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Posts Tagged ‘Governor’
A message from Jim Rex on Memorial Day
Monday, May 31st, 2010Dem candidate for governor makes Edgefield stop
Friday, October 23rd, 2009Originally posted in the Citizen News.
By Mike Rosier, Publisher
Democratic candidate for governor Jim Rex may surprise some folks on the campaign trail when they learn that he is an avid hunter and outdoorsman who maintains a certain pride in his annual membership with the local National Wild Turkey Federation.
A gun-toting Democrat? Running for governor you say?
That’s exactly what Jim Rex will be saying to his fellow Democrats (and any moderate Republican or Independent who will listen) over the coming months – give me a chance.
Mr. Rex, along with his wife, Sue Rex, made an early morning stop in Edgefield on Saturday at Park Row Market for the monthly meeting of the Edgefield County Democratic Party. Mr. Rex explained his reasoning for entering the race and answered questions ranging from his stance on healthcare to his explanation of the danger of vouchers for education.
Most importantly, he stressed that the message Democrats would hear before the June primary would be the same message he would offer the rest of the state’s voters as the party’s nominee in the November election in 2010.
“Before the primary I’ll be speaking to mostly Democrats, but others will be listening,” Rex told the audience. “What I say during the primary will be what I say during the general lection. I’m not going to change my message.”
County Councilman Willie Bright says he likes what Rex brings to the table as a candidate.
“He’s a well-rounded man and I feel that he would make a great governor,” he said.
Of course, Rex never strays far from the topic of education after serving s the state’s top school official. He says if South Carolinians care about the education of their children and grandchildren they are going to have to stand and voice that concern.
“Public education is something that we’re really going to have to fight for here in South Carolina,” he said.
But can he win the race for governor?
Rex says he most certainly can.
“I’ve been the underdog before (in the race to become state superintendent of schools) and I’ve won. I know that we can do it again,” he said. “A Democrat can win in South Carolina, but we’re going to have to have the Independent voters and the undecided voters. That’s the reality.”
Hopeful Dems speak at dinner
Monday, October 12th, 2009Originally posted in the The Post and Courier.
By: Edward Fennell
SUMMERVILLE — Reasons why the next governor of South Carolina should not be a Republican were outlined Saturday by five Democrats running for that office.
The Democrats: attorney Dwight Drake, state Sen. Robert Ford, attorney Mullins McLeod, state Superintendent of Education Jim Rex and state Rep. Vincent Sheheen, each addressed the Dorchester County Democratic Party’s annual Alice J. Cicenia Dinner.
Each candidate maintained that the state needs new leadership to improve education and create new jobs. More than once candidates declared that a Democrat needs to occupy the Governor’s Mansion to help the state overcome what they said is a poor national image resulting from Gov. Mark Sanford’s affair and refusals to take federal stimulus money and U.S. Rep Charlie Wilson’s shout during President Barack Obama’s address to a joint session of Congress.
“After I become governor, we will no longer be the butt of late-night jokes,” Sheheen cited as one of the advantages of having him in the state’s highest office.
Ford of Charleston noted that his campaign is having trouble attracting the kind of financial backing some other candidates enjoy. But he vowed, if elected, to create 150,000 new jobs.
Ford said 100,000 jobs would come from building “the largest movie film studio in South Carolina,” a project he said consultants already are working on. He said more jobs would come from “bringing back the industry that people don’t like” — a reference to video poker.
Ford noted that in South Carolina, the Legislature has more constitutional powers than the governor. But said he would overcome those limitations by being a “people’s” governor, and cited former Louisiana governor and U.S. Sen. Huey Long as an example of what type of governor he wants to be.
Rex, as the state’s highest education official and only Democrat currently holding a statewide office, was afforded two opportunities to speak. He address the dinner as the education superintendent and then as a gubernatorial candidate.
On education, he said much has been accomplished but there is still much to do. Test scores and graduation rates have improved, but many schools remain underfunded and more than half of the state’s public school students live at or below the poverty line.
Rex said he needs to get to the governor’s office to finish the job he wants to do. He urged other elected officials to act “with a sense of urgency” and to display “political courage.”
“You can do the right thing but do it so slowly that you get the same result as doing the wrong thing,” Rex said.
McLeod vowed, if elected, not to seek any other offices. He said that would remove politics from the decision-making process and allow him to bring about what he said are desperately needed fundamental changes at state level.
“It will never be about me. We’ve got to stop the politics. We’ve got to stop the rhetoric and bring the people together,” McLeod said.
Drake of Columbia said he’s never run for office before but cited his work as an attorney and lobbyist in making accomplishments for the state. He said he knows how to bring people together to get jobs and improve education.
Sheheen of Camden said he would create a small business division within the state Department of Commerce. He said the state hasn’t done enough to improve public health care, “and can’t even raise the cigarette tax,” to support medical care. He said he’s voted five times unsuccessfully to raise the cigarette tax and he’s fought to keep nuclear waste from being dumped in South Carolina.
SC Ed. Chief Jim Rex Running for Governor
Wednesday, September 16th, 2009Originally posted in Education Week.
Your education road map to state and federal politics Michele McNeil covered education and state government in Indiana for a decade before joining Education Week as a state policy reporter in June 2006. Alyson Klein, who reports on federal education policy, joined the staff in February 2006 after nearly two years at Congress Daily.
South Carolina Superintendent of Education Jim Rex, a Democrat who has squared off against Republican Gov. Mark Sanford over school choice, stimulus funding, and whether the state would participate in the common standards movement, now wants Sanford’s job.
In an opinion piece in The State newspaper, he declared his plans to run as a “turnaround governor” in the 2010 election. Sanford, who famously disappeared for days to Argentina over the summer and ended up admitting an extramarital affair, is term-limited. Rex was elected in 2006 in a tight race that ended in a recount.
When I interviewed Rex in April 2008 for a story on single-gender schools–part of his broader push for more school choice options–I sensed in the interview he had higher ambitions.
And that was confirmed that same day when, in his office, I spotted large postcards he was mailing out to South Carolina residents. In bold letters on the front, was a quote: “South Carolinians expect and demand choices in their lives. They shouldn’t have to make an exception for public education.”
It was signed Jim Rex.
Those campaign-style postcards seemed to be a smart way to start building name recognition throughout the state – a necessary step in any successful bid for governor.
Rex announces campaign for Governor
Tuesday, September 15th, 2009Campaign News
State Superintendent of Education Jim Rex today announced his campaign for Governor with a call for South Carolinians to put partisan politics aside and come together around the challenge of creating jobs, reviving the economy and improving education. During a statewide tour that included stops in Florence, Charleston, Columbia, Orangeburg, and Greenville, Rex said he would bring a new direction to state government.
“South Carolina needs a new direction. Our current leadership has failed, and the petty bickering, extreme partisanship and seemingly endless distractions have crippled our state government, which right now delivers way too little for what it spends,” said Rex.
“I am running to be a Turnaround Governor, and my mission will be to create jobs and a growing economy, a government committed to accountability and living within its means, a state committed to improving schools, and leadership that accurately reflects our values. For too long, our government has been distracted and defined by narrow special interests, and it’s time to put our people first,” Rex said.
Traveling alongside his wife, Sue, Rex said he decided to run for Governor because he found limitations to what he could accomplish as State Superintendent of Education given the state’s current political climate.
“I have learned that we cannot have a Twenty-first Century school system, or a Twenty-first Century competitive economy, within a state whose leadership is stuck in the past,” he said.
Rex highlighted a number of significant achievements during his time as State Superintendent of Education, including improvements in high school graduation rates, implementation of innovative new choices within the public school system for parents and students, and ramping up accountability measures, including firing teachers and administrators who aren’t delivering results.
“It’s clear that this new focus on innovation and choice is driving improvement. Last month, the annual Diplomas Count report rated South Carolina number one in the nation on improvement in on-time graduation rates, and we remain number one in improvement on SAT performance for states where over 50 percent of students participate,” said Rex.
Rex said it’s time to abandon the leaders and their old ideas that have not moved the state forward.
“I know we can turn our state around, but to do that we have to change the leaders who have failed, and we must abandon tired, old ideas that haven’t worked. When I look around at the others running for this office – in both parties – I see too many lobbyists and career politicians. I am neither of those, nor am I a political insider,” he said.
Rex said he will release detailed plans in the coming weeks related to jobs, the economy, education, the environment, and quality of life.
“I will be putting forth comprehensive plans for creating jobs and improving our economy; taking the next steps to move our schools forward; and addressing the need to improve the overall quality of life for our people. I will share my plans to rebuild a government that answers to people, not the special interests. And, I will work every day to re-create South Carolina’s image to ensure that we become the go-to state, once again, for tourism, job creation, and quality of life,” he said.
Rex concluded, “Today, I ask South Carolinians from all walks of life to join me, and together, we will turn South Carolina around.”
Rex announces campaign for Governor
Tuesday, September 15th, 2009State Superintendent of Education Jim Rex today announced his campaign for Governor with a call for South Carolinians to put partisan politics aside and come together around the challenge of creating jobs, reviving the economy and improving education. During a statewide tour that included stops in Florence, Charleston, Columbia, Orangeburg, and Greenville, Rex said he would bring a new direction to state government.
“South Carolina needs a new direction. Our current leadership has failed, and the petty bickering, extreme partisanship and seemingly endless distractions have crippled our state government, which right now delivers way too little for what it spends,” said Rex.
“I am running to be a Turnaround Governor, and my mission will be to create jobs and a growing economy, a government committed to accountability and living within its means, a state committed to improving schools, and leadership that accurately reflects our values. For too long, our government has been distracted and defined by narrow special interests, and it’s time to put our people first,” Rex said.
Traveling alongside his wife, Sue, Rex said he decided to run for Governor because he found limitations to what he could accomplish as State Superintendent of Education given the state’s current political climate.
“I have learned that we cannot have a Twenty-first Century school system, or a Twenty-first Century competitive economy, within a state whose leadership is stuck in the past,” he said.
Rex highlighted a number of significant achievements during his time as State Superintendent of Education, including improvements in high school graduation rates, implementation of innovative new choices within the public school system for parents and students, and ramping up accountability measures, including firing teachers and administrators who aren’t delivering results.
“It’s clear that this new focus on innovation and choice is driving improvement. Last month, the annual Diplomas Count report rated South Carolina number one in the nation on improvement in on-time graduation rates, and we remain number one in improvement on SAT performance for states where over 50 percent of students participate,” said Rex.
Rex said it’s time to abandon the leaders and their old ideas that have not moved the state forward.
“I know we can turn our state around, but to do that we have to change the leaders who have failed, and we must abandon tired, old ideas that haven’t worked. When I look around at the others running for this office – in both parties – I see too many lobbyists and career politicians. I am neither of those, nor am I a political insider,” he said.
Rex said he will release detailed plans in the coming weeks related to jobs, the economy, education, the environment, and quality of life.
“I will be putting forth comprehensive plans for creating jobs and improving our economy; taking the next steps to move our schools forward; and addressing the need to improve the overall quality of life for our people. I will share my plans to rebuild a government that answers to people, not the special interests. And, I will work every day to re-create South Carolina’s image to ensure that we become the go-to state, once again, for tourism, job creation, and quality of life,” he said.
Rex concluded, “Today, I ask South Carolinians from all walks of life to join me, and together, we will turn South Carolina around.”
By Jim Rex