Lowe, Cooper vie for S.C. House District 60

Voters in S.C. House District 60 will have two choices Nov. 4: re-elect Republican Rep. Phillip Lowe, whose top priority is fixing the economy, or vote for challenger Zackery Cooper, a Democrat whose main concern is improving public education.

The district includes parts of Florence and Sumter counties.

Lowe, a physical therapist seeking his second term, said his priority list of issues continues like this: energy, surface water withdrawals, transparency in government and education.

“I think the thing primarily on voters’ minds right now is the state of the economy,” said Lowe, who earned physical therapy degrees from the University of South Carolina and the Medical University of South Carolina.

Cooper, a Kingstree native and resident of Effingham since 1980, said the next four issues on his list, if elected, would be economic development, healthcare, veterans’ affairs and accessibility and accountability.

“Education is important to me because we are competing globally,” said Cooper, who studied physical education at South Carolina State University. “In order to compete in the economic sector, you’ve got to have better education.”

Lowe said one way to improve the economy in the district is to provide small businesses with tax incentives, which will stimulate investments and increase jobs.

“Everybody’s nervous right now about spending money,” he said. “So giving incentives for them to expand and buy equipment, that in turn creates the jobs for people who make that equipment.”

Cooper, a small business owner who retired from BellSouth after 30 years, said he’ll look for ways of keeping “the brighter minds” in the area after graduating from high school in hopes of boosting the economy.

In an effort to improve education, Cooper wants to increase teachers’ pay and make school buildings more adequate for conducive learning environments.

“Teachers teach everybody — doctors, lawyers, politicians and teachers,” he said. “So they deserve better pay.”

Lowe said his plan to improve the education system is to partner with industry so students can learn technical trades and possibly have jobs lined up once they graduate.

Both candidates support an effort toward more energy efficiency. Lowe said he supports drilling for natural gas off South Carolina’s coast and “would have to consider carefully drilling for oil.”

“We have to be very careful not to endanger our tourism industry,” Lowe said. “But if there are reserves out there, we (would need) to figure out how to make hurricane-proof drilling structures.”

Cooper said he doesn’t have a stance on offshore drilling, but he does support the use of alternative energy sources, including biodiesels and wind.

Lowe said his biggest accomplishment while in office has been his role in the passage of a bill that allows small businesses to form groups of 10 or more while purchasing health insurance, which leads to lower rates.

Cooper’s only criticism of Lowe’s two years in the House is that the incumbent hasn’t been accessible to his constituents.

“I’m not playing dirty politics, but the guy just has not been accessible,” said Cooper, who added that he’ll have regular meetings with constituents if elected.

Lowe said he has returned every phone call and been to the meetings he’s been invited to in the district. He added that he has only missed one day of General Assembly in two years.

“I’ve done all the constituent work that I’ve been asked to,” Lowe said. “My record speaks for itself.”