Longtime incumbent Erickson does not attend
By Mike McCombs
The Island News
Editor’s Note: With the mayoral candidates taking part in the Beaufort Regional Chamber of Commerce’s candidates forum on Monday, Oct. 21, which was covered, as well, by The Island News, and York Glover running unopposed for the Beaufort County Council District 3 seat, we decided to focus on Henrickson’s first candidate forum appearance.
The Old Commons Neighborhood Association (OCNA) held its Ice Cream Social along with “Meet The Candidates Night” for City of Beaufort Mayor, County Council District 3, and S.C. House District 124 candidates at the Wesley United Methodist Church Education Building on Thursday, Oct. 17.
Melinda Henrickson, the Democrat running for the South Carolina House District 124 seat held by incumbent Shannon Erickson, made her first candidate forum appearance prior to the Nov. 5 general election.
Erickson could not attend because of a prior commitment.
A U.S. Marine spouse, mother of three and former owner of a local small business, Henrickson has a degree in Neuroscience and a graduate degree in Organizational Performance. She has been employed by three Fortune 500 companies, as well as the Department of Defense.
Henrickson decided to run for office when 97 books were removed from Beaufort County School District shelves two years ago.
Along with other moms and parents, she started a nonprofit organization called Families Against Book Bans, which now boasts more than 500 members. That led to advocating at the State House.
“I spent probably 50 days in Columbia last year, just as a parent, driving up there, meeting with legislators, meeting with, partnering with other coalitions. And working very hard to end the censorship that was happening,” she said. “We did not win that battle. And we’re seeing that those book bans being implemented across the state right now. So I decided to run because I saw that my own legislator was not listening to the community and what the community wanted.
“And it was never about the books. It was never about the books. It was about marginalizing minority groups and silencing black and brown authors and people in the LGBTQ community. … I decided to run because nobody was going to run against the incumbent.”
Henrickson said her goals are to expand freedom for everybody and create more opportunity for all citizens. She said that includes making housing more affordable, making childcare more affordable, and also healthcare more affordable (She favors Medicaid expansion). And also defending and strengthening the public school system and supporting teachers.
“Last February, we had 1,600 vacancies of teachers across the state. And that is the highest number the state has ever seen,” she said. “And it’s because of poor legislation that’s happening at the state house. And it’s impacting our teachers and they don’t, they’re leaving the profession and they’re not coming here.”
Henrickson wants to invest in infrastructure and renewable, clean energy to accommodate growth the district experiencing. And she wants to restore reproductive freedom for women.
“The government has absolutely no place in making private healthcare decisions for any of us,” she said. “Families deserve to be able to grow their families how they deem fit. And it’s not just affecting women. We are seeing, we have 16 counties across the state without OBGYNs. We’re having fewer medical students applied to our medical schools. We’re having fewer medical residents applied for residencies in South Carolina. It is affecting every medical specialty across the state.”
Henrickson was asked to cite what poor legislation her opponent had sponsored in the State House, and she responded with the private school voucher bill, the fetal heartbeat bill, the bill allowing the purchase of guns by 18-year-olds and allowing them to carry them without any training.
“She also co-sponsored the gender-affirming care ban, which is life-saving care for trans youth,” Henrickson said. “Trans youth have an astronomically high rate of suicide ideation. And taking away that care, we will see children suffer for that.”
Henrickson said she wants to forge a district where everyone belongs and offer a new generation of leadership in a district that has seen Erickson in office for 18 years.
“It’s been a long, long time.”
Mike McCombs is the Editor of The Island News and can be reached at TheIslandNews@gmail.com.
