SENIORS

It is often said that the truest measure of a society is how it cares for its elderly. So perhaps the most important responsibility of the Lieutenant Governor’s office is its authority over the state’s Office on Aging.

As Lieutenant Governor, Ashley will take this responsibility seriously.

Ashley will be an advocate for South Carolina's seniors. As President of the Senate, Ashley will fight to ensure that our leaders are making tough decisions and cutting real waste, while protecting the health and wellness programs on which many of our elderly have come to depend.

He will work to protect seniors from fraud and identity theft, and he will work to crack down on predatory lenders who seek to profit on our unsuspecting seniors with hidden fees and astronomical interest rates. 

 

JOBS

We need to put South Carolina back to work again. Our state has a wealth of assets to offer employers – so it’s inexcusable that our leaders have stuck us with one of the highest unemployment rates in the country.

Growing up, Ashley worked in his family’s third-generation furniture store. So he understands firsthand that small businesses are the key to our state’s economy. Attracting companies like Boeing and BMW has been helpful to our state, but Ashley realizes that we can create even more jobs by helping small businesses grow and thrive.

Ashley will work to get rid of red tape and government bureaucracy that stifles small business growth. He will reach across party lines to make sure our state is one of the best places in the country to start a small business. One way to do this is to give tax incentives to businesses who create jobs. We must also make sure that companies that receive tax incentives create the jobs they promised or they will be required to repay the incentives they received from our state.

Ashley will also team up with the business people and entrepreneurs in our state to craft the best policies while also ending the cycle of political patronage that has gone too far. For example, the South Carolina Port is an important asset to the state and is an important agent for jobs across our state. Ashley wants to cut out the politics and gamesmanship, put the best business minds to work for the Port Authority, and not waste any more time in returning the Port to its spot as one of the leading container ports in the country.

 

HEALTHY LIVES

Like many, Ashley has seen the tremendous emotional and financial impact of caring for a loved one with a debilitating disease.

For too long, South Carolina has ranked unacceptably high in rates of heart disease, diabetes, strokes, and high blood pressure. While this has a very tangible economic impact on the state in the form of higher health care costs and lost productivity, it has an even bigger cost in terms of quality-of-life and time with our family.

Ashley will fight to reduce the disastrous impacts these diseases have on us by working with our hospitals, doctors, non-profits, and school districts to promote healthier lifestyles. Additionally, he will focus on expanding preventative health care options in rural communities. He’ll organize private sector coalitions to support wellbeing in our communities – because he knows there’s no one-size-fits-all solution.

 

EDUCATION

South Carolina’s future depends on the investment we make in our children today.

As a father of two, Ashley sees firsthand the importance of a good education and parents’ roles in teaching their children. As Lieutenant Governor he will not wait for others to tackle these issues which have plagued our state for too long.

Ashley will work to take the politics out of the classroom and get our leaders focused on what matters most – quality schools run by dedicated teachers with the resources they need to prepare our kids to compete in the 21st century. Ashley won't look for answers on the Statehouse grounds when it come to education. Instead, he will travel the state to meet with educators, talk with parents, and visit classrooms.

We have a responsibility – from improving early childhood education to lowering the barriers to higher education. Our action and innovation today will make a better tomorrow for our children and for our state. Ashley believes that having the best technical education system, along with top public colleges and universities, is critical to our future job development – because 21st-century jobs need a 21st-century education.

 

NEW ENERGY

The 19th century saw an Industrial Revolution, and the 20th brought an Information Revolution. The 21st Century’s great Revolution will be New Energy, and the country that best competes on this field will best earn the rewards: jobs and a better quality of life.

South Carolina is already a national leader in nuclear energy. Ashley wants to see us also become a national leader in new energy technology. An energy policy expert, Ashley knows that renewable energy will create the jobs of the future and will decrease our dependence on foreign oil. And Ashley believes that South Carolina needs to be prepared to be a national and international leader in manufacturing and developing new energy technology.

Other states are competing with South Carolina toward this same goal, so it is important that we act now to make this a priority in our state, to invest in our research universities to train workers for this new industry, and to attract companies who can create these new jobs of the future.