From staff reports
A bipartisan coalition of law enforcement officials and solicitors from across the state endorsed Gov. Henry McMaster for reelection.
Among the 32 sheriffs and 10 solicitors are Beaufort County Sheriff P.J. Tanner and 14th Circuit Solicitor Duffie Stone.
“The governor called two weeks ago and asked if I would lend my name to the law enforcement supporting him,” Stone told The Island News. “It was not a difficult decision for me. We’ve been working together at least since 2006 when he was the attorney general. When I first became the solicitor, he was the attorney general.”
This week, the governor announced his public safety priorities for the upcoming legislative session. Those priorities include:
- Closing the revolving door for violent criminals.
- Keeping illegal guns away from criminals and juveniles.
- Reforming the magistrate process by raising qualifications, and making the process transparent and accountable.
Since taking office, the governor has made supporting law enforcement and public safety a focus. As governor, McMaster initiated a compensation analysis of all law enforcement positions at all state agencies. Based on the study’s recommendations, the latest budget provides $40 million in new dollars for law enforcement recruitment and retention pay raises, salary adjustments and additional benefits because these public servants deserve it.
The governor called for, and the General Assembly appropriated, $20 million to fund a body camera and protective vest grant program at the Department of Public Safety for local and county law enforcement agencies.
“In the last two years he helped solicitors across the state get the technology that they need, which is long overdue,” Stone explained. “We have most of that technology here in the 14th Circuit, but they don’t in most solicitor’s offices around the state. That was a big part of his budget two years in a row. We finally got the money from the General Assembly last year. He’s been a great help.”
As violence in schools took the lives of students across the country, McMaster acted to protect communities and schools. Under his leadership, South Carolina is putting student resource officers (SRO) in every school. The governor used his 2018 State of the State address to call for an SRO in every school. Since then, the number of schools with an SRO has more than doubled from 406 to 982 of the state’s 1,283 schools.
“I am overwhelmed to have the support of the men and women in uniform who sacrifice each and every day as they protect communities across South Carolina,” McMaster said. “We owe them a debt of gratitude we can never truly repay. But what we can do is make sure they have what they need to do their jobs, and that is what I will always do as governor.”
He also established a program in which he enlisted volunteer attorneys to prosecute domestic abusers, to help tackle the CDV backlog. The state’s conviction rate for domestic violence has risen from 38% to 68% with McMaster as governor. As attorney general, he also prosecuted the largest white-collar securities fraud case – Carolina Investors/HomeGold – in state history, securing six indictments and six convictions.
“(McMaster has) been a great supporter of the solicitors,” said Stone. “He’s been a great supporter of public safety. I wholeheartedly endorse him continuing on as governor.”
