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Pitts joins race for lieutenant governor |
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Thursday, 14 May 2009 |
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Staff Report
LEXINGTON – State Rep. Ted Pitts, R-Lexington, announced Wednesday that he will run for lieutenant governor in 2010. Pitts made his announcement live online at UStream.com.
Pitts has served in the S.C. House of Representatives for seven years. During his tenure, Pitts has worked on what he calls "common-sense changes," including property tax relief for homeowners; a law against so-called jury shopping; and Jessica’s Law, which enforces stricter penalties against people convicted of child molestation and stringent monitoring of them if they are paroled.
"I’m proud of these accomplishments and many others, but South Carolina’s work is far from done to get us where we need to be," Pitts said in his announcement.
If elected, Pitts said he will focus on helping small businesses, the "backbone of our state’s economy."
"We need to now find a way to deliver property tax relief to them and all non-owner-occupied real estate. Businesses across the state are being pushed to the brink with a property tax burden that continues to increase and will literally put them out of business if the system does not change," he said.
He also pledged to:
• Continue efforts to restructure government to make it more efficient and accountable.
• Push to increase reserve requirements and implement spending caps so the state government does not spend all the money it brings in.
Pitts was elected to the House in November 2002. He served on the Medical, Military and Municipal Affairs Committee in his freshman term. Upon re-election in 2004, Pitts served on the Education and Public Works Committee, and in the 2006-07 session he served as the committee’s Transportation Subcommittee chairman.
In the private sector, Pitts has worked as a commercial real estate broker with Grubb & Ellis Wilson Kibler in Columbia since 1999.
Pitt’s community involvement includes service as a captain in the S.C. National Guard, as well as service on various boards and commissions. Pitts graduated from Presbyterian College in 1994 and is a 1990 graduate of Lexington High School. He and his wife, Christina, have two children.
Current Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer has said he will probably run for governor in 2010. Columbia attorney Bill Connor announced in March that he would run for lieutenant governor.
Published May 14, 2009
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