Stanton takes on Shaw for Darlington County Council seat

David Stanton on Monday announced the final push in his campaign for Darlington County Council with an emphasis on fighting violent crime and improving fire protection. Stanton will face incumbent Alex “Buz” Shaw in the June 10 Republican Primary for the District 7 seat on Council.

Citing a lack of leadership from the current county council, Stanton said, “Public safety is the most important responsibility of elected officials. That’s the main reason we have government in the first place. And our county council isn’t doing enough. I don’t think they’re even aware of some of these problems.”

Stanton identified the county’s rapid rise in violent crime as the most pressing threat to public safety. He cited federal statistics that show the violent crime rate in the unincorporated parts of the county is up 150% since the year 2000, and up 71% in Hartsville. Over the same period, it has steadily declined nationally, statewide and in many neighboring cities and counties.

“For the past three years, Darlington County and Hartsville have had the highest rates of violent crime in the state. The federal statistics list the 26 most populous counties in the state and the top 36 cities. In each the past three years, of all the counties and cities listed, Darlington County and Hartsville have had the highest rates of violent crime in the state.

“A 150% increase in the county means it’s two and a half times as bad as it was just a few years ago. It’s almost doubled in Hartsville, and nobody in the county is talking about it. Nobody wants to admit how bad it’s gotten. Meanwhile, all around us, all around the state and country, it’s going the other way.

“Have you heard anyone on County Council even mention crime lately, much less tell you what they’re going to do about it? If I’m elected, I’ll do something about it. If we don’t do something now, where will we be in a few more years?”

Stanton has proposed a coordinated effort to combat crime in the entire county, to involve the county council, the sheriff’s and police departments, the 4th Circuit Solicitor’s Office, the circuit court judges, and the county’s representatives in the state legislature and in Congress.

“Everyone in government shares in the blame for this problem that nobody wants to talk about, and everyone is going to have to work together to fix it,” Stanton said. “If I’m elected, I’ll work to make that happen, even if it means cutting back in other areas. I bet most people don’t know that we have a beaver trapper in the county budget. We may just be able to do without him.”

Stanton said he’d support increasing the budgets of the sheriff and solicitor, but that increased funding isn’t enough. “I think we have to increase their budgets. In some areas, it’s going to take more money. But money, by itself, isn’t the answer. I won’t be showering them with dollars and hoping. We need cooperation, a plan, with everyone pulling together. I think County Council can help bring the different players together.”

Regarding the solicitor’s office, however, Stanton said the county is in need of more prosecutors.

“I’ve talked to a number of people familiar with the solicitor’s office, and all said that Darlington County is suffering because there aren’t enough prosecutors working the cases. Who knows how many criminals get plea bargains when they should be tried, or pleas that carry shorter sentences than they would if the office had more prosecutors?

“We’ve lost money, too, from shortchanging the solicitor’s office,” Stanton said, claiming that the county has lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal revenue because of past cuts in county funding of the solicitor’s office.

“Until recently, we had money rolling in from housing pre-trial federal prisoners in the jail, but we’ve lost two-thirds of that – almost $200,000 a year – because our jail is full and we don’t have room for them any more. Why? The jail population is up – partly because the county council underfunded the solicitor’s office.

“More than 90 percent of the people in the jail are just waiting in line for justice. Probably more than 90 percent of those are going to plead guilty. And every day they spend in our jail costs us money. Why don’t we get them out of there sooner and replace them with prisoners we get paid to lock up?

“We’re about to have a new solicitor. I’ll propose that we increase funding for his office so he can hire more prosecutors to get these prisoners out of our jail and into prison, and make room for paying customers. That may only partly pay for itself, but with more prosecutors, the new solicitor ought to be able to help reduce crime in the county. If he can’t, I’ll be trying to help us find a new solicitor in four years.”

Stanton accused his opponent and other members of Council then of failing the county residents in the five-mile Hartsville Fire District. “These citizens couldn’t vote for Mayor. They didn’t have representation on City Council. All they had was their representatives on County Council, and they didn’t do anything.

“On Mr. Shaw’s watch, during his previous term on Council, he did nothing for those people. They paid the same taxes for fire service as the other county residents, but unless they happened to live within 1000 feet of a hydrant, they weren’t getting the protection they were paying for. The city was using their tax dollars to protect the city, not them.”

Stanton says that there is still room for improvement in both the county and city fire departments. Not long ago, the county fire district was able to improve its ISO rating from a 7 to a 6 on a scale of 1 to 10. Most insurance companies use ISO ratings to set rates for fire insurance in homeowners and commercial insurance policies, so a lower rating saves money for property owners.

As of press time Thursday, Alex “Buz” Shaw remained unreachable for comment. The election will take place Tuesday, June 10.