Brack: Mayor’s race is shaping up

Boy, this year’s race to replace Charleston Mayor Joe Riley, retiring in his 40th year at the top spot, is shaping up to be a doozy.

First, just try to wrap your brain around the notion of whether anyone can replace Joe. The obvious answer is no one can because the mayor has so embedded himself into all facets of city life that anybody who takes over for him just won’t measure up. In other words, whoever wins among the explosion of candidates seeking the job is pretty much setting up himself or herself for failure.

But the office must go on and the city needs a new leader. So secondly, take a look at how many candidates are actually running. There were at least six formal candidates until restaurateur Dick Elliott dropped out earlier this month. By my count, the race currently features Realtor Henry Fishburne, council member William Dudley Gregory, state Rep. Leon Stavrinakis, Realtor John Tecklenburg and attorney Paul Tinkler.

But there will be more. Former Riley campaign manager and Secretary of State candidate Ginny Deerin also has opened a campaign account but not announced formally. There are others who may run — Aubrey Alexander, state Rep. Wendell Gailliard, Dean Riegel, Mike Seekings and Maurice Washington.

One thing is for sure, voters will have choices in the fall. More than likely to make a runoff, the top two candidates will only have to get a 20 percent to 25 percent share of the November vote. The likelihood of one candidate getting 50 percent in Charleston’s supposedly non-partisan race (everybody knows which party anyone is in) is less than slim to none.

The third thing to consider when thinking about the mayor’s race is how issues are shaping up to be divisive. Already, it’s pretty clear that these issues are coming to the forefront:

• Should Charleston go along with the Beach Company’s proposal to squeeze hundreds of people and a grocery store in the space occupied by the Sgt. Jasper building on the peninsula? When is enough development enough?

• Should the city continue to let hotel expansion grow seemingly out of control? At what point do the hotels start making Charleston more like an adult Disneyland than a vibrant city?

• What is the real plan to manage growth and develop a vision for Charleston for decades to come so that we shape our destiny and aren’t shaped by it?

• How are we going to deal with infrastructure challenges, including affordable housing and smoother transportation to reduce gridlock?

What are your thoughts about the coming mayor’s race? Send them to: editor@charlestoncurrents.com.

Hats off to the Palmetto Project

Because some 48 percent of eligible South Carolina residents signed up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act during the 2015 open enrollment period, the Palmetto State has the nation’s 10^th best percentage ranking among states for people participating in plans, the Palmetto Project said Saturday.

“This is a big, fat shot in the arm for our state’s workforce,” said Executive Director Steve Skardon. “Healthy workers equal a healthy economy.  The ACA really helps states like South Carolina where so much of the workforce is in agriculture, tourism, small businesses, self-employment or multiple part-time jobs.  We also have relatively high numbers of older workers under 65 who are trying to get by in second and third careers.  These are the kinds of people the law is supposed to help.  Until now, they were just out of luck if they got sick.”

The North Charleston-based nonprofit deserves a big pat on the back for what it has been doing to promote a healthier South Carolina.

According to data from the Kaiser Family Foundation, some 209,773 eligible South Carolinians — almost half of those who could — enrolled in one of the dozens of plans offered by private insurers at HealthCare.gov during the 2015 open enrollment period, which started in November. Last year, the Palmetto Project was chosen by the federal government to lead statewide navigation and enrollment efforts.

Now the organization’s challenge is to continue to reach out during a new special enrollment period from March 15 to April 30 for South Carolinians who didn’t have health insurance in 2014 and didn’t sign up by Feb. 15, 2015. The special enrollment period will allow people who didn’t have the coverage to sign up and not pay a $95 penalty for every uninsured adult on 2014 tax returns.

The Palmetto Project says it will continue to operate its statewide outreach and enrollment initiatives during the special enrollment period.  Any South Carolina resident can find in-person assistance locally or over the phone at 1-888-998-4646 or visit the organization online at PalmettoProject.org or SignUpSC.com.