Bustos, Sottile to meet again

Republicans in East Cooper may feel a sense of deja vu in June, at least if they live in S.C. House District 112.

That's because Mount Pleasant Town Councilman Joe Bustos again will challenge state Rep. Mike Sottile.

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Sottile, who won their 2008 primary battle with 56 percent of the vote, recently announced that he will seek re-election and will continue to focus on creating new jobs.

Bustos, who ran unsuccessfully for Mount Pleasant mayor last year, said Monday he will make another run at Sottile in the GOP primary June 8. District 112 includes the Isle of Palms, Sullivan's Island and parts of Mount Pleasant.

Bustos promised to end politics as usual, adding, "Growth of government is out of control, and we must elect new leaders to rein it in."

Bustos also said his 2009 mayoral campaign will help his chances this time. "I think the door-to-door campaign (last year) worked very well and we were really coming up in the polls, so I think we have a certain amount of momentum in this campaign."

Sottile, a former Isle of Palms mayor, said he didn't know what Bustos is thinking. "I was a little surprised to learn he was going to run again, particularly after he ran two years ago. ... All I know is I'm going to run my campaign."

Bustos said Sottile has scored poorly on the S.C. Club for Growth's scorecard of House members.