NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) — Early voting is underway for the House District 113 special primary election. The district covers neighborhoods from North Charleston to near Summerville.
Courtney Waters, Michelle Brandt and Kim Clark are running for the Democratic nomination and a ticket to the State House without a republican challenger.
The seat is up for grabs after former attorney Marvin Pendarvis resigned after facing accusations of legal malpractice, which led to the suspension of his law license by the South Carolina Supreme Court.
If elected, Courtney Waters said she’ll focus on increasing access to childcare services and protecting women’s reproductive health.
RELATED READING | “Election officials set special election dates for District 113 after Pendarvis resigns.”
Her top priority is economic mobility, specifically through funding more affordable housing.
“The communities that I’ve been representing don’t have the time, the bandwidth to get active in political processes that give them the agency that’s required to advocate successfully for themselves,” Waters said.
Homeownership is a good start, she added.
Michelle Brandt has a similar campaign focused on exploring new affordable housing and childcare programs in North Charleston. She also wants to pass legislation aimed at reducing gun violence seen in the community.
“We need to secure firearms safely to make sure that kids aren’t getting access to weapons. Because unfortunately in America, gun violence is the number one killer of our children,” Brandt said.
RELATED READING | “Michelle Brandt files for S.C. House District 113 election with focus on family and safety.”
Expanding public transportation as well as protecting reproductive and gender-affirming healthcare are two of Kim Clark’s priorities.
Her main focus is improving early childhood education throughout the district.
“Especially in North Charleston, those are still a lot of schools that are still underperforming and need more support, more resources, but really need a lot more creativity and innovation,” Clark said.
Waters believes her experience serving on Charleston County’s school board for the last four years would help her transition smoothly into the State House.
“I think that I’ve demonstrated through that service that people can trust me,” she said. “That I’m completely committed to this community, that I’m rooted, I’m grounded, and that I’m going to reflect the community’s values when I’m serving.”
RELATED READING | “Courtney Waters runs for South Carolina House seat vacated by Marvin Pendarvis.”
For Brandt, she thinks her time as the state Democratic party’s third vice chair has prepared her well.
“I already have mentors waiting for me in the State House,” Brandt said. “I have a lot of relationships with Republicans and Democrats in the State House, so I’m ready to hit the ground running day one.”
And Clark said she’s relying on her experience working with different early education programs and state coalitions to help her in the leadership role.
“Working with people throughout the state to help improve wellbeing and even standard of living for our community members is important to me,” she said.
Early voting runs until Jan. 17 with the primary election on Jan. 21.
The final special election is March 25.
