SC Governor candidate Tom Ervin discusses stance on state issues

SOUTH CAROLINA–Tom Ervin, who is running as an Independent candidate for SC governor, recently talked with The Bryan Crabtree Show to discuss his stance on various state issues. Ervin is a Republican, but is running as an Independent in hopes of surpassing Governor Haley.

On the show, Ervin called Governor Haley out on a few state issues, one of which being the Common Core initiative that she adopted for South Carolina schools. Ervin said, “It’s an example of Haley’s hypocrisy because she came out saying that she was opposed to Common Core but she’s the one that brought it to South Carolina.”

Common Core standards are the standards by which all high school students learn. The goal is for all students to graduate with the same skills, knowledge, and understanding needed to go on to college. Ervin, however, believes that the local school boards should be allowed to set their own standards and thinks it was wrong that parents were not allowed to give any input in the decision-making process.

When asked about Ervin’s plans for a real world solution in education, he shared his aim to partner with nonprofits in order to get help with education, which he says won’t cost SC taxpayers a dime. He mentions United Way more than once, which is a nonprofit that has a program called Success by Six which focuses on helping children get books to read at home.

Sheheen, the Democratic candidate for governor, wants to make Pre-Kindergarten classes accessible for all children, but Ervin is concerned with the cost associated with this. He believes that it would be more ideal to at least offer Pre-Kindergarten availability to all at-risk children.

A second issue that Ervin called Governor Haley out on was her lack of leadership authority. He said, “Governor Haley has failed to lead every agency that she has touched.”

This is the reason that he gives for why attempts on abolishing the state revenue tax have failed. Because the state of South Carolina needs reliable leadership.

This brings us to the next topic discussed, which is one of the most controversial–tax reform. South Carolina has a 7% income tax and often has to give out tax incentives in order to get big businesses to come here. To say that we need reform is an understatement.

Ervin’s mission is to abolish the individual state income tax. He says that this will help our competitiveness as a state, as surrounding states such as Florida do not have a state income tax. Not only that, but it will help to grow our economy as more money will be put back into state citizens’ pockets.

Ervin talks about a few strong opinions on other viewpoints, such as the importance of faith in society. He says that families are falling apart and that we all need to get back to church and take our children to Sunday School in order to get back to what’s important.

He stresses the necessity of reading to our children and preparing them for school so that they can grow and thrive. One of his goals with United Way is to help at-risk children to get books that they cannot otherwise afford in order to be able to read and learn.

Tom Ervin will be running in the November election as an Independent candidate. When asked if he was concerned that having two Republican candidates would split the vote, Ervin said he wasn’t worried and that he believes the people just need a strong Independent voice and that’s what he represents.

To listen to the audio from Ervin’s interview, click here.

The Bryan Crabtree Show airs from 8-10 a.m. on WQSC 1340 and 950 AM. You can visit the show’s website by clicking here. You can also catch Rocky D on the same airwaves from 3-6 p.m.