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A month ago, former South Carolina state senator Vincent Sheheen took to the pages of our media outlet to announce that he was not running for a recently redrawn seat in the S.C. General Assembly.
According to the veteran politician and two-time Democratic gubernatorial nominee, he had decided instead to spend his “time and energy focusing on a place I love even more than South Carolina – my hometown.”
“My focus is at home in Camden with my friends and family,” Sheheen wrote.
This week, Sheheen’s focus became much clearer …
“From the courthouse to the State House, I’ve spent a career in public service working for the people,” Sheheen said in a statement released on Tuesday morning (April 2, 2024). “Now it’s time to bring those skills home to help this great city live up to its true potential.”
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With that, Sheheen announced his candidacy for mayor of Camden – a post his grandfather, Austin Sheheen, Sr., held from 1964 to 1972. According to his announcement, Sheheen “has been an enthusiastic supporter of both public and private investment in the City of Camden and has worked to attract tourism, small business and state investment in the community.”
“Camden is home to me,” Sheheen’s statement added. “It’s where I was born, where I learned right from wrong and where my wife and I raised our children. Camden has given us so much. Now it’s time to give back.”
South Carolina’s oldest inland city, Camden was founded in 1789. Prior to that, it was a British colonial outpost and the site of two major Revolutionary War battles in 1780 and 1781. Ironically, the city took its name from the first Earl Camden – a.k.a. Charles Pratt, an early champion of civil liberties and colonial rights in the British parliament.
Camden is home to an estimated 8,300 people – but it welcomes tens of thousands of visitors each spring for the Carolina Cup, an annual steeplechase horse race. The city is also home to the National Steeplechase Museum.
BANNER: Dr. Blazer/ Wikimedia Commons
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina and before that he was a bass guitarist and dive bar bouncer. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and seven (soon to be eight) children.
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3 comments
When a politician offers to “give back” to the citizens in a given area, that usually means that he or she has figured a way to line their own pockets at taxpayer expense.
Does Vince have a plan to reduce the ridiculous power bills that residents and businesses have been suffering from for a couple of years, now? If so, let’s hear it! Hell, the hag that currently occupies the Mayor’s office has no plan at all to rectify this travesty so might as well take a chance on Vince. Hopefully the incumbent do-nothings on Camden City Council will all be replaced by November!
Camden deserves the “empty suit”.
Vinny will Make Camden Great Again.