University of South Carolina Libraries
Election of pi By MARY HOLCOMBE Gamecock Staff Writer Selection of the public service commission, the senate seniority system and the present apportionment system were attacked Thursday by Sen. Tom Turnipseed, D-Richland, John Harper of the Richland County Council and Hemphill Pride, a Columbia attorney, at a meeting of the USC Young Democrats. TURNIPSEED SAID, "South Carolina is the only state in the Southeast that the senate elects the^ public service commission." The commission sets rates and supervises public utilities and telephone companies in S.C. Of the commission, Harper said, "We need properly elected commissioners to be responsible to the people." "Particularly in time of public mistrust, it is good to have more elections, more icici ciiuuius. 11 neips restore me people s faith in the system," Tumipseed said. "I can show you documents that we've got more gas than you need. All you have to do is turn on the handle. It's shameful when we let people go unemployed and let people go ' YTi'/ MONDAY - all lad ^ tilccrtax/ ?college ^ iwbauMl PLUS DANCI WEDNESDAY 1202 EXCELLENT RESTAURANT ? LA Proper Dress Required RENT YOUR SPRING Bi EQUIPMENT FROM US Pirirc ci ccpiwn 's?1V? / SFfKfty /1 (roPgsM ^^294 South Carolina Complete Wilderness qua 11-7:30 M-F 940 HARDEN ST. 10-6 Sat. COLUMBIA, S. C. 2 j 1 iKl 1 n CAmri a/ AJJX1V> V lly'U t/l cold-the people were freezing this year-for profit." Pride said after all the energy sacrifices South Carolinians have been asked to make, they should "have the right to vote on who will run the public utilities of South Carolina." The privately owned public utilities enjoy me privileges ot monopoly. They control a significant voice in who controls them," Pride said. "NOT ONE time in the whole history of this state has anyone raised the question of what qualified someone to run for the commission. Commissioners should be chosen first of all because they're qualified and second because they're accountable to our people." A rally entitled "The People are Coming" for public election of PSC officials has been scheduled for April 17. Hie rally's purpose is to involve people in the government, Turnipseed said. By making themselves physically present they will make legislators understand the problem of our government, he said. "Senate selection of the commission epitomizes the problem of South Carolina government," Turnipseed ^ in -?7^r~\ . | MHH IES FREE ID'S FREE XT/~? ? OCOAMO f-i^^aHSL," ./?ft?S55?4i? 11W |??????? DRAFT $.25 lRGE GAMEROOM 2701 Rosewood Dr. kCKPACKING I TENTS. BAGS V FREt 5 Cove a's (Outfitter ility gear 9205 803-799-7571 Be r* Mnmissioners < said. Tumipseed said he favors the lifeline bill. The proposed bill, modeled after a California plan, would equalize utility rates so that the large industries and consumers would pay approximately the same rates. Residential consumers now pay 5.15 cents per kilowatt hour and large industrial users pay 1.78 cents per kilowatt hour, Turnipseed said. "Hiis encourages waste of limited energy and discriminates against the Door." THE PROPOSED bill would take the average of the overall rate structure and make rates equal. The bill would "directly benefit students and anybody who is a residential user." The university would be exempt from the raised rates, Turnipseed said. South Carolina is "rated 50th in functionality, relating to the needs of her people. We're 49th in per-capita income," Turnipseed said. "Hie constitution and our system of government has us in a constitutional crisis. Young people have got to make positive changes to make South Carolina go the only way she can go: up," Turnipseed said. Turnipseed also- attacked the senate's 9 T# ill SUB CE SERVING OUTRAGEOl E DELIVERY ring Downtown, Campus 1115 Assemb /E WILL D our home , do -Night or iginning at 1 called for seniority system. Under this system, senators who have been in the senate the longest have priority in choosing the committees they will serve on. Priorities for the youngest senators are determined alphabetically. TURNIPSEED SAID. "Mv David, who is eight years younger than me, got to choose his committees first because his name is David and mine is Tom. Now, how's that for a system?" "I'd like to see each one of those younger and older senators just get out and exercise their own good judgement like they did on the stomping ground when they were trying to get elected. "More and more, the young senators are speaking their minds and that's what I like to see." Harper said single-member districts will have to come first. "I'm firmly convinced that we will never change anything in the senate until we have single-member districts," he said. "We need single-member districts so that people of modest means can run. The senators we have now are not responsible to anybody because they run at large. NTER JS SANDWICHES 765-0813 ; & Surrounding Areas lv St. ELIVER rm, or office Day# 11:00 A.M. i??