The list includes members of both parties and in both houses, although a voucher bill has never gotten to the Senate for consideration before this year.
But the list is incomplete, The State notes, because it doesn't include the funding received from Rich's "associates".
Lawmakers who received campaign cash from New York school-choice advocate Howard Rich from 2008 to 2011:
In the House
Bruce Bannister, R-Greenville: $1,000
Liston Barfield, R-Horry: $3,000
House Majority Leader Kenny Bingham, R-Lexington: $5,000
Don Bowen, R-Anderson: $14,000
Bill Chumley, R-Spartanburg: $1,000
Tom Corbin, R-Greenville: $9,000
Kris Crawford, R-Florence: $10,500
Bill Crosby, R-Charleston: $5,000
Greg Delleney, R-Chester: $5,000
Tracy Edge, R-Horry: $9,000
Shannon Erickson, R-Beaufort: $2,500
Dan Hamilton, R-Greenville: $2,000
Nelson Hardwick, R-Horry: $5,000
Jim Harrison, R-Richland: $4,000
Phyllis Henderson, R-Greenville: $10,000
Bill Herbkersman, R-Beaufort: $6,000
Bill Hixon, R-Aiken: $2,000
Chip Huggins, R-Lexington: $2,000
Phillip Lowe, R-Florence: $7,000
Peter McCoy, R-Charleston: $7,000
Jim Merrill, R-Berkeley: $5,000
Dennis Moss, R-Cherokee: $5,000
Chris Murphy, R-Dorchester: $1,000
Wendy Nanney, R-Greenville: $14,000
Andy Patrick, R-Beaufort: $1,000
Mike Pitts, R-Laurens: $5,000
Tommy Pope, R-York: $7,000
Josh Putnam, R-Anderson: $1,000
Rick Quinn, R-Lexington: $9,000
Gary Simrill, R-York: $5,000
Roland Smith, R-Aiken: $5,000
Mike Sottile, R-Charleston: $9,000
Kit Spires, R-Lexington: $2,000
Tommy Stringer, R-Greenville: $5,000
Bill Taylor, R-Aiken: $5,000
Anne Thayer, R-Anderson: $3,000
David Tribble, R-Laurens: $1,000
Brian White, R-Anderson: $500
In the Senate
Kevin Bryant, R-Anderson: $5,000
William O’Dell, R-Abbeville: $5,000
Mike Fair, R-Greenville: $3,000
Lee Bright, R-Spartanburg: $41,000
Greg Ryberg, R-Aiken: $2,000
Mike Rose, R-Dorchester: $7,000
Robert Ford, D-Charleston: $18,000, including $14,000 for Ford’s 2010 gubernatorial bid
Tom Davis, R-Beaufort: $11,000
Darrell Jackson, D-Richland: $9,000
Senate Majority Leader Harvey Peeler, R-Cherokee: $3,000
Chip Campsen, R-Charleston: $1,000
NOTE: Listed donations do not include thousands of additional dollars donated by Rich’s associates.
The State's coverage also included a rare question-and-answer with Rich himself, in which he noted that because he doesn't own property or have any other financial stake in the state, his intervention is entirely ideological in nature:
Howard Rich, a millionaire New York real estate investor, has been funding school-choice efforts in South Carolina for years. Libertarian-leaning and low-profile, Rich has been hesitant to speak with the S.C. media. But he did answer some questions last week from The State newspaper about his involvement in the school-choice debate.
Q. How will this legislation benefit S.C. families?
The legislation passed by the S.C. House of Representatives is a framework for giving parents more control over the education of their children. Given the continuing low performance of S.C. public schools, I would think the benefits to more parental involvement would be self-evident. What strikes me as most important about the House legislation is the consensus that Ways and Means Chairman Brian White was able to forge. Is this the legislation I would have written? No. Is this an acceptable framework that has been developed to meet South Carolina conditions, created by South Carolinians with the support of a wide array of groups and individuals? Yes, I think it is. That in itself is a benefit. It is a coming together of all interested parties to begin to address a serious and ongoing problem.
Q. Much has been made about donations from your LLCs and associates to S.C. lawmakers who favor school-choice legislation. Can you talk about why you chose South Carolina as a place to support such candidates?
I make donations to candidates in many states. As in my response to your first question, South Carolina trails almost all states in a bunch of categories so there’s a great need for choice and significant potential upside.
Q. I take it you still own no property here in South Carolina and, thus, do not directly benefit from the passage of any school-choice legislation. Is that still accurate?
It is still the case that I do not own any property in South Carolina or have anything to gain personally from passage of school choice legislation. I support efforts like this because I believe in freedom of choice and a parent’s right to have a say in the education of their children. Nothing more.
Q. Do you think the bill can pass the S.C. Senate?
You ask if the school choice bill passed by the House of Representatives can pass the S.C. Senate — I don’t know. Of course, I hope the bill passes out of the Senate, but I am not a lobbyist and certainly don’t have a crystal ball. If it does it will be a huge opportunity for a lot of middle and low-income families. That would be great.
No comments:
Post a Comment