Hayes, Climer talk term limits, roads, ethics in S.C. Senate debate

Longtime incumbent S.C. Sen. Wes Hayes and challenger Wes Climer talked roads, term limits, ethics reform and more in a Thursday night debate at Winthrop University.

The GOP primary in state Senate District 15 pits Hayes, 63 and a 32-year incumbent, against Climer, 33, who was born two years before Hayes was first elected to the Legislature.

Scott Huffmon, a Winthrop University political science professor moderated the debate, jointly sponsored by the York County GOP and the Clover-Lake Wylie Republican Women.

Several hundred people attended the debate at Winthrop.

The winner of the June 14 Republican primary won’t face any opposition in the general election, so primary voters will choose the area’s next senator.

Climer spent much of the 90-minute debate criticizing what he called a “broken” system of government in South Carolina and longtime elected officials who he said have grown too comfortable in their roles to enact meaningful change.

“We don’t have to live this way,” said Climer, a Wells Fargo financial adviser. “We don’t have to live where we are one of the states that says, ‘Thank God for Mississippi.’”

Climer has called for term limits on elected officials, saying 15 other states have them. He also has lobbied for stronger ethics reform, saying current reform measures don’t go far enough in requiring elected officials to disclose assets, liabilities and membership on boards and commissions.

He said South Carolina needs to change a government system that he called “antiquated.”

“What happens when you stay for a long time is, you become part of the system, as opposed to someone who can look at the system and see its flaws,” Climer said.

Hayes, a Rock Hill attorney who has served in the Senate since 1991 and in the House for seven years before that, said he would support “a reasonable term limit” in the House and Senate, a statement that caused a ripple of laughter in the audience.

Hayes defended his record of service, saying his longevity is an advantage. “The way you get people to vote with you is by earning their trust and their confidence, and that takes time,” Hayes said.

He said he has worked to improve schools, supporting a Read to Succeed measure that will require all children to read at grade level by third grade.

Hayes also said he has been a longtime leader in enacting ethics reform in the House and Senate, including disclosure requirements for all sources of income, and independent ethics oversight for members of the House and Senate.

“This is a fight I believe in, and I’m very proud of it,” Hayes said.

Climer charged that statewide road improvements are badly needed, but he said the state Department of Transportation “is so broken that over the last five years, its budget increased 47 percent, and the number of roads in poor condition has doubled.”

He also charged that road priorities are up to the wishes of a select few leaders and called for a need to “break the system that has for years held back meaningful change.”

Hayes said he has supported a $2.2 billion plan for road improvements, including $200 million from recurring fees plus bond money.

Hayes said he also has supported a state transportation restructuring that would allow the governor to appoint the DOT board, and the board will chose the head of the agency.

“We’ve got a big problem facing us in South Carolina,” Hayes said about roads, “but the General Assembly is putting its money where its mouth is and I think you are going to see some changes.”

This story was originally published May 19, 2016 at 9:50 PM with the headline "Hayes, Climer talk term limits, roads, ethics in S.C. Senate debate."