the economy and jobs.

She also will be running on her record, which includes work as chairwoman of the House's Transportation Committee -- a position that gave her significant influence in revamping the state Department of Transportation. "I think we're getting a lot more bang for our dollar now because of the way we've restructured it," she said. "The roads to nowhere are not being paved anymore."

Typically, state House seats don't attract lively contests unless the incumbent isn't running for re-election, as is the case in District 117, a Berkeley-Charleston seat. District 117 Rep. Tim Scott is running for Congress instead of re-election.

While the wide-open District 117 race has generated little buzz to date, the District 98 race could become the most interesting, as it takes place in a county with a reputation for bruising politics (within a state that has its own reputation for a rough-and-tumble brand of politics).

State Rep. Jim Merrill, R-Daniel Island, is handling Young's campaign as he has the last several times she has run.

Merrill called Hargett's candidacy "bizarre," because Hargett and Young have been friendly in the past. "Annette helped Hargett get elected," Merrill said. "It's one of those 'Et tu, Brute?' situations. I'm a little disappointed in him and am looking forward to dispatching him."

State Sen. Larry Grooms, R-Bonneau, is friends with both Young and Hargett and said being an incumbent is normally a powerful advantage, but this year that may not be the case.

"I think it is a dangerous year to be an incumbent. The Tea Party movement is really the tip of the iceberg," he said. "For every Tea Party activist who shows up at a meeting, you probably have 15 to 20 folks sitting at home who are more active and aware than ever before, and they'll probably be scrutinizing the incumbent more than ever before."

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Young also said Hargett has given himself a raise, and her recent poll found that 80 percent of the voters wouldn't vote for someone who would give themselves a raise.

The salary for Dorchester County Council members rose from $15,000 to $20,000 on Jan. 1, 2009, though Hargett and a few other council members have said they did not accept the increase.

Hargett also claims that Young is funded heavily by special interest groups; she said the bulk of his fundraising has come from those interested in developing a private landfill in Dorchester County. "I think that's (the pot) calling the kettle black," she said.

Hargett said, "All campaign monies received have come from individuals interested in seeking a change of Representative for State House District 98."

Reach Robert Behre at 937-5771 or at rbehre@postandcourier.com.