District 120 candidates discuss top concerns from residents: roads or schools?
Weston Newton (Rep.), the incumbent, and Kate Creech (Dem), a first-time candidate, are running for the District 120 seat in the South Carolina House of Representatives. District 120 candidates represent residents living in parts of Beaufort and Jasper counties mostly south of the Broad River.
Newton and Creech bring different priorities and experiences to the table. Before election day, the two candidates were posed with a question about priorities of the residents they represent.
The question was as follows: From your interactions with District 120 residents, what is the number one local issue you hear about from them? Is this something you think can be addressed in the upcoming term? What are the specific steps you would take to try and address this issue, if elected?
While Newton said that infrastructure, roads and bridges were top of mind for District 120 voters, Creech said that support and funding for public schools was the top concern she had heard from the locals she had spoken to.
Prioritizing local infrastructure projects
Concerns about inflation and the high cost of living, Newton said, is the resounding theme he hears from his constituents in District 120.
“How can a young teacher afford to live on Hilton Head? How can a young police officer or firefighter afford to live in Bluffton or Beaufort or Hardeeville?” he asked, adding that these issues are a continuous challenge for governing bodies at all levels.
From a state level, he said, they have worked to alleviate some of these concerns. Continuing to prioritize the housing tax credit program, the acceleration of the income tax cut, the teacher salary increases and the income tax reduction for firefighters and law enforcement could help to address these issues locally, he said.
However, Newton said that infrastructure, roads and bridges were a more localized concern heavy on the minds of voters in District 120.
While this is an issue that can not be addressed in just one single term, he said, progress is already being made. The current delegation in the state house is working with the South Carolina Department of Transportation to accelerate the widening of I-95, he said.
“It doesn’t stop with I-95,” he said, citing traffic challenges on Argent Blvd. and U.S. 278.
Newton said that if re-elected, he, along with the rest of the delegation, will continue to work with SCDOT to make sure they understand the significance of the projects here, and that “state resources are appropriately dedicated to solving those issues and challenges here in this part of South Carolina.”
Supporting public schools, teachers and students
One of the top issues Creech hears from District 120 residents, she said, is the lack of support and funding for public schools.
“I absolutely know this needs to be a priority in the next legislative session,” Creech said.
Creech stated her concerns about the state-wide teacher shortage, which she said is the result of “attacks against public education,” including book challenges and bans within public schools and libraries.
Even though the South Carolina Supreme Court ultimately ruled that portions of the 2023 Education Scholarship Trust Fund Act violated the state constitution’s prohibition against using public funds for the “direct benefit” of private schools, Creech added, “it needs to be said that the decision to pressure the use of public taxpayer dollars to fund the voucher program will only cause our public schools to continue to crumble.”
She also noted that there is a vacancy on the South Carolina Board of Education for the Fourteenth Judicial Circuit, which includes Allendale, Beaufort, Colleton, Hampton and Jasper Counties. Without a representative there, she said, the district does not have someone there to advocate for the needs of public schools, teachers and students.
Creech said that if elected, she will serve as a “voice of common sense and reason” on the issues facing public schools and will vote for increased funding for public education to give children “the opportunity to receive the high-quality education they deserve and are entitled to.”
