SC Senate: William Timmons Makes It Official

SHOULD YOU CARE?

With each new (yet eerily familiar) pulling of wool over the eyes of easily duped Palmetto State voters, we become less convinced in the efficacy of democracy.

It’s clearly been a failed experiment in South Carolina … where politicians live off the land, special interests pat them on the back (while getting their cut) and the mainstream media largely turns a blind eye to the sick charade.

Accountability?  L.O.L.

Maybe we’re part of the problem, too … because every election cycle, we find ourselves writing about state legislative races as if they actually matter.  As if there is any real difference between the competing candidates.  As if the winners of these races are going to “change Columbia” and somehow improve the lot of South Carolina citizens by enacting real reforms to state government.

Yeah …

Anyway, all of this is a not-so-uplifting way of introducing our readers to the formal announcement of deputy solicitor William Timmons of Greenville, S.C. as a candidate for the South Carolina Senate.

“I have decided to run for the South Carolina State Senate,” Timmons wrote in a message to friends and supporters. “I will publicly announce my candidacy in early December.  I aspire to serve this state and the community and promise to do everything I can do to break down the myriad barriers preventing families in South Carolina from reaching their full potential.”

Timmons claims he has “grown frustrated by our state government’s inability to promote more economic development” and that he has “found there is growing frustration with the South Carolina Senate.”

Specifically, he said state lawmakers “started the year planning to tackle the budget, ethics and roads” yet they “failed to accomplish any of those tasks and even required extra time just to finish the budget.”

“The State Senate is broken,” he concluded.

We’re not going to argue that, but it’s hard not to interpret Timmons’ comments as tacit support for a gasoline tax hike that failed to make it out of the Senate thanks to a filibuster by S.C. Senator Tom Davis.

Seriously: Does Timmons really believe that South Carolina needs to raise taxes when its state budget has been growing by roughly $1 billion a year for the past seven years?

If so, then we have absolutely zero use for him … just as we have zero use for S.C. Senator Mike Fair, the veteran lawmaker Timmons is challenging.

Anyway, we broke the news of Timmons’ impending candidacy months ago, so his formal declaration shouldn’t be surprising.

A fitness enthusiast and small business owner who works in the office of “God Squad” prosecutor Walt Wilkins, Timmons’ candidacy could re-ignite the Upstate war between Wilkins and Joshua Kimbrell – the social conservative activist and aspiring politico who was falsely accused of molesting his own son last year.

Kimbrell has plenty of Upstate support – while Wilkins’ office faced plenty of criticism for its mishandling of his case.  Now a vindicated Kimbrell is on the warpath looking to restore his reputation – and Timmons is likely to find himself squarely in his crosshairs.

In other words this race will be entertaining … which is sadly all South Carolina politics is good for these days.

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