S.C. House District 124 candidate Q&A: Bobby Green

Name: Bobby Green (D)

Age: 68

Office: S.C. House of Representatives District 124

Challenger: Shannon Erickson (R, incumbent)

Family: Wife, Anastasia; daughter, Ashley.

Education: B.S., business administration, University of South Carolina, 1969; J.D., University of South Carolina School of Law, 1975.

The latest timeline for the Port of Port Royal sale to close is the middle of 2017. How might you respond if the sale drags past another deadline with no deal?

First we must really know why the last 12 years of delay, gobbledygook and false hopes happened. There is more to the story than the folks in the Legislature are admitting. The Port Royal Project needs a strong advocate in the Legislature the way Sen. Tom Davis has been for the Jasper Ocean Terminal project. I will be that advocate in Columbia.

What is one issue affecting families you hope to address during the upcoming term, and how?

The most important issue facing families in Beaufort: good jobs. Too many single parents are working multiple part-time jobs and cannot attend parent teacher events or help with homework. The result is underperformance by too many youngsters in school and an unsafe situation in many of our streets. It is a socio-economic tragedy often leading to prison. Criminal justice reform is the next logical step.

What is is the most important issue related to education in District 124, and how will you address it?

The complete loss of credibility by our school superintendent and school board. Act 388 is an example of how such a poorly crafted piece of legislation has put the people of the Lowcountry in a funding pickle. Non –resident, 6-percent folks are rapidly becoming fulltime residents (4 percenters) thereby increasing the burden on the remaining 4 percenters. Eventually we will run out of other people’s money. I think most citizens in Beaufort would prefer that their property taxes go the Beaufort schools not the General Fund in Columbia. I will advocate for just that in the Legislature.

What is another key issue you would address if elected, and how?

Our transportation infrastructure is crying for attention. The Legislature plans to load up on more than $2.2 billion of additional debt . Kicking the can down the road, while becoming debtors to Wall Street in a rising interest rate environment is not my idea of fiscal wisdom. In fact it is typically dumb and short-sighted. We only have a short while to prepare ourselves for the economic opportunities presented by the Jasper Ocean Terminal for the Lowcountry. If we mess this up, Georgia will be the windfall winner for jobs and opportunity and we will be the big losers.

This story was originally published November 2, 2016 at 10:42 PM with the headline "S.C. House District 124 candidate Q&A: Bobby Green."