District 24 - Meet your Candidates for South Carolina House of Representatives

Meet Republican Bruce Bannister and Democrat Shauna Johnson, South Carolina House of Representatives District 24 candidates in the November general election. District 24 generally represents the Augusta Road, Gower, and Hollingsworth neighborhoods in the City of Greenville and the Miller Road and Knollwood areas of Mauldin. 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:

Bruce Bannister

Shauna Johnson

Sample Ballot

Transcript

Katy Smith:
When you go to the polls on November 5th or during 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 in 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 24, Republican Bruce Bannister and Democrat Shauna Johnson. District 24 generally represents the Augusta Road, Gower, and Hollingsworth neighborhoods in the city of Greenville and the Miller Road and Nolwood areas of Mauldin. 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 and 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 incumbent Bruce Bannister. I'm pleased to be here with Bruce Bannister, who is running for re-election in House District 24. Bruce, thanks so much for being here today.

Bruce Bannister:
Thank you, Katy.

Katy Smith:
Tell us about yourself and why you're running for re-election.

Bruce Bannister:
All right. I'll tell you about myself first. I've got four kids. I have a graduate from West Point who's now at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. I have two at Clemson, a junior and a freshman. And I have one who's a sophomore in high school. I've lived in Greenville County or the city of Greenville all my life. And I love House District 24. I call it. It's been home forever. Why am I running for re-election? That is actually a question that Mary Margaret has asked me over and over again. So really good one. The truth is, I think I really just personally enjoy helping people solve problems with the government, whether that's having the state participate in something or they have a tax issue or a telephone pole that didn't get removed from their street after a wreck. Those are all things that I really enjoy helping constituents in House District 24. So I'm offering to serve in that role again, and that's why I'm running.

Katy Smith:
Thank you. What do you believe are the biggest issues facing your constituents, and what would you do about them if reelected?

Bruce Bannister:
So I'm really lucky to represent House District 24. We have a very economically diverse but successful district. So I think constituents are interested in several things. One, better public education. And I think we have done a lot in that field. Core functions of government like infrastructure, they want the roads and the bridges to function properly and not interfere with their everyday jobs, commutes, or commerce that they depend on. I think they really want government to be more efficient. They can see the waste in their businesses, and they want us to continue to try to make government more efficient. And really, they don't want us to raise the tax burden any more than is absolutely necessary. Obviously, government has to function, but I think those are the things that I think people in House District 24 are most concerned about.

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

Bruce Bannister:
So, Katy, that's kind of a trick question because in the next 30 days, I'm already taking input from stakeholders on the state budget. I serve as chairman of ways and means. So that has become a full-time job, not just the six months we're in session. The first 30 days after November, when the election is certified, if I'm lucky enough to be reelected, then I would be working on the first draft of the state budget that will come out of the House sometime in March. The first 30 days of session, January 14th on, we really dig in and the agencies start coming and making requests and telling us how they're going to be more efficient. And we're a zero-based budget state, so they've got to come in and justify their existence every year. And that's a lot of work and something that I've really enjoyed doing. But it will be all-consuming in that first 30 days.

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

Bruce Bannister:
Sure. A couple of things that I'm really proud of. On a statewide basis, we have really made investments in the state highways and roads system. We put $200 million this year into bridges and have committed to the DOT over the next five years to have a billion-dollar commitment. The upstate especially has a lot of aging bridges that are going to be a problem in the future, and that's something we're trying to focus the state budget on. Second is the investment we've made in education. Teacher pay has gone up dramatically in the last six to eight years. The governor, Henry McMaster, has led the charge on that, and we're hoping to have a starting salary for teachers in South Carolina, be it $50,000 before he leaves office. And we're on pace to do that a couple of years early. So hopefully in the next budget cycle, you'll see an announcement that the starting salary for a teacher in South Carolina is $50,000.

Bruce Bannister:
In the meantime, we're going to honor our commitments on the tax cuts that we've done, both the income tax going to 6%. We're going to continue to work on that. We were one of the higher states in the country, and that's not a good selling point for South Carolina. On a local level, I've really enjoyed my role on Ways and Means. It's given me an opportunity to see some of the really good stuff we can do in Greenville. The Peace Center is involved in a major renovation and expansion. That was such a transformative thing for the city of Greenville and seeing it expand and participating in making that happen from a state standpoint is special. The Bon Secours Wellness Arena is another one that was a game changer for Greenville, and now they need to upgrade and sort of expand their operations, and they've asked for the state to participate, and we have an opportunity to do that, which is fun. Things like the Mauldin Soccer Stadium, folks like the Meyer Center who have come and said, hey, we are doing something extraordinary here and we would like to expand and we're helping them find a new location and have some state participation in their facility because it really is just such a special asset for Greenville. So a lot of those things that are exciting to be be involved in and the opportunity to help is really fulfilling.

Katy Smith:
Well, thank you so much for joining us and thank you so much for your willingness to continue to serve.

Bruce Bannister:
Thank you, Katy. I appreciate the invitation.

Katy Smith:
Next up is Shauna Johnson. I'm pleased to be joined today by Shauna Johnson, who is running for South Carolina House District 24. Thanks so much for joining us, Shauna.

Shauna Johnson:
Good morning, Katy, and thank you so much for having me on your podcast today.

Katy Smith:
Thank you. Well, tell us about yourself and why you're running for office.

Shauna Johnson:
Well, as you previously mentioned, my name is Shauna Johnson, and I'm running as a Democrat for South Carolina State House District 24. A little bit about myself, I am originally from Miami, Florida. When I was a senior in high school, I began looking at colleges in the Southeast, and I fell in love with Clemson University. There I obtained my Bachelor's of Science degree in Nursing, and then I went on to the University of South Carolina, where I obtained my Doctorate in Nursing Practice and became a nurse practitioner.

Shauna Johnson:
I began my postgraduate career by teaching nursing courses at Trident Technical College in Charleston, South Carolina, earning the title of lead instructor. I then moved on to working with the pediatric population at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta and also practiced psychiatry in one of the largest county jails in the country. Currently, I work for the Department of Psychiatry for a large hospital system in the upstate, attending to both inpatient and outpatient pediatric populations. So basically, serving the underserved has been my life's passion. There are several reasons why I feel like I was called to run for office. I believe that it is imperative that medical providers have a seat at the table when legislating medical affairs. Laws have been created in South Carolina without input from the people that actually practice medicine. The situation has become dangerous and dire. Also this year, legislation was introduced to enshrine IVF into state law. There was not enough support to have this legislation passed. And as a woman who unfortunately suffered multiple miscarriages and then turned to IVF to start my family, I believe it's so important that my fellow citizens have access to this very right.

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

Shauna Johnson:
Well, leaning in on my concern regarding access to IVF, I would say that women's reproductive health care would be one of the biggest challenges in South Carolina at the moment. It's also been causing me great concern that the South Carolina state legislature refused to sign a bill that would provide free lunches to underprivileged children during the summer. Honestly, we shouldn't have to think twice about feeding hungry children. Also, an unconstitutional voucher scheme was passed where money is being taken from our woefully underfunded public education system and given to private schools. South Carolina public education is currently ranked as 42nd worst in the nation. It is imperative that this become our priority.

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

Shauna Johnson:
Well, after practicing psychiatry for many years, I feel it's pretty important to get back to working with colleagues across the aisle. After speaking with countless Republicans, a common ground nearly can be found in almost every single situation. And we, as humans, are generally more alike than we think. And it's past time that we leave partisan politics in the rearview mirror. Our country has become stagnant, as those with the most inflammatory opinions on both the left and the right sides are the ones with the microphones. So in my first 30 days after being sworn in, I would make it a priority to establish working relationships with both Democrats and Republicans.

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

Shauna Johnson:
And thank you again for this opportunity, Katy. We stand at a critical juncture in our state's history where the decisions made in Columbia will shape the lives of generations to come as they are already. We cannot afford to be complacent. We cannot afford to let our voices be drowned out by politics as usual. We need leaders who will bring common sense back to our statehouse, leaders who will fight tirelessly for the values that we do hold dear, and leaders who will work to address actual problems. If you feel that these concerns speak to you as well, I would encourage you to visit shaunajohnson.com to learn more about me, my platforms, and how to get involved. Together, we can bring about real change in South Carolina.

Katy Smith:
Thank you so much for joining us and thank you so much for your willingness to serve the people of the state.

Shauna Johnson:
Thank you, Katy. Have a great day.

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.