South-Carolina
Anderson County expands its Library Board. That worries library supporters
The Anderson County Council voted to add two at-large seats to the County Library Board Tuesday.
These seats, like County Council seats, will have two-year terms. The Library Board’s seven district-representative seats have four-year terms.
County Council Vice Chairman Brett Sanders said following Tuesday’s meeting that the expansion is meant to give newly elected County Council members a greater measure of control over who is appointed to the Library Board.
Each County Council member appoints a board member for their district. Because those appointments are for four years, Sanders said, the at-large positions will allow new members a greater say over who sits on the Library Board, and who can be replaced.
County Council can only appoint, not fire, Library Board members before their terms expire.
The expansion upsets many library supporters, who see it as an end-around way of censoring books by creating more positions able to vote on banning or suppressing materials.
“We’re not against adding two new members,” said Brenda Amick, a county resident and former Library Board member, at Tuesday’s council meeting. “We don’t want two new members added for the sole purpose of censoring books.”
Ernest Mackins, an Anderson resident and former assistant principal at Belton Honea-Path High School, said, “People are wanting to expand the board, but for not the right reason. More for political reason, and this is not what we’re about.”
Sanders said there is no political motive behind the expansion and that anyone can apply for the at-large seats.
Upstate libraries have become targets by mainly ultra-conservative groups, like Moms for Liberty, who say certain library books are inappropriate for children.
Books and materials decried by activists typically feature themes of sexuality and gender identity – this argument occurred at the Greenville County Library System in 2022 – or race identity.
Conservative advocates, such as Jeff Davis of the Greenville County Republican Party, have said that efforts to move certain materials from the children’s sections of the county’s libraries are not about LGBTQ themes, as the argument is often presented; rather it is about explicit materials children should not have easy access to.
But opponents of these activists – including nonprofit organizations like the League of Women Voters and the Freedom in Libraries Advocacy Group – criticize their agenda as political theater, and an attempt to politicize libraries and crush free speech.
On its website, the League of Women Voters’ Freedom to Read SC Coalition wrote, “140 different books have been targeted for removal in South Carolina. There is a disproportionate number of titles by or about people of color and the LGBTQ+ community.”
Since posting, the number of books identified by Freedom to Read SC is 142, as of this report.
Earlier this week, library supporters speaking before the Anderson and Pickens County councils – which voted in December to add three seats to its County Library Board – denounced accusations that their county libraries are filled with objectionable materials.
“The current mass censorship campaign targeting our public library also seeks to remove books catalogued for adults,” said Pickens County resident Reba Kruse at the Pickens County Council meeting Tuesday. “I reject calls to dictate what I read and what I choose for my family to read.”
Kruse also decried “cherry-picked excerpts intended to provoke outrage” that some activists have used, which she called a “guerilla theater tactic” employed during public comment sessions at council meetings.
Pickens resident Teresa Efant said that she opposes attempts at censorship by “a small minority of individuals” and called upon the County Council to let parents choose what their children should have access to at public libraries.
South-Carolina
ICYMI: SEC Opponents Released For South Carolina’s MBB Team
We’re less than two months into the offseason for South Carolina’s men’s basketball program, but the stage for next season is getting set with each passing week. Lamont Paris and the Gamecocks have every spot on their roster filled except for one scholarship spot, as 2024 three-star guard Trent Noah was released from his national letter of intent and wound up signing with the Kentucky Wildcats soon afterward. Now, the program knows exactly where they’ll play each of their 15 SEC opponents next season and which ones they’ll play twice, as the SEC slate was released on Monday afternoon.
Carolina has home-and-homes with Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi State. They’ll play Kentucky, LSU, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Vanderbilt on the road while taking on Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Ole Miss, Texas, and Texas A&M at home this coming winter. It’ll be the first season with Oklahoma and Texas included on the schedule, as the two programs officially join the league this Summer.
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South-Carolina
Where Does South Carolina’s Football Team Rank As Far As Returning Production Goes?
We’re less than four months away from South Carolina’s football team kicking off the 2024 season in Columbia, which means we’re officially in talking season, where every team feels optimistic about their chances to be successful this coming Fall for differing reasons. Last season, the Gamecocks went into the season confident because they had Spencer Rattler at quarterback, but they were concerned because of all the new faces around him. The latter played out in an unfriendly way for Shane Beamer and his staff last year.
However, that won’t quite be the case this time around, as ESPN Analytics Guru Bill Connelly has South Carolina tied for 48th in his latest returning production chart he released on Monday afternoon, with the Gamecocks returning 65 percent of their production from a season ago. The formula does include portal commits. Carolina is tied for 36th in the Power 4 and ranks 7th in the SEC in returning production.
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South-Carolina
SC’s primary is in less than a month, here are the candidates and what to know about voting
In less than a month, South Carolina voters will cast ballots for congressional, state, and county seats in the June 11 primary.
South Carolina is an open primary state, meaning registered voters can choose to vote in either the Democratic or Republican primaries but cannot vote in both. The deadline to register to vote in the primary passed on May 12, but you can still register to vote in the Nov. 5 general election. To register to vote, South Carolina residents can visit the South Carolina Election Commission’s website to register online.
Here’s what to know about the primary.
Who’s on the ballot?
Below is a list of contested primary races only. Many candidates will then face a candidate from an opposing party candidate in the November election.
U.S. House of Representatives District 3
U.S. Representative Jeff Duncan, a Republican representing District 3 which encompasses Greenville and Anderson, announced in January that he would not seek re-election after serving seven terms.
Republicans Sheri Biggs, Kevin Bishop, Mark Burns, Franky Franco, Phil Healy, Stewart O. Jones, and Elspeth Snow Murday will compete to be the Republican nominee on the ballot. Bryon L. Best and Frances Guldner are the Democratic candidates.
U.S. House of Representatives District 4
Incumbent William Timmons, Republican
Adam Morgan, Republican
State Senate, District 6
Ben Carper, Republican
Jason Elliott, Republican
Dan Nickles, Republican
State Senate District 7
Incumbent Karl Allen, Democrat
Michelle Goodwin Calwile, Democrat
State Senate District 11
Sevi Alvarez, Democrat
Angela L. Geter, Democrat
State Senate District 12
Hope Blackley, Republican
Lee Bright, Republican
Skip Davenport, Republican
Roger Allen Nutt, Republican
State House of Representatives, District 5
Incumbent Neal Collins, Republican
Brandy Tarleton, Republican
State House of Representatives, District 6
Incumbent April Cromer, Republican
Kyle White, Republican
State House of Representatives, District 7
Incumbent Jay West, Republican
Lee Gilreath, Republican
State House of Representatives District 8
Incumbent Don Chapman, Republican
Sherry Hodges, Republican
State House of Representatives District 9
Rick Bradshaw, Republican
James Galyean, Republican
Blake Sanders, Republican
State House of Representatives District 10
Incumbent Thomas Beach, Republican
Pam Anthony, Republican
State House of Representatives District 17
Incumbent Mike Burns, Republican
Tom Bates, Republican
State House of Representatives District 18
Incumbent Alan Morgan, Republican
Tramaine Booker, Republican
State House of Representatives District 19
Incumbent Patrick Haddon, Republican
Nate Marcionette, Republican
State House of Representatives District 20
Sarah Curran, Republican
Stephen Frank, Republican
State House of Representatives District 22
Stan Tzouvelekas, Republican
Paul Wickensimer, Republican
State House of Representatives District 24
Incumbent Bruce Bannister, Republican
Bill Coleman, Republican
State House of Representatives District 25
Incumbent Wendell Jones, Democrat
Bruce Wilson, Democrat
State House of Representatives District 28
Chris Huff, Republican
Allen Kellett, Republican
Troy Prosser, Republican
Daniel Rumfelt, Republican
Kerri Smith, Republican
State House of Representatives District 33
Incumbent Travis A. Moore, Republican
Bill DeVore, Republican
State House of Representatives District 34
Sarita Edgerton, Republican
JoAnne L. LaBounty, Republican
Henry Ross, Republican
State House of Representatives District 35
Incumbent Bill Chumley, Republican
Kevin Dunn, Republican
State House of Representatives, District 36
Incumbent Rob Harris, Republican
Adam Crisp, Republican
State House of Representatives District 38
Incumbent Josiah Magnuson, Republican
Jason Shamis, Republican
Solicitor Circuit 10
Michah Black, Republican
Beth Blundy, Republican
Danny Fulmer, Republican
Greenville County Sherriff
Incumbent Hobart Lewis, Republican
Mike Fortner, Republican
Spartanburg County Sherriff
Incumbent Chuck Wright, Republican
Nick Duncan, Republican
Greenville County Clerk of Court
Mary Garrett, Republican
Jay Gresham, Republican
Greenville County Coroner
Dale Arterburn, Republican
Mike Ellis, Republican
Anderson County Coroner
James Hayes, Republican
Greg L. Shore, Republican
Spartanburg County Council District 1
Incumbent Mo Abusaft, Democrat
Ricky Fields Jr, Democrat
Mike Fowler, Democrat
Spartanburg County Council District 3
Incumbent David Britt, Republican
Bryan Alverson, Republican
Spartanburg County Council District 4
Incumbent Justin McCorkle, Republican
Grant DeShields, Republican
Frank Tiller, Republican
Anderson County Council District 4
Incumbent Brett Sanders, Republican
Dave Shalaby, Republican
Anderson County Council District 5
Tommy Dunn, Republican
Robert McCurry, Republican
Greenville County District 18
Incumbent Michael Barnes, Republican
Kelly Long, Republican
Greenville County Council District 20
Incumbent Steve Shaw, Republican
Ken Matesevac, Republican
Alex Reynolds, Republican
Greenville County Council District 21
Incumbent Chris Harrison, Republican
Curt McGahhey, Republican
Greenville County Council District 22
Frank Farmer, Republican
Ethan Jedziniak, Republican
Jay Rogers, Republican
Nia Thomas, Republican
Greenville County Council District 24
Incumbent Liz Seman, Republican
John Langville, Constitution Party
Greenville County Council District 25
Incumbent Ennis Fant, Democrat
Patrick Prince, Democrat
Derrick Quarles, Democrat
Lisa Sweeney, Democrat
Greenville County District 27
Incumbent Butch Kirven, Republican
Garey Collins, Republican
How do I know what district I’m in?
You can find out what district you live in on South Carolina’s Statehouse website.
Important dates to know for the primary
May 28: Early voting for primaries begins. Polls are open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
May 31: Deadline for voters to apply for an absentee ballot for primaries.
June 7: Deadline to vote early in person for primaries.
June 11: Statewide primaries
What do I need to bring to the polls?
To vote in South Carolina, you need to bring your photo identification, which could be your South Carolina driver’s license, SC Department of Motor Vehicles ID Card, SC Voter Registration Card with Photo, a federal military ID or a U.S. passport.
How do I find my polling location?
You can find your polling location by visiting SC Votes here.
Savannah Moss covers Greenville County politics and growth/development. Reach her at smoss@gannett.com or follow her on X @Savmoss.
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