Aikenites endorse Haley for governor

Eight years ago, said Dick Smith with a smile, Dick and Jane ran for Aiken City Council and take the credit for making the council meetings and the decision-making process more open to the public.

Smith and Jane Vaughters, now former council members after two terms in office, formally endorsed state House member Nikki Haley of Lexington to be the Republican nominee for governor. She is a candidate who shares their philosophy, Vaughters said.

Smith and Vaughters were joined in the endorsement by their replacements on City Council, Steve Homoki and Reggie Ebner, and by political activist Marianne Pecararo during a reception at Woodside Country Club.

There's one candidate in the Republican primary who is not part of the machine and that is Haley, said Vaughters.

"An accountant by training, she has done a wonderful job in the State House, working diligently for open and efficient government and zero-based budgeting," Vaughters said. "You must look at her three opponents and their actions, not just words. She is really the true fiscal conservative. And you can look at her and see she's not a good ol' boy."

Haley recapped her background, growing up in the small town of Bamberg with parents who immigrated from India. They started a business in their living room and now it's a multi-million dollar company. Haley started keeping the books at age 13 and only after she arrived at Clemson University did she learn that wasn't exactly normal.

In the family business, she knows how hard it is to make a dollar and then have the government take it. Haley had not been politically active, but in 2004 she defeated the Republican with the longest service in the House.

"The government has no value for a dollar," Haley said. She said the budget grew from $4 billion in 2004 to $7 billion in 2008 before the economic crisis has left the House proposing a $5.3 billion budget this year.

Her push since her election has been transparency in government. "There's a bill to make all transparency permanent," Haley said, "but it's not just the legislative votes on the record. I'm now for term limits. What happens is that legislators go in with the best of intentions and they get broken. Those in high places are those who learn to stay quiet. We need fresh ideas."

With 12 percent unemployment facing the state, Haley wants a new tax restructure to replace the bandage approach.

"We need to look at every single tax," she said. "We need to eliminate small business income taxes, so they will have the money to hire people. I celebrate Boeing coming to South Carolina ... but we need to take care of small businesses, too."

Haley said education is vital to the state and she is pleased with the schools her children attend in a Lexington district. But her hometown of Bamberg doesn't have anything close to the resources of the more urban and wealthier districts, she said.

"The second highest need is money," she told Aiken supporters Wednesday. "If you want to help me, go tell 10 people to get involved by going to my website. I've never seen people more spirited about government or seen elected officials more scared."

Contact Rob Novit at rnovit@aikenstandard.com.