Rep. Bill Herbkersman seeks 8th term, Alfred North looks to play spoiler
Rep. Bill Herbkersman, a Bluffton Republican, is seeking an eighth term as the S.C. House District 118 representative in Tuesday’s election, while third party candidate Alfred North has set his sights on his first elected political position.
The two will compete for a seat that represents southern Beaufort County and a large swath of Jasper County, including the Hardeeville area.
Herbkersman, a 58-year-old developer who helped bring the mixed-use Promenade to Old Town, said he is proud of the work he and fellow local lawmakers have been able to accomplish “through longevity and tenacity” over the course of his tenure in Columbia.
Herbkersman, a Jefferson Institute graduate who has lived in Beaufort County for 36 years, said he has focused much of his energy in recent years on environmental conservation causes.
Last month, he was was given the Coastal Conservation League’s Coastal Steward of the Year Award for his support of policies aimed at limiting development near environmentally sensitive areas, particularly along the coast.
North, a 70-year-old Sun City resident, is a retired U.S. Air Force master sergeant.
Originally from Rhode Island, North has lived in greater Bluffton for almost four years and is running for office as a member of the American Party.
Herbkersman “hasn’t really had much opposition in ten years,” North said. “Some of my friends in the American Party thought I would be a good candidate, so I decided to give it a shot.”
He said he believes in “attacking problems for the center,” and a win in Tuesday’s election will help him do that from inside the state’s House of Representatives.
North, who volunteers at the food pantry at Bluffton’s Church of the Cross, said his platform is based upon support for term limits for state lawmakers and ensuring elected officials maintain high ethical standards. Elected officials should be limited to no more than three terms in office, he said.
The American Party has six South Carolinians running for various offices across the state, including Hilton Head Island resident and U.S. House of Representatives District 1 hopeful Albert Travison, according to the party’s website.
The party supports comprehensive tax reform, public school choice, an immigration policy that provides a pathway to citizenship and upholding the Second Amendment “coupled with universal background checks and strengthened mental health programs,” the website reads.
“I’ve always been kind of an independent, third party guy,” North said. “I believe in a lot of (the American Party’s) platforms.”
He said if he is elected he will focus on “creating better jobs” by diversifying the economy beyond the tourism and service industries.
“This is a big retirement area so bringing in new health care jobs would be naturally a good blend,” he said.
Herberksman, too, said the local economy is a top priority.
Part of ensuring his constituents have access to good jobs, he said, is providing proper training and education in advance of construction of the Jasper Ocean Terminal, a giant new port set to open around 2025.
Herbkersman also said he would like the district to capitalize more on its location along the “the aviation corridor” between Charleston and Savannah, cities with large employers such as Gulfstream Aerospace and Boeing.
S.C. House and Senate incumbents who represent Beaufort County that are running uncontested:
▪ Sen. Tom Davis (R), District 46
▪ Sen. Margie Bright Matthews (D), District 46
▪ Sen. Chip Campsen (R), District 43
▪ Rep. Weston Newton (R), District 120
Lucas High: 843-706-8128, @IPBG_Lucas
S.C. House District 118
The Candidates:
Rep. Bill Herbkersman, Republican incumbent
Age: 58
Family: Wife Mary, two children
Education: Attended USC, received bachelor’s degree from Jefferson Institute.
Alfred North, American Party
Age: 70
Family: Wife Diane, two children, six grandchildren
Education: Bachelor’s degree from Bryant University
The issues:
Responses to these questions have been edited for length and grammar. Full answers can be found at http://bit.ly/2016Elex.
The state's retirement system is facing billions in unfunded liabilities. Taxpayers will have to pitch in more or state retirees must see services cut. What should be done?
Herbkersman: I'm co-chairing the retirement committee charged with making sense of the lagging retirement system. We are in the process of formulating a plan that closes the open-ended amortization on the system and may include hybrids of what we are doing and what other retirement systems are having success with. Losing benefits is not an option at this point.
North: Both. You may have to give them a 10 percent haircut in terms of their services and you may have to raise taxes. The state might also find another broker to invest with because this one isn’t doing what was expected of them. They could look into other avenues of investments.
Despite a $4 billion infusion of cash this legislative session, South Carolina's roads and bridges are crumbling. Should the gas tax be raised? What else should be done?
Herbkersman: We have a partial restructuring of the S.C. Department of Transportation and are working towards a full restructuring. When, and only when we have a fully restructured and accountable S.C. DOT will I be in favor of raising the user fee or gas tax incrementally to a sustainable amount. In the event of no full restructuring of the S.C. DOT, I would be open to exploring local means of fairly including our tourists in the improvements of the roads.
North: A realistic opinion would be to raise the gas tax and be more aggressive on finding good contractors to do the most amount of work on the roads for the least amount of money.
Which presidential candidate are you supporting? Why?
Herbkersman: I am voting for Trump. Trump was not my first choice but considering the alternative he is my only choice. I am a fiscal conservative and have run my businesses in that manner and believe our country should be run the same.
North: I don’t like either of the major party candidates. The American Party candidate isn’t on the ballot in all of the states, so I haven’t decided which candidate I will go with. But it won’t be any of the two front-runners.
This story was originally published November 2, 2016 at 1:20 PM with the headline "Rep. Bill Herbkersman seeks 8th term, Alfred North looks to play spoiler."