Cooper, Ard would seek out industry

Republican Ken Ard and Democrat Ashley Cooper face off Nov. 2 in the race for lieutenant governor, a position that includes presiding over the Senate and overseeing the state's Office on Aging.

The part-time job, which also includes stepping in for the governor if necessary, has an annual salary of $46,545.

Ard, who has served as a Florence County councilman since 2004, said he is a small-business owner who wants to "run the state like a business," starting with the Office on Aging.

The Pamplico resident said he would examine the office to make sure "tax dollars are being wisely spent."

"We need to be about customer service and efficiency," Ard said.

Beyond the job's built-in responsibilities, Ard, who grew up on a farm and still lives on one, said he wants to bridge the gap between the state's prospering urban centers and suffering rural areas.

"Parts of the state look like it did 40 years ago," he said. "We need to educate our people and make them expect better. We need to create a quality of life in some of these areas that people will want to call it home."

Recruiting industries to rural counties to create long-term jobs is key to overcoming disparities, he said.

Ard said he would use the office of lieutenant governor to encourage incentives for businesses to move to the state.

"We are competing with neighboring states and need to commit money to help create jobs," he said.

Cooper, a Charleston native and Nelson Mullins attorney, said he is a political outsider who wants to send the state in a new direction.

"We have among the highest rates of unemployment, infant mortality, infrastructure and heart disease," Cooper said. "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. We need new leadership."

Cooper said he wants to use the office of lieutenant governor to lead cooperation between the public and private sectors. "We need more coordination to help get small businesses off the ground."

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He too wants the state to provide incentives for industries to bring their businesses to the state. "We need more jobs," he said, "but we also need better-paying jobs."

The energy law attorney, who once was an adjunct professor at the University of South Carolina School of Government and International Studies, said he wants "cutting-edge research" in offshore wind and other energy initiatives to be done in the state.

"That will help us drive up per capita income," he said.

Ashley Cooper

Party: Democratic

Age: 38

Family: Wife Hartley, one daughter and one son

Residence: Sullivan's Island

Occupation: Attorney with Nelson Mullins

Education: Bachelor's degree in economics, Clemson University, 1994; University of South Carolina School of Law, 1997

Prior public office: None

Campaign website: www.cooperforsc.com

How to contact: 793-3192

Ken Ard

Party: Republican

Age: 46

Family: Wife Tammy, one daughter and two sons

Residence: Pamplico

Occupation: Small-businessman, former co-owner of Double A Body Builders, a truck body manufacturing plant

Education: Attended Wofford College

Prior public office: Florence County Council, 2004-present

Campaign website: ardforsc.com, twitter.com/ kenardforsc

How to contact: 601-1107, info@ardforsc.com