Candidate visits businesses on one of first campaign stops

By JOHN O’CONNOR
joconnor@thestate.com

If Holiday Inn had not redesigned their logo, Colite International owner Peter Brown said it would be a tough year for his Richland County sign-making business.

How to expand businesses such as Colite, which has 130 employees in Northeast Richland, will be a central issue in the 2010 race for governor.

South Carolina has the nation’s third-highest unemployment rate at 12.1 percent, with new data expected Friday.

On Monday, U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett visited Colite, Greer manufacturer North American Rescue and the Port of Charleston, some of the first stops on the 2010 campaign trail.

Barrett is one of six contenders who have announced or are considering a bid for the GOP gubernatorial nomination. They include: Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer, state Sen. Larry Groom, state Rep. Nikki Haley, Attorney General Henry McMaster and Furman University political scientist Brent Nelsen.

State economists largely agree South Carolina’s economy will not rebound by the end of next year. Political scientists agree the economy will be a top issue in the governor’s race.

Barrett said putting state residents back to work will be his top concern.

“I believe that is the governor’s job,” Barrett said of leading state job creation efforts.

“(Colite) is a business that is growing and expanding, and what is out there to help them in the process? Absolutely nothing.”

Colite’s Brown and North American Rescue owner Robert Castellani are both Barrett campaign donors.

Brown’s company ships signs across the country and to more than 100 nations. Clients include Holiday Inn, Alltel and Bank of America. From start to finish, most orders are completed in about 30 days.

Brown told Barrett that he needs better educated workers, because the company trains its employees in many parts of the sign-making process — machine-cutting plastic letters, wiring light-emitting diode signs, painting and assembling finished signs.

Brown said the state also can help business by limiting regulation and clarifying how the rules should apply.

But more important, Brown said, is focusing on businesses in the state rather than trying to lure out-of-state companies here.

“The way it’s structured,” Brown said, “the best company we have is the one in North Carolina we don’t have.”

Barrett said he is still learning about the state’s economy, and tours such as Monday’s are one way to develop a plan if he becomes governor.

He thinks expanding energy production and research, particularly nuclear, could be the fastest way to create new jobs.

Barrett said his priorities include restructuring the state’s tax system — including the 2006 statewide property tax reform plan — streamlining state government and improving schools and colleges.