Candidate Profile: Rich Bolen, S.C. Senate District 18

The District 18 state Senate race will pit three challengers — Bolen, , and — against incumbent GOP , of Prosperity.

The district covers Lexington, Newberry, and Saluda counties.

Name: Rich Bolen 

Age: 45 

Occupation: Attorney - self employed in my solo practice 

Prior experience (political/civil/etc): I was elected Chairman of the Lexington County Republican Party in April 2009 and served through February 2012 when I resigned to run for State Senate.  I was also the General Counsel to the South Carolina Secretary of State from 1997 – 1999.  I am currently serving as Counsel for the Better Business Bureau and am a member of the Lexington County Sheriff’s Foundation board. 

Family: I have been married for 19 years to my high school sweetheart.  We have no children but I am one of 15 children and Lisa is one of eight so we have lots of relatives. 

Education: I have a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from State university of New York and a Juris Doctorate from the University of South Carolina School of Law. 

Campaign website: www.RichBolen.com 

Why are you seeking this office?

I am running for the Senate because I believe our government is too involved in our lives and spends too much money trying to be involved in all of these areas and then charges us too much in taxes to pay for things we do not want them to do in the first place. I am frustrated with current elected officials always answering questions through the prism of “what answer gets me the most votes” instead of “what is the right answer?”

I am also tired of the government starting a new program or passing a new law anytime something bad happens or if they think a new bill will garner them press and votes. That attitude needs to change and I intend to change it at least to the extent it applies to me personally. 

What makes you the best person for the job?  

I have the moral fiber and personal metal to do the right thing in the face of peer pressure and lobbyist pressure to go along with them when I know it is not good for our county, state and/or nation. I am willing to lose votes to do the right thing just because it is right.

Ultimately I want to be able to answer to God for the votes I take and I commit to you I will be able to do so with a clear conscience. In all due modesty I also have a good handle on the issues that face us as a state and nation and also on the constitutional principles, both state and national, that must inform our decisions if we are to salvage this great state and nation.

Again with due modesty I believe I have creative free market ideas for solutions to many of the problems to which we have been applying the same unworkable answers expecting different results for 50 years.  I have not heard these ideas expressed by the other candidates in the race. 

What areas of the office will you seek to focus on and what do you hope to accomplish in your term?

I would like to see term limits applied from the Governor down to the Soil and Water Conservation Board members and every elected office in between.  I will work on that immediately. I believe an eight year term limit, as the Governor currently has, is good for all offices.

I would also like to tackle the retirement fund shortfall immediately by introducing defined contribution plans to clearly establish the obligations of the state treasury going into the future.

I will also advocate to get unexpected revenue increases applied to bridge maintenance for the most needy of our 1800 substandard bridges. It should also be applied to chipping away at the unfunded retirement obligations we currently have.

I will also address judiciary reform so the lay people and attorneys and any participants in our justice system have an opportunity to evaluate the judge that handled their matter. There are many more issues I would like to address but I will be a freshman Senator so I don’t want to over-promise and under-deliver. 

Have you heard any repeated concerns from residents of District 18?

I have heard complaints of lack of constituent service i.e., no response from the elected official when they have a complaint or concern. I have also heard that people are frustrated and angry that their non-owner-occupied property is taxed at twice the rate of their home. People obviously are very concerned about the economic morass in which we find ourselves and the lack of job creation generally.

Finally I have heard that people are very afraid of the effects of Obamacare if it is implemented. 

What do you think needs to be done to improve South Carolina’s education system?

We need to create single countywide districts in each county to reduce the cost of duplicated services and then use those savings to introduce better more customized educational programs that accommodate the unique needs of significant minorities of children which will now be feasible under economies of scale a countywide district provides We then need to allow school choice across the entire county system and even inter-county competition/choice. 

What do you think about South Carolina’s job creation strategy and what do you think should be done to bring more jobs to the state and improve our economy?

I believe the standard approach of giving tax incentives and cash awards to draw businesses to our state or county merely demonstrates that under our usual rules and tax rates we are not attractive to business in a comparative sense. I also find these programs to be a violation of the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the State and U.S. Constitutions by giving free money and tax breaks to some people or companies but not all equally. We should end this approach and make the arrangements used to attract individual employers the law of the land for all employers especially including existing employers.

In other words we need to lower taxes, reduce bureaucracy and generally get government out of the way and let the free market take advantage of the great economic climate South Carolina created.

I also would like to see a program in place to allow companies to hire individuals receiving unemployment benefits at a reduced rate so the unemployed will learn a skill while receiving unemployment benefits and the employer will get an employee with limited productivity at a price that will justify the employers reduced costs. This idea is essentially a way to create a positive resource out of the many unemployed people we already have and a way to reduce that number. 

Gov. Nikki Haley is fond of giving out grades to lawmakers. How would you assess her job so far in her first term as governor?

I believe she has generally been effective. I have been somewhat disappointed with the unnecessarily confrontational approach she has taken with the legislature especially since both houses have demonstrated their ability to override any veto she may send. I look forward to working with her and I believe she will be more effective in the future. 

Are there any other comments you'd like to make, or would like to discuss something not raised in our questions?

I want to encourage all of the voters to remain engaged in the political process especially in light of the recent candidate filing fiasco. I know it is tempting to just give up and stay home on election day assuming that the system is rigged against the average guy. If we do that the rigged system will win and we will have little hope of changing it for the better.

We must all go out and vote and vote against the system that protects its own, squanders our money and continuously ask for more. We can regain our freedoms but you must stay engaged. Please vote Tuesday.