There are many times in life when we are faced with tough decisions. Whether it be choosing the right school, house, job, or evening meal, we often have to weigh endless pros and cons and are many times forced to choose the “lesser of two evils”. Fortunately, June 14th won’t be one of those days, and choosing to vote for SC State Senator Marlon Kimpson, won’t be one of those choices.

Senator Marlon Kimpson has served and represented District 42 (Charleston Area) for the past two years at the Statehouse in Columbia since he was elected Senator in 2013. He has worked tirelessly over the past two and a half years to ensure that the best health coverage, economic well-being and education opportunities are available for all residents in District 42 and South Carolina. Additionnally, and perhaps more importantly, he has spearheaded the passage of bills to address these core issues. During his time in office, he has proposed more legislation than others who have been in office for years.

Some of these accomplishments include:

• Passage of the Body Worn Camera Bill that requires all SC police officers to be equipped with body cameras.
• Passage of the Renal Medullary Carcinoma & Sickle Cell Awareness Act that ensures that each time a baby is born with sickle cell disease in SC, parents will receive educational materials on the disease to assist in family planning.
• Passage of the Confederate Flag Removal Bill which removed the Confederate flag from the Statehouse grounds.
• Juvenile Record Expungement Act which allows for a person who turns 17 years old to request to have a previous nonviolent offense permanently erased from their record.
• NCAA Student Athlete Stipend & Trust Fund Bill which would provide compensation (up to $150/wk) to student athletes in colleges with athletic revenues over $50 million.

Goals for this year include:

• Raising the minimum wage to $15/ hr
• Ban on Assault Weapons Bill
• Background Check Plus Bill

As you can see, Senator Kimpson has been quite busy and never stops helping people. When he’s not in Columbia, he works as a lawyer at a major law firm, Motley Rice LLC, in Charleston. He’s also very active in our community. Whether it be through his involvement in various churches and community groups, or speaking at the annual CCSD “Boys to Gentlemen” Youth Summit, he has proven time and time again that he puts others before himself.  As if his service wasn’t enough, Kimpson has even given his Senate salary for the last three years to nonprofit organizations in District 42 to help them operate and enhance the community.

The way I see it, there’s no reason why Senator Kimpson shouldn’t be re-elected. But we can’t simply stop with this mentality. We have to get out and vote in the Democratic Primary on June 14th in order to help ensure his seat in office once again!

I have personally known Senator Kimpson for quite a while, and I can comfortably say that you will seldom come across a man with as much tenacity, passion, ability,  and courage as Senator Marlon Kimpson. He is a man of, for, and by the people. A husband and father before a politician, Senator Kimpson is truly in politics as a servant-leader and to give back a portion of what his community has given to him. 

If you are under the age of 23 you REALLY need to get out and vote! If you do it for nothing else, do it knowing that a vote for Kimpson is essentially a vote for the betterment of yourself and those around you.  A Vote for Kimpson is a vote for a young Senator with fresh ideas and energy to push this State FORWARD. On June 14th, get out and vote. Vote for Senator Kimpson. Vote for Charleston. Vote for this State!

If you still need to register to vote, you can visit here: https://info.scvotes.sc.gov/eng/ovr/start.aspx

In order to vote in the Primary you should get registered to vote by May 10th!

Also, if you are interested in volunteering on the campaign or want to learn more about Senator

Kimpson, visit his website: www.marlonkimpson.com

Be sure to like his Official Facebook Page “State Senator Marlon Kimpson”

And, like and follow the newly developed “YEP 4 Kimpson” Page (Youth Engaged in Politics) for content more related to youth and our specific interests.

Share this article with your friends and on social media and most importantly bring at least 3 friends with you on the 14th and VOTE. VOTE. VOTE.

I’ll see you on the June 14th, and together we’ll take this District and State FORWARD.