South Carolina lawmakers ended their regular session Thursday. They're expecting to go back for a few days to deal with vetoes, and Gov. Mark Sanford says he may call them back to deal with what he says is an unconstitutional budget deficit.
But when lawmakers go back to the Statehouse next year, there will be a lot of new faces and a loss of leadership from the Upstate.
Greenwood Sen. John Drummond is retiring after more than 41 years in the Senate. In a body that places a lot of emphasis on seniority, he was number one.
In the House, Spartanburg Rep. Doug Smith is retiring after 16 years, the last 8 as the Speaker Pro Tempore, the number two position in the House. He filled the seat of Derham Cole, Sr., who was elected to the circuit court. Now, Derham Cole, Jr. is running to fill Smith's seat. He's facing Christina Jeffrey, a long-time Republican Party activist.
"Either one are going to be good for Spartanburg County. And we're going to have a leadership void next year for Spartanburg County, so it's important to get people in there who've been a part of the process and done some things and made important decisions for our county," Rep. Smith says.
The winner of the Republican primary will face Democrat Will Rothschild.
Spartanburg Rep. Joe Mahaffey is also retiring, leaving that seat open. And there will be yet another Spartanburg House seat up for grabs because Rep. Scott Talley is leaving to run for the Senate seat being vacated by Sen. John Hawkins of Spartanburg.
"Well, it just shows the vibrancy of our democracy," Sen. Hawkins says. "It's the way things are supposed to work and, from my perspective, I've been down here long enough. It's time for me to go do something else and let somebody new come in and do the job, and I think everything's going to carry on just fine." He's been in the Senate for eight years. He also served four years in the House.
Also leaving the Statehouse this year from the Upstate are Sen. Lewis Vaughn of Greer, Rep. Glenn Hamilton of Taylors and Rep. Adam Taylor of Laurens.
Six of 46 senators are retiring, along with 14 of 124 House members.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement