District 20 - Meet your Candidates for South Carolina House of Representatives

Meet Democrat Stephen Dreyfus and Republican Stephen Frank, South Carolina House of Representatives District 20 candidate in the November general election. District 20 generally covers the Taylors area, straddling highway 29 between the cities of Greenville, Greer, and Travelers Rest. In this episode, each candidate has 10 minutes to introduce themselves to the voters. Your vote is so important! Please take a listen and share with your neighbors.

Links:

Stephen Dreyfus

Stephen Frank

Sample Ballot

Transcript

Katy Smith:
[0:02] When you go to the polls on November 5th or in early voting, you have the chance to vote not just for the president. South Carolina voters will also choose their state, House, and Senate members. These members of our legislature make important decisions about things such as the state budget, policies on education, health care, public safety, the judicial system, and much more. I'm Katy Smith with Greater Good Greenville, and on this episode of Simple Civics: Greenville County, we feature interviews with your candidates for House of Representatives District 20, Democrat Stephen Dreyfus, and Republican Stephen Frank. District 20 generally covers the Taylors area, straddling highway 29 between the cities of Greenville, Greer, and Travelers Rest. Here's how the interviews worked. All candidates received the same question at the time of their invitation to join us, and they were given 10 minutes for their interview. Candidates were allowed to bring along a companion, such as a campaign manager, family member, or friend, and to record our session themselves. There were no edits made to the interview. We've put links to the participating candidates' preferred internet presence on the episode page. First up is Stephen Dreyfus. I'm pleased to be joined by Stephen Dreyfus, who is running for South Carolina House District 20. Thanks so much for joining me today.

Stephen Dreyfus:
[1:15] Well, thank you for giving me this opportunity.

Katy Smith:
[1:18] Wonderful. Tell us about yourself and why you're running.

Stephen Dreyfus:
[1:20] Well, my name is Stephen Dreyfus, and I'm running to be a representative for South Carolina House 20. I've lived in South Carolina over 60 years. I've lived in Columbia, Spartanburg, Sumter, Hartsville, and Bennett'sville. However, I've lived in Greenville longer than all the other places combined. I graduated from the University of South Carolina, and I worked as an alcoholism and drug addiction counselor for most of my career. After that, I taught psychology at USC Upstate and at Spartanburg Community College. I grew up in a mixed marriage. My father was a loyal Republican and my mother was a liberal Democrat. And both of them were passionate about politics. In fact, my mother ran for House seat 22 when I was in college. She won, thanks to my father's firm support. I believe we can't have good government without a healthy two-party system. If one party stays in power too long, it becomes too extreme, too corrupt, and no longer cares about the concerns of the people. Once the Democratic Party had a monopoly of power in South Carolina. Today, the Republicans have a monopoly of power. This is no longer my father's Republican Party.

Stephen Dreyfus:
[2:40] If I didn't run as a Democrat for House seat 20, the voters would be denied a choice come election day. I decided to run because I believe democracy matters.

Katy Smith:
[2:52] Thank you. What do you believe are the biggest issues facing your constituents and what would you do about them if elected?

Stephen Dreyfus:
[2:58] Well, some people seek office because they want power and prestige. Others, including myself, are deeply concerned about certain political issues. First of all, I believe it is an essential freedom for any person to have control over their own body and the right to make decisions regarding their own health care. I do not favor the current over-restricted laws in South Carolina which prevent a woman from getting a safe and legal abortion. Nor do I want doctors and medical professionals to have to choose between providing the best medical care and not losing their license because such life-saving medical care is illegal.

Stephen Dreyfus:
[3:43] Secondly, I believe that providing quality education is the key to future prosperity. South Carolina education ranks near the bottom of the barrel. Teachers are so underpaid they are leaving our state to be paid more elsewhere. They have to pay for their students' school supplies out of their own pockets. Moreover, teachers simply want to teach without so many bureaucratic restrictions that they can't do their jobs. We need to change the way education is funded. When education is supported by property taxes, those who live in wealthy suburbs can get up to three times more tax dollars per student than those who live in poor rural areas. This is wrong and unfair. Many of my college students could barely write a complete sentence. South Carolina can do better.

Stephen Dreyfus:
[4:44] Third, we need to protect our environment and do what we can to prevent catastrophic climate change. We need to install charging stations throughout the state so people can buy an electric car if they choose. We need to prevent HOAs from preventing homeowners from putting solar panels on their roof. We need to make sure government buildings don't set the thermostats for air conditioning below 72 degrees in the heat of summer. Recently, I complained that the Pavilion Recreation Center has air conditioning trying to cool an immense gymnasium locked in at a frigid 64 degrees. It's so cold that the automatic heating system kicked in. It is insane to waste energy, waste money, and do this only contribute to global warming.

Katy Smith:
[5:36] Thank you. What would you do in the first 30 days after being sworn in?

Stephen Dreyfus:
[5:40] What I wouldn't do is attend any free dinners sponsored by lobbyists who hope to curry favor and get easy access to legislators. I intend to work for the regular people of South Carolina, not for special interest groups and huge corporations. What I would do is try to establish good relations on both sides of the aisle. If I become elected, I will still most likely be a member of the minority party. So I intend to introduce a nonpartisan issue both Democrats and Republicans can easily embrace. Keep daylight savings time all year long. That way, we'll never have to worry about resetting our clocks or adjusting to it suddenly getting darker one hour earlier. Other than that, I fully intend to serve with as much honesty, integrity, and moral intelligence as I possibly can.

Katy Smith:
[6:43] Well, thank you so much for joining us today, and thank you so much for your willingness to serve the people of the state.

Stephen Dreyfus:
[6:49] Thank you.

Katy Smith:
[6:51] Next up is Stephen Frank. Well, I'm so pleased to be joined by Stephen Frank, who is running for South Carolina House District 20. Stephen, thanks so much for joining me.

Stephen Frank:
[7:01] Katy, thanks for having me today.

Katy Smith:
[7:02] Well, please tell us about yourself and why you're running for office.

Stephen Frank:
[7:07] Well, I'm a Greenville native. I grew up as a faculty kid at Bob Jones. My wife and I have been married for 14 years. We've got four beautiful children. I own an insurance agency. We specialize in commercial insurance and risk management. My family's members of Ridgewood Church in Greer. I've got a wonderful church family over there. And I'm running for the state house because I believe that our rights come from God and that the first order of government is to protect and uphold those rights. Our government has failed to protect our rights. We've got to stand up to it. And so I'm running to be a part of the solution. As your voice in Columbia, I'll fight for limited government and more freedom for we the people.

Katy Smith:
[7:46] Thank you. What do you believe are the biggest issues facing your constituents and what would you do about them if elected?

Stephen Frank:
[7:52] Oh, I think we have so many. But if we have to pick a couple to talk about, you know, I think inflation is out of control. Beating up on all of us is beating us real bad. Grocery bills are rivaling house payments. Folks are wondering if they'll be able to keep feeding their family with prices going up and up month after month. And believe me, I've got a household of hungry kids myself, and I understand that. The first step, I think it's an important one, is eliminating the state income tax so you and I can keep more of our own money. That'd give families a financial cushion each month. And remember that Columbia doesn't have a money shortage problem. It's got a spending problem. So we've simply got to stop wasting your tax dollars and mine on pet political projects. I think it's way beyond time the legislature focuses on essential services that we need and all too often don't get.

Stephen Frank:
[8:42] You know, also, our roads are crumbling despite being taxed for them. You know, we all know that driving down a state-maintained roads like riding down a wagon train down the Oregon Trail. You know, why can't we just have the roads we deserve and are already paying for? Well, it's because, like I said, it's misplaced spending priorities in Columbia. We've got to make the DOT a cabinet position that's accountable to the governor. But until that happens, we're probably just going to have to keep dodging potholes. I think those two issues there highlight the corruption that we have in our government. Everybody suspects corruption exists to some degree, and it's often not easy to discern where it is and how it happens. But if we can clean up South Carolina government, then we can all enjoy more freedom and more prosperity.

Katy Smith:
[9:25] Thank you. What would you do in the first 30 days after being sworn in?

Stephen Frank:
[9:30] Well, it's time we get rid of the income tax, but not just because I want to make South Carolina more competitive or a better place to be. Taxation's theft, pure and simple. We've just got to quit stealing your family's income.

Stephen Frank:
[9:46] I think we need broad tort reform. Our state law right now allows people and businesses to become victims in lawsuits where they wouldn't naturally be liable. We're experiencing a sort of a judicial socialism on a pretty grand scale, and we've become one of the most litigious states in the union. South Carolina is ranked with corruption, so I think we absolutely must reform our judiciary and how we select judges. We're one of only two states in the entire union where legislators elect the judges. So when 48 out of 50 states are doing it different than us, that might ought to tell you something. So we need change because this cozy arrangement keeps violent criminals on the streets, and a lot of legislators are also lawyers. And so they're picking the very judges that they're going to argue their cases before. And remember, lawyers are often paid when they win. So this little arrangement not only puts money in the pocket of those lawyer legislators, it also keeps bad people from being put behind bars. It's wrong. It's got to be stopped now. It also feeds back into that problem I just said with tort reform. Our lawyer legislators have really created a pot of gold and paved the road to get to it. And then they're picking the very judges that they argue those cases in front of. And we've just got to clean that whole thing up. But and then I think another.

Stephen Frank:
[11:08] Another priority that I'd like to focus on is closing our primaries, you know, by allowing the Democrats to decide our primaries, they're going to pick the candidates that they want. So it's time to stop letting Democrats decide which Republicans are sent down to join the Columbia Swamp.

Katy Smith:
[11:24] Thank you. We have a little bit more time. Is there anything else you'd like to share with listeners?

Stephen Frank:
[11:28] I don't think so. That that that pretty well sums up the thrust of the of the campaign this year.

Katy Smith:
[11:35] Great. Well, I really appreciate you joining us, and I'm grateful for your willingness to serve.

Stephen Frank:
[11:40] Thank you so much. I appreciate you having me today.

Catherine Puckett:
Simple Civics: Greenville County is a project of Greater Good Greenville. Greater Good Greenville was catalyzed by the merger of the Nonprofit Alliance and the Greenville Partnership for Philanthropy. You can learn more on our website at greatergoodgreenville.org.