The Drake Plan To Get South Carolina
Back In The Jobs Business

Executive Summary - Click here to download the complete plan. [PDF]

The Mission: Jobs for South Carolina

My experiences have taught me what it takes to build successful economic efforts in South Carolina.  So, like many others who are concerned about the current economic condition of our state, I am deeply embarrassed by a Governor who has been completely missing in action on the jobs front.  At this point, our Governor isn’t just absent in our economic development efforts; he’s actually an impediment that we have to work around in order to get anything done.
 
South Carolina’s families deserve better than the struggling economy and soaring unemployment that we’re experiencing.  That’s why I am running for Governor: to get South Carolina back in the jobs business and to get South Carolina working again.

I feel so strongly about jobs because more and better jobs are the answer to South Carolina's problems.  With a Governor who is truly engaged and focused on creating more jobs and growing businesses, we can help address our fiscal problems, improve our schools, and strengthen our families.  And I wholeheartedly subscribe to the old saying that a good job is the best government program.  South Carolinians should know that as Governor, I will wake up in the morning thinking about how to create jobs, and I will go to bed every night thinking about how to create jobs.  There is no more important and fundamental issue in this election – and indeed for the future of our state – than jobs. And as Governor, no one will work harder than me to bring jobs to South Carolina.

The next Governor needs to lay out a wide-ranging agenda for immediate improvement and long-term transformation of South Carolina’s economy.   The following is an initial installment of the major economic action items that I think are necessary for our people to have not only the hope but the reality of better jobs for a better future.

The Way Forward: Putting South Carolina Back to Work

As Governor, I will get South Carolina back in the jobs business with the following initiatives:

• Professionalism, Not Politics: I will end Mark Sanford’s practice of appointing a political friend as Secretary of Commerce.   Instead, I will find the best, most experienced economic development professional that can be identified and appoint that man or woman as Secretary of Commerce to work hand-in-hand with me to bring jobs to South Carolina.

• Bipartisan Jobs Cabinet: Immediately upon my election, I will establish a nine person, bipartisan “Jobs Cabinet,” including members of the Legislature, the business community, and the research community to assist in identifying the best economic development professional for appointment as Secretary of Commerce.  I will also call on this "Jobs Cabinet" to provide advice and counsel on other job development activities of my administration.

• Laying the Groundwork for Growth: In order to prepare for landing the major industry projects of the future, South Carolina’s next Governor must analyze and update our incentives programs, target the next automotive manufacturing facility under consideration, and identify and certify “mega-sites” for major industrial prospects.

• Seizing Opportunity at South Carolina’s Ports and Preparing for the Future – the Expansion of the Panama Canal and the End of the Cuban Trade Embargo: One of my administration’s top priorities will be to maximize the job development assets and potential of the South Carolina Ports Authority by first supporting the new leadership at the Ports Authority in efforts to bring in new business immediately to our ports, and then to specifically focus on the major opportunities for enhanced traffic resulting from the completed expansion of the Panama Canal in 2014 and the likely end of the Cuban trade embargo.

• Supporting Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Small Business Retention: My administration will complement its professional recruitment of large industries with a new focus on spurring more “home-grown” jobs among our smaller employers and start-up entrepreneurial businesses and retaining our existing small business base with smart, targeted tax reform.

• Equality of Opportunity: My administration will be dedicated to insuring equal opportunity for minority and women entrepreneurs.

• Economic Development for ALL South Carolinians: My administration will get rid of the “Columbia always knows best” approach and be a reliable partner for local economic development activities and organizations, especially in rural areas of the state.

• Educating the Workforce of the Future: My administration will maximize the potential of our higher education institutions as economic development engines.

• Leadership for Sustainable Economic Growth: South Carolina’s economic policy must protect our natural resources for the long term while providing our entrepreneurs and businesspeople the efficiency and room for growth that drives our economy.

• Building Jobs Through Economic Clusters: My administration will develop and maintain a comprehensively mapped inventory of existing and new economic “clusters” as well as related economic activity across South Carolina to help guide our jobs development work.

Conclusion

Outlined above are a number of specific ideas and plans that I believe will go far in realizing the full potential of our hopes and opportunities and create good paying jobs for the workforce of South Carolina. There are a number of other areas in which leadership is also needed to create more jobs, including tourism.

Just as we must compete for the best companies and industries, we must also dedicate resources and expertise to compete for the best opportunities in tourism, hospitality, and convention siting.  As Governor, I will call for a fresh evaluation of South Carolina’s tourism promotional campaigns, with a goal of directing resources to the most effective and cutting-edge approaches, including the latest in targeted online promotion and outreach.  I will also direct the Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism to study the feasibility and potential benefits of a summer hospitality tax holiday.  Such a move could provide a critical edge to South Carolina in attracting lucrative large-scale travel business such as conventions and the economic boon that brings to all the business associated with our tourism industry.

South Carolina is filled with hope and opportunity, but for far too long, our Governor has turned his back on efforts to build our economic strength.  We can’t afford to wait any longer – we must have leadership from our next Governor to attract and create jobs for our people.  

I ask you to join my effort to turn these ideas into reality and get South Carolina working once again.