Fry, Servant debate issues facing state, South Strand
BURGESS Eliminating government waste and streamlining South Carolina’s education system are atop the list of priorities for the two Republican candidates vying for the S.C. House District 106 seat.
Russell Fry, 30, and Tyler Servant, 24, will square off in a runoff Tuesday for the S.C. House District 106 seat, formerly held by Nelson Hardwick, who resigned after 10 years in the seat amid allegations that he harassed a female House staffer.
The two debated the issues at an event hosted by the South Strand Republican Club Thursday at the Horry County South Strand Recreation Center. The district serves the Surfside Beach and Garden City Beach area.
The candidates were questioned by local media representatives about their lack of political experience, their priorities for the next legislative session, if elected, and specific cuts in government they would make.
Fry said he thinks infrastructure needs to be addressed for the district.
“Our infrastructure, right now, is lagging…,” Fry said. “We have so much development going on, especially in the Burgess area. It’s hard to keep up.”
Servant said the growth of government in general is an issue in the next session.
“We’ve got to make sure to eliminate waste, duplication and inefficiencies in our government,” Servant said.
Servant said he would work to empower government employees to find waste in government.
“The fact of the matter is, we have to empower our government employees to cut waste,” Servant said. “I can’t sit behind the budget and go line by line, and neither can Russell, neither can the president or the county administrator and pick out individual items.”
Fry said he would be a proponent of education reform by promoting the idea of consolidating school districts to more closely match the number of counties in the state.
“It’s a multi-faceted approach,” Fry said. “Part of the thing is empowering parents with real school choice in their child’s education. We also have to get away from this top-down approach from the federal government.”
We need to individualize educational choices, and we need to stop pushing college on every student. Not everyone is built for college and it’s important that we give young people a trade for when they do graduate high school
Russell Fry
Questions swirled all week leading to Thursday’s debate as to whether the two would appear publicly. Both agreed to participate in a televised debate on WPDE-TV, news partners with The Sun News. But questions about the date of the South Strand debate and the objectivity of the questions exposed a breakdown in communication between the South Strand Republican Club and Servant.
As late as Wednesday night, Servant was questioning the rules and requirements for the debate.
During the debate, two did agree on some items, including prioritizing the importance of the Southern Evacuation Lifeline, or SELL project, which is a multi-million dollar plan for an emergency evacuation route for the South Strand over I-73, when given the choice.
Fry said he knows the importance of having to work well with area governments to get things done.
“I’m a bridge builder and not a bomb thrower,” Fry said. “It is very important for our next legislator to not only know the people in Columbia, but to be able to work well with them, and that’s what I intend to do.”
Servant said he wants to work to keep as much of Horry County taxes paid invested back into the area.
“Our biggest needs right now, in Horry County, are roads and infrastructure, and our biggest bargaining chip is our tourism and our retiree base and all the taxes we pay,” Servant said. “We need someone to go to Columbia who is familiar with that industry, whose family business is in that industry to represent us, to lobby for more tax dollars to come back to Horry County.”
Jason M. Rodriguez: 843-626-0301, @TSN_JRodriguez
Russell Fry
Age | 30
Party | Republican
Address | P.O. Box 14444, Surfside Beach, SC 29578
Occupation | Co-owner of a small consulting business and lawyer with the Coastal Law firm in Myrtle Beach.
Family | Wife, Bronwen
Civic and political experience | Boys Scouts and earned his Eagle Scout in 2003. Former president of the Student Bar Association, Charleston School of Law, and helped the school achieve full ABA accreditation; Vice President and President of the Grand Stand Young Republicans in 2012 and 2013, respectively; Former executive committeeman for the Horry County Republican Party; Active member of the NRA; and member of Socastee United Methodist Church
Education | Horry County Public Schools graduate; the University of South Carolina; Charleston School of Law
Military experience | N/A
Contact information | Phone: (843) 360-4250; Email: FryforHouse@gmail.com; Twitter: @RussellWFry; Facebook: Facebook.com/FryforHouse; Website: www.FryforHouse.com
Match your strengths or areas of expertise with the needs you feel District 106 is facing.
Answer | This election is about who can best represent the people of the South Strand and who will bring fresh ideas and solutions to the problems facing our district. As a son of blue-collar parents who put blood, sweat, and tears into opening their own small businesses, I understand the challenges our residents face as they strive to achieve their dreams and how government often stifles success. I’ll approach making our government more efficient, reforming our tax system, developing our infrastructure, and creating jobs for our district like I’ve approached everything in life – head on, with a fighter’s spirit.
If you were given the ability to provide more funding for one area/line item of the budget in the next four years, where would you provide more funding and why?
Answer | As a conservative, I know that throwing more money at a problem is rarely the best solution. We must find innovative ways to make government more efficient and accountable. I promise as your next representative, I will work to eliminate fraud and abuse and redirect wasteful spending to core functions of government, specifically infrastructure development for our area. By improving our roads, bridges, and ports we are able to raise the quality of life for our residents and attract business and industry that will create jobs for our area, while also alleviating congestion in the South Strand.
Tyler Servant
Age | 24
Party | Republican
Address | 16063 Surfside Beach, SC 29578
Occupation | Real Estate Broker
Family | Son of Mil and Judy Servant, Brother: Miles Servant. Grandparents: Sonny and Maxine Furr
Civic and political experience | Worked in legislature for three years while at the University of South Carolina; Member of the Legislative Policy and South Strand Business Councils for the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce; Graduate of Leadership Grand Strand and a member of the Grand Strand Sertoma Club, the Surfside Beach Rotary Club, the Greater Burgess Community Association, NRA, and the Garden City Beach Community Association
Education | St. James High School graduate; degrees in real estate and marketing from the University of South Carolina
Military experience | N/A
Contact information | Website: www.TylerServant.com; Facebook: /TylerServantSC; Cell: 843-582-2536; Email: info@TylerServant.com; Twitter: @TylerServant
Match your strengths or areas of expertise with the needs you feel District 106 is facing.
Answer | I'm not easily intimidated. I tenaciously stand up for my principles even under great pressure. My business experience is more than just a profession, it is part of my upbringing. I was taught that delivering great service and great value were equally important. Having worked at the State House for three years I also have a conceptual and hands-on knowledge of how to get things done in Columbia. These traits and experience give me a unique ability to advocate for the needs of our community and identify waste, fraud and abuse of valuable tax payer dollars.
If you were given the ability to provide more funding for one area/line item of the budget in the next four years, where would you provide more funding and why?
Answer | I have to disagree with the premise of the question, the legislature always has the ability to provide more funding to any budget line item it chooses. The problem is using words like “more funding” instead of “hard earned tax payer dollars.” This isn’t just money you have to play with, it's dollars hard working families no longer have in their pockets. My business training is about providing great service and great value. My support of reform for the DOT and the State Infrastructure Bank will result in more road and infrastructure dollars for our community and less dipping in tax payer pockets.
This story was originally published August 6, 2015 at 8:55 PM with the headline "Fry, Servant debate issues facing state, South Strand."