In any state legislature there are competing factions. Often, those factions are based on party or ideology. Just as often, the factions are based on geography. This is especially true in large states like California, Pennsylvania and Texas.
Even though South Carolina is one of the smaller states in the union, with its clearly defined regions, it has always had tensions in the legisalture based on location. It wasn’t always the case that what’s good for the Lowcountry is good for the Upstate and vice versa. But that may be changing.
Technology has made it easier to communicate with someone on the other side of the world, making communication within a state a comparative breeze. And improved highways have made it easier to transport goods from Greenville to Charleston or from one part of the state to another.
Mike Fair, a Senator from District 6 in Greenville County since 1995 and one of the chamber’s longest serving members, has noticed a change during his time in Columbia.
“There’s no question in my mind that businesses and voters in the Upstate understand how important the Port of Charleston is to our economy up here,” Fair said. “It wasn’t always that way, but with companies like Michelin and Boeing growing and having so much of an impact on both ends of the state in recent years, there’s no doubt the public is better served when the legislature is working together on business matters. There is still some bickering on smaller things, but not as much as there used to be.”
“I’m finding that a lot of us have the same goals here (in the Senate),” said Katrina Shealy, the newest member of the Senate, from District 23 in the Midlands. “Don’t get me wrong, I represent the people of Lexington County first and foremost. But in many cases my constituents are looking for the same things as other people in the state.”
A Lowcountry House member concurred with both his Senate counterparts about the diminishing impact of regionalism. Leon Stavrinakis, a Democrat representing District 119 said that geography is less of a factor than ever.
“People in the Upstate rely heavily on the Port and we in the Lowcountry rely on people in other part of the state to service the port,” Stavrinakis said.
“During my time here, the biggest tensions have been between the House and the Senate or the Executive and the Legislature, Stavrinakis said. “And when times are tough economically people tend to move local concerns to the backburner and do what’s best for the state.”
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