DI's Jarrod Brooks joins race for SC House District 99 seat

Daniel Island resident Jarrod Brooks, a Republican, has announced his candidacy for South Carolina State House District 99. He is the fifth person to enter the race for the seat formerly held by Jim Merrill.

In a press release about his campaign, Brooks stated he will work to reform what he calls a “fragmented State House” with a new approach, new energy, and new commitment to represent the voters, not special interests. According to Brooks, he is not a politician and has never been elected to office or run for office. He also stated he is not a lawyer and has not held any leadership positions inside the Republican Party. He describes himself as a successful small businessman, husband and average citizen who will work to fix the State House.

“I am proud of my state and its potential and the old way of doing business in Columbia simply does not work for citizens,” said Brooks. “The special interests seem to run the show. We must first fix the South Carolina State House by limiting the special interest power that seems to cloud votes. I want to show voters how I’ll work in Columbia by the way I manage my campaign - with compassion to others, listening to voters and experts, finding colleagues I can work with, and fully understanding issues.”

Brooks is a small business owner and franchise consultant who wants to bring a fresh approach with new energy to help restore trust and confidence in Columbia, the release continued. He believes ethics and corruption scandals have rocked the state, and that “the politicians and lawyers who always get elected aren’t getting the job done effectively.”

As a conservative businessman, Brooks feels strongly that local businesses, especially small businesses, are over-taxed and over-regulated, killing investment and subsequent job growth and higher standards of living.

“I am a conservative business owner who believes in a balanced approach to our problems,” Brooks added. “I am like you - a regular citizen with no long-term political aspirations but a strong will to ask difficult questions and vote my conscience.”

Brooks further stated he will advocate for a strong common sense reform agenda. He supports real term limits for the entire General Assembly. Brooks also claims he wants real ethics reform (with independent groups, not members, investigating discrepancies), limited influence of special interests and their money, and more transparency in reporting campaign funding and ethics filings. He plans to push for more real-time, online campaign contribution reporting.

“The purpose of government is to make citizens’ lives better,” he continued. “Many Republicans, Democrats, and those in the middle have that same goal in mind, but too often very different ways of achieving it that it leads to mistrust, intrigue, criminal acts and voter disillusionment.”

Additionally, Brooks supports a conservative agenda including: getting government out of citizens’ lives and focused on its job; making government live within a budget; implementing checks on opportunities for fraud, waste, and abuse; limiting elected office terms; balancing citizenry needs between development and conservation; and bringing business disciplines to government decisions.

Brooks graduated from the University of South Carolina with a finance degree, grew up in South Carolina, and has lived in Charleston for 21 years. He and his wife, Alisa, have called Daniel Island home for 13 years with their Weimaraner dog, Maddie. They both attend and are members of Seacoast Church. Alisa is the president of the Junior League of Charleston, holds an MBA from the University of South Florida, and works for Sanofi Genzyme in oncology sales.

Also running for the S.C. House District 99 seat are Republicans Shawn Pinkston, Mark Smith, Bernie Bell and Nancy Mace, and Democrat Cindy Boatwright. A Republican primary election will be held on Nov. 14 and a run-off, if needed, will take place on Nov. 28. The special election for the seat will be held in January 2018.

Daniel Island Publishing

225 Seven Farms Drive
Unit 108
Daniel Island, SC 29492 

Office Number: 843-856-1999
Fax Number: 843-856-8555

 

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