Beaufort County Council candidate profile: Stephen Bacon
Stephen Bacon candidate profile
Age: 67
Political party: Republican
Office: Beaufort County Council District 6
Number of years living in the district you seek to represent: Eight years
Family: Wife, Brenda; five grown children
Education: University of Alabama; Webster University; University of Southwestern Louisiana (now University of Louisiana at Lafayette)
Current occupation/employer: Full-time professor of history with the American Military University; adjunct faculty at Technical College of the Lowcountry
Employment, military and volunteer history: Pilot and officer for 25 years in the U.S. Air Force; 32 years of teaching, including as an assistant professor of history at the U.S. Air Force Academy, history department chairman at St. Andrew's School in Savannah, and commandant of cadets at Wentworth Military Academy and Junior College and Howe Military Academy
Public offices held: None
Unsuccessful bids for public office: None
Other prior political and government experience: None
Key endorsements you've received: None
Campaign contributions: None
Campaign expenditures: None
Biggest contributor: N/A
Why should people vote for you?
Because during my military career, I have taught leadership and management to over 1,000 Air Force captains at Squadron Officer School (Air University) and many aircrew members in Special Operations aircraft. I have been responsible for the lives and safety of dozens of aircraft crew members and millions of dollars worth of aircraft. Additionally, with 32 years of teaching, I feel that I completely understand how countywide education works.
What are the three most important issues you would address if elected?
A. I believe that County Council and most other elected positions should be held to only two terms (maximum of eight years). My opponent, the incumbent, has been in office eight years.
B. I believe that this county is over-taxed. I want to draw a line at any more/new taxes. This has got to stop and I want to find ways to return money to the citizens of this country.
C. There has got to be a way to resolve the issue of traffic in front of St. Gregory the Great Catholic Church, the Berkeley Hall community and the fire station on U.S. 278, especially on Saturday afternoons/evenings and Sunday mornings and when school is starting or letting out. There have been "near misses" and actual traffic accidents near the entrance to Berkeley Hall. This is simply a safety issue. I believe that I have a solution.
What other issues do you see as important?
Land management and purchase in relationship to Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort. Additionally, resolve issues as related to the arriving F-35 aircraft. More specifically, new Marines arriving in support of the aircraft, children and schools, and civilian jobs created because of the arrival of the new aircraft.
What specific steps will you take to make government more open and accessible to the public?
Obviously, there are currently money and issues that keep getting buried. I propose regular public documents be made available to the public, which specifically detail the use of all money and explanations as to why money is used for various projects. This council needs more transparency.
Have you ever been convicted of a felony, been disciplined by a professional licensing board or organization or had an ethics violation filed against you?
No.
Have you ever filed for bankruptcy, been delinquent on your federal, state or local taxes? If so, please give the details.
No.
Are there any personal details about yourself that voters would be interested in knowing?
I have taken many high school and adult groups (such as a Sun City Hilton Head group) to Europe on education-type trips. These include trips to England, France (specifically the D-day beaches), Belgium and Germany. On one of these trips, I took about 40 U.S. Air Force Academy cadets to France and were hosted by the American ambassador to Luxembourg. These trips took hundreds of hours in planning, finance and execution.
Also, I have taught approximately 50 lectures for the University of South Carolina Beaufort Osher Lifelong Learning Institute on subjects ranging from the Civil War to an impersonation of Gen. Jimmy Doolittle to the Iran Rescue Operation.
I volunteer as a soccer referee with Island Recreation Center on Hilton Head Island. Most of these kids are 7 and 8 years olds.
I have given four lectures on various subjects, including the most recent one on Vietnam, to the Veterans Association at Sun City.
This story was originally published June 5, 2014 at 2:29 PM with the headline "Beaufort County Council candidate profile: Stephen Bacon."