South Carolina’s governor-elect holds first press conference at auto body shop
Alan Wilson, South Carolina’s next governor, held his first press conference after the mid-term election at a West Columbia body shop where he worked his first job at 15, according to local media.
The governor-elect said he worked at Reeley’s Auto Body shop as a car washer.
He told the media that the shop is symbolic.
“A shop like this is where you come to fix a car, repair a car, improve a car, and that’s really what this transition is about,” News19 reports Wilson as saying.
He said his transition into the role is repairing and improving a governmental system that is “broken or damaged.”
Wilson, current Attorney General, said an audit of the state’s government will be his first course of action. This will include a public website that publishes government data for the general public.
He also said he will ask lawmakers to give the governor the power to temporarily suspend the gas tax during price spikes. He added that the neighboring Georgia governor has this authority.
“I also understand that we rely on the gas tax to fund infrastructure projects and road construction,” News19 reports Wilson as saying. He adds that the power will need guardrails.
Improving roads and bridges has been a part of Wilson’s campaign platform.
“As part of his Families First Audit Initiative, he will modernize the Department of Transportation, demand transparency, streamline project timelines, and make sure every region of the state benefits from long-overdue improvements,” Wilson’s campaign website says. “Wilson understands rural communities have different infrastructure needs than urban communities. But we can’t prioritize one over the other–they both need attention.”
Fox Carolina previously reported that lowering insurance premiums is a part of Wilson’s plan. This includes reforming the Department of Insurance to allow for public audits of rate increases. He’d also required the department to give quarterly updates to the governor’s office and yearly reports on major carriers to the public.
South Carolina’s insurance commissioner position is appointed by the governor.
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Photo courtesy of Alan Wilson campaign.