Yet it’s not realistic, either, for the state to pay for infrastructure with current dollars, Young told Sunrise Rotary members Thursday. He is unopposed in the November general election for S.C. House District 81.

While he won’t officially start work in the legislature until December, “I’ve been trying to get a head start on some of the issues,” Young said. “I’ve been meeting with people around the community and districts and also met with some key agency heads and contact persons on each staff on constituency issues.”

His district includes not only much of Aiken but also much of Warrenville, Graniteville and Vaucluse. The water system in that area is a major concern.

“The infrastructure is 100 years old and is crumbling,” Young said. “DHEC has tested it, and the safety is fine, but the water’s appearance is bad. But we’ll have to find the money to pay for that.”

Regarding other legislative matters:

4 Young expects lawmakers to revisit education finance reform, which in part has increased the tax burden on business property.

4 More nursing programs and expansions are needed to deal with shortages in that profession. Immigration issues are also hindering the arrival of trained nurses from overseas, Young said.

4 The public schools also face teacher shortages “and we’re going to have to pay teachers more and provide them with incentives,” he said. “How we pay for them will be matter of priorities.”

By ROB NOVIT
The Aiken Standard
September 26, 2008

Thank you to everyone who went to the polls to vote this past Tuesday in the Republican Primary Runoff. I am humbled and appreciative for your vote of confidence and I pledge to be a representative in whom you can be proud.

Thank you to all of my friends, volunteers, and neighbors who worked so hard for this victory. Our victory on Tuesday was the result of three things: A team effort, a good plan, and a lot of prayers. Everyone worked so hard in the face of adversity and words cannot adequately express how grateful that my family and I are for your efforts.

Thank you to the citizens of District 81 who took such an interest in this race and were willing to listen and to discuss issues along the campaign trail for the last four and half months. Along the campaign trail, I have been rewarded by seeing old friends and acquaintances and meeting new people. Your input has taught me a lot about the people and the needs of Aiken County.

Thank you to Representative Skipper Perry for his service and his support. Mr. Perry has served Aiken County diligently for almost a decade at the State House. We are a better community because of his leadership, his dedicated public service, and his commitment to the needs of all of our citizens.

Thank you to my family and my parents for your guidance and support. Most of all, thank you to my wonderful wife Heather and my two little girls Hailey and Ashley for all of your words of encouragement, patience, and strength.

This campaign has been about service and progress for the people of District 81 and Aiken County. Whether you supported me or not, I want to know what you think about the issues facing our community and our state. Please do not hesitate to let me know your concerns or needs. You can reach me on my cell phone at 215-3631 or by email at tom@youngforhouse.com.

Thank you again for all of your prayers and support which sustained my family and me during this campaign and carried us to victory on Tuesday.

Sincerely,

Tom

With 53 percent of the vote, Tom Young beat out opponent Scott Singer as the next representative for S.C. House District 81.

Tuesday’s unofficial results show the victor pulled in 53 percent of the vote, or 3,151 of the 5,994 total votes. Singer garnered 47 percent, or 2,843 votes. The difference between the two men stood at 308 votes. Young will replace current Rep. Skipper Perry when he retires as there is no Democratic opposition in the race.

There are nine provisional ballots left to count, but they are not expected to alter the outcome of the election.

The candidates and their supporters gathered in Aiken County Council chambers Tuesday night to wait for the vote tallies. The final result printouts were handed to the candidates first.

“We won,” Young said simply after giving the pages a cursory glance.

The room erupted with joyous shouts as Young supporters threw their arms in the air and jumped around. Young’s wife, Heather, wiped away tears after giving her husband a tight hug.

Meanwhile, Singer sat down with his supporters in a private meeting where media were not present.

“We’re so glad it’s over,” Young said. “I am so thankful to the people who supported me and said prayers for me. We won this race because of three things - a team effort, a good plan and a lot of prayers. I just can’t say enough about the people who supported me and prayed for me.”

When asked what tomorrow will bring, Young said he is going on vacation with his family.

As for the months to come, he said, “We’re going to hit the ground running, ready to do a lot of good things in January.”

Singer remained gracious about his defeat in what he called a “spirited election.”

“I did very well in the areas I currently represent (on County Council). This is a no lose situation for me (as I have two years left on Council),” he said. “I wish him the best. It is time to come together and work toward the betterment of this community.”

Retiring representative Perry said Young’s victory felt “just like Christmas.”

“I thought that all along (that he was the right man for the job),” Perry said. “He’ll do a great job up there.”

Stuart Bedenbaugh, executive director of Aiken County Registration and Elections, said the voter turnout was “excellent.”

He had predicted a turnout of 20 to 25 percent. Tuesday’s turnout was 28 percent.

“We surpassed what we saw in the S.C. House District 81 race two weeks ago, if memory serves,” he said. “It is good considering it was a hot day and vacation time.”

The Primary was a great start for moving Aiken and our state forward, but there’s still work left to be done. Today, June 24th is the Republican Primary Runoff for House District 81. I want to urge you to participate in the election, and I would be honored to have your support. Remember, you didn’t have to vote on June 10th to vote in the Runoff.

Remind your friends and family of this important election and push for them to get out and vote this Election Day. We can get the job done if we all work together.

Thank you for your support in the Republican Primary, and I would greatly appreciate your vote today in the Republican Runoff.

Sincerely,

Tom

“The South Carolina Chamber of Commerce, the state’s largest broad-based business organization, is pleased to announce our endorsement of Tom Young for House District 81, Aiken County,” said Hunter Howard, Chairman and CEO of the SC Chamber said in the letter. “We thank you for your commitment to representing the people of South Carolina who each need good jobs, a competitive state economy, and a pro-prosperity working environment to ultimately raise our citizens’ income. The South Carolina Chamber is proud to support you.”

“I am honored to have the support of the South Carolina Chamber. We have a shared dedication to building our economy through pro-business policies and promoting job growth in our state and region. My platform – my Plan for Palmetto Progress – is modeled after Chamber initiatives of job growth, lowering the tax burden, strengthening our schools, and cutting wasteful spending in state government. I look forward to working with the Chamber when representing the constituents of Aiken County if elected,” said Young.

Tom Young won the popular support of House District 81 in a four-way Republican Primary on June 10th with almost 47% of the votes cast. He will be participating in the Republican Runoff on June 24th.

Tuesday’s election has shown the whole state that Aiken is ready for real solutions to the problems facing our state. The people of Aiken have said they want to stop the gravy train that’s wasting our tax dollars and ballooning our state spending. You’ve said you want special interests out of the pockets of Columbia politicians and that our schools aren’t for sale. You’ve said Aiken wants a strong voice for our families, economic growth, and further immigration reform. I’m telling you today that I won’t stop until these things get heard in Columbia, and we’ll get the job done for Aiken and our state.

We’ve gotten through the marathon and I won’t slow down until we’ve crossed the finish line. We were able to come in first in Tuesday’s election with almost 47% of the popular vote, and now we’re in the runoff. With your help, we can get that victory for the people of Aiken on June 24th. I would greatly appreciate your continued support and your vote in the Republican Runoff for District 81.

Thanks again for your help and support!

Sincerely,

Tom

After a hotly contested campaign, Singer received 2,223 votes or 38.2 percent while Young received 2,728 votes or 46.9 percent of the vote. The difference between the two candidates stood at just 505 votes in the unofficial final tally released Tuesday. The runoff election will decide who will replace Rep. Skipper Perry after he retires as there is no Democratic opposition in the race. Also running for the District 81 seat, Brad Boni received 13 percent of the vote while John Kelly pulled in 1.75 percent.

Supporters for every candidate huddled in Aiken County Council chambers Tuesday to record results as they were announced.

Young said as soon as the final results were announced, he congratulated Singer on being the candidate he will face in the runoff.

“We were planning on a runoff,” Young said. “We are appreciative of our supporters.”
Young added he felt he had run a strong campaign despite the “negative attacks” that have surfaced in the past six weeks. Now is not the time to relax, he said, but to continue and strengthen his campaign.

Singer also said he was going to “keep on doing what I’ve been doing.”
“I’ve run an honest, straightforward, issue-based campaign. Now, we can get rid of the sideshow and concentrate on the qualifications, vision and experience of the candidates,” he said.

Though he is now out of the election, Boni said he could not comment Tuesday night on whether he will throw his support behind either remaining candidate. He did say, however, he was meeting with both Singer and Young today. Kelly could not be reached for comment.
Retiring Rep. Perry said he was proud of the hard work Young had put into his campaign.

“I think he ran a good race. I’m looking forward to the runoff. I thought I was the hardest working candidate until I ran into Tom,” he said.

The Aiken Standard
By Haley Hughes
June 11, 2008

A most important election for many people in Aiken County will take place on Tuesday. On that day the Republican primary for District 81 of the S.C. House of Representatives will decide the person who will represent greater Aiken in the State House.

In what has been a heated campaign, four candidates are vying for the favor of voters in the seat currently occupied by Rep. Skipper Perry. Unlike many elected position in which opposition is hard to find, House seat 81 has gained the attention of four good men. Any of the four would do a creditable job, and all four have qualifications that endear them to some voters.

All of them have spent their whole lives or considerable portion of them living in Aiken, learning about the needs within our community.

Brad Boni went through the public schools of Aiken County and returned here following law school to establish a career and life for his family.

John Kelly has worked at Savannah River Site and in the business world of Aiken County for a number of years. He serves as a volunteer firefighter.

Scott Singer has devoted much of his adult life to serving his community and has been an able member of Aiken County Council.

Tom Young Jr. grew up in Aiken and also returned to his hometown to practice law and raise his family.

All four promise to take some of the core values near and dear to Republicans to Columbia – limiting taxes and spending, investing in economic development and ending pork barrel spending.

Education is the area on which there is the greatest difference, and that is the one area that is key to this election. Education is the key to the future of our state and must be at the top of every legislator’s agenda. One candidate stands above the others in his adamant pursuit of a better education system for all South Carolina children – Tom Young Jr. While the other candidates either favor voucher legislation or hold vouchers as a possibility for state funding, only Mr. Young vociferously opposes vouchers and public money going to provide private school or home school education.

Mr. Young believes that all South Carolina children deserve a quality education. The other candidates align themselves with Gov. Sanford, who he has shown himself to be ineffective in working toward consensus with the Legislature and his efforts to improve public education in South Carolina have been almost non-existent.

Add to Mr. Young’s position on education his platform to stress economic development and job creation, and we have the person who will do well in representing the citizens of Aiken and District 81.

Published in the Aiken Standard
Editorial Board
6/10/08

Negative ads are as much a part of the political scene as kissing babies, sound bites and shaking hands. They prey on fear, innuendo, distortions and sometimes outright lies. They should be dismissed out of hand.

Two local campaigns are receiving negative advertising from a group that calls itself South Carolinians for Responsible Government. This organization is anything but responsible as it spews misleading information about candidates it wants to be absent from the State House.

Mailings were sent out to residents in House Districts 81 and 83 taking to task one of the leading candidates for the Aiken seat and the seated representative in the North Augusta district.

SCRG is a pro-voucher organization that wants to stack the Legislature with others of a like mind. It targets those who have a record of being in favor of public money going to public schools only. And rather than merely supporting candidates it likes, SCRG uses scurrilous negative advertising in an effort to scuttle the campaigns of those it is against.

Hopefully voters in Aiken County are savvy enough not to be swayed by these attacks.

Vote for someone because of what he or she stands for, not because a group with no ties to our county sends misinformation.