2008 CONSTITUENT SURVEY
January 24, 2008
Today, thousands of you in House District 71 should have recieved my constituent survey for this current legislative session. Your opinion is very important to me and I hope you will take the time to share your thoughts. Staying in touch often is the best way I know to do my job as a public servant and only by listening and considering all view points can I do the best job possible!
(A copy of both pages of the survey can be viewed here and printed by clicking on “constituent” and again on “survey” above)
Rep. Nathan Ballentine’s Government Reform Questionnaire
1) Earmarks, or funds allocated by legislators for projects they say will benefit the people in their districts, have become a hot topic on both the state and national level. Lawmakers often defend earmarks as important for their constituents, and say it‘s their job to fight for their district‘s fair share of government funds. Others, however, describe earmarks as “pork,” and say they quickly accumulate and weigh down the budget and are often used by legislators to buy votes back home. As your voice in the House of Representatives, I strive hard to balance the demand for needed services with the right of the hard-working taxpayers to keep as much of their own money as possible. In your opinion, which should lawmakers do?
A) Always oppose earmarks and “pork” in order to limit government spending;
B) Continue to request spending for projects they consider important for their home district;
C) Continue to request state spending for needed local projects, but use restraint; strike the right balance
between securing important local projects and the need to rein in state spending
Comments:__________________________________________________________
2) Concerns about the influence of money in politics have caused some to call for a reform of the state’s campaign finance laws as a means of renewing public confidence in state government. Should our state overhaul its campaign finance laws?
A) Yes, the state should reform campaign finance laws in order to limit the influence of money in politics.
B) No, increasing controls on campaign contributions would undermine the rights of freedom of expression
Comments: __________________________________________________________
3) There are contrasting views on what the proper role of an elected Representative should be. Some feel it is important for lawmakers to stand on their convictions and their own philosophy, and to do what they believe is right regardless of the will of his or her constituents. Others argue that the role of a lawmaker should be to accurately represent the views of their constituents, whether or not they match his or her own views on that particular issue. Which of the following statements matches your view?
A) Elected Representatives should always represent the views of their constituents, regardless of their
own political philosophy;
B) Elected Representatives should always vote in accordance with their own philosophy, regardless of the
will of their constituents;
C) Elected Representatives must listen to the will of their constituents, and vote accordingly. In some
instances, however, a representative must do what he feels is right, regardless of personal interest.
Comments: _________________________________________________________
4) Currently, both the Democrat and Republican caucuses (legislators from each party) are permitted to meet and discuss issues in private with no media or public present. Some have said this practice violates the notion that public business should be done in public and allows legislators to make major decisions behind closed doors, while others say these are political strategy meetings and not meetings of a government body.
A) All caucus meetings should be open to the public;
B) Caucus meetings should be allowed to be held privately, but only away from government property;
C) Causus meetings should be allowed to be held privately;
Comments: _________________________________________________________
5) In your opinion, what is the most important step that should be taken to reform state government? ____________________________________________________________________
6) In your opinion, what is the biggest single problem currently facing our state? ____________________________________________________________
Other comments or suggestions: _____________________________________________________________________
Comments
8 Responses to “2008 CONSTITUENT SURVEY”
Got something to say?
Responses: #1/C; #2/A; #3/A; #4/B. #5/Allow governor to appoint heads of state agencies. #6/Too many independent agencies with own agendas. Need to centralize control with governor and publize actions taken. Too many “Good Ole Boy” deals and secrecy about decisions and actions taken.
Responses: #1/C; #2/A; #3/A; #4/A. #5/Get rid of Budget and Control Board. #6/Lack of good paying jobs; Graduates leave the state to seek better employment opportunities.
1. I hate pork, but in rare situations, a representative should be able to present issues that aid his district. Answer C is the best answer. But I want to be able to see who makes what request for a special project so that conflict of interest or excessing spending can be clearly seen.
2. A. is my answer. Special interest groups dominate this state.
3. A. is my answer. If a representative is caught in the situation of voting opposite of his constituency, one has to wonder why he hasn’t educated his constituency/stayed in touch with his district so that they understand and trust his stance.
4. B. is my answer. I understand that some discussions are sensitive and I also see the press as not sensitive nor intelligent enough to identify what must be kept quiet. Issues must be discussed openly, probing the pros and cons, regardless of how unsavory they may be. Being reined in from speaking because of the press/public in the room just hamstrings our politicians.
5. As much as I do NOT like the present governor, the position should be allowed to appoint the heads of the agencies. Otherwise, nothing gets done and we have the incessant infighting like we have now.
6. Can’t pick one, but I’d say education coupled with keeping those graduates. I think the state’s education system needs serious reform. I’ve had sons at Clemson for 7 years now and I’ve watched the current administration erode it terribly. We also need better paying jobs or incentives to keep smart youth in the state. My 3.8 GPA MBA son could hardly find a job, much less a decent paying one without leaving for NC or GA. He settled for $10K less to remain in SC. That’s no way to entice growth in this state.
1-A
2-A
3-C
4-C If the discussions are not about public policy or business
5- Accountability from the governers office down.
6- The way that our state budget is devised from the entity that decides on the budget to the process that is used to determine the budget.
Other comments;
The legislative, executive and judicial branches should have balanced powers and should serve the government of the state and not politics or political parties. All business of our state govenment should be public information and any processes or disclosure requirements that hamper the access of this information should be made illegal.
[…] want to thank those that have already returned this year’s survey. The survey was mailed to almost 7,000 voters in our district so that I could get a broad sense of our […]
1. - A. Projects don’t need to be Earmarks in order to be considered, passed and completed.
2. - A. Political contributions should be limited to those who can actually vote for the particular office. Not corporations, PACs, or out of state entities.
3. - C. We elected you to reserach the truth and vote on what is best for us and the district. We are not in the position to obtain the all of the facts on each issue.
4. - C. Reluctantly. You should be free to exchange information and ideas with any elected official or designated staff in private. However, all meetings with lobbyists representing other entitities should be conducted in the public forum.
5. The legislature passes the laws. The Govenor runs the State. The Budget and Control Board is a cabinet level function under the Govenor.
6. Our biggest problem is the hangover from our historical post Civil War poverty and lack of education.
We must fund education at a significantly higher level, K to 12, Undergraduate and Graduate.
We must invest in our economic future with an ALL OUT push for energy independence to jumpstart our economy and avoid the continued battering that the rest of the country that stays with an oil based economy will continue to endure.
This includes:
Guaranteed power buy-backs at above market rates that are blended back into the rate cost structure to spur local investment in Solar/Wind/Hydro technology.
Immediate construction of large scale flat mirror solar steam hydro plants by Santee Cooper and or significant subsidies or loan programs to independent companies.
Loan programs to utilities that bring new Nuclear Plants on-line within a specified period.
State support for the immediate construction of electric vehicle charging stations at workplaces or homes.
State support for the immediate construction of Hydrogen refueling stations.
We must act now to increase the amount of non oil based energy supplies for the future. When we become the state with abundant, clean and cheap energy, our economy will prosper.
Thanks,
Brent
Thank you all for your comments!
I’m currently reading all the responses (mail/email/etc) and plan to have results up on the website in March!
Nathan
[…] I want to thank those that took the time to reply to my 2008 Government Reform Questionairre. I personally opened each questionairre and was amazed at the response rate I received this […]