Steven J. Asbill Jr. | State House District 84

My favorite routine spot in Lexington is Schooner’s Bar and Grill off Old Bush River Road. The food is prepared fresh and battered on site. The wait staff are stellar, and it’s a great place for drinks. My other favorites are La Chapala, as that’s where my first date was with my now husband, and The Coffee Shelf in Chapin, as they have a great atmosphere and creative coffee drinks as well as a book exchange that has opened my eyes to multiple great titles. All these places demonstrate what I want to save in Lexington County. Local businesses with a down to earth atmosphere are key players in supporting our neighborhoods and making our County feel like home.

My job is serving as a hospital pharmacist. My routine of struggling to find patients affordable medications is one of the primary reasons I am running for the State House. By pushing for publicity with bills that target vulnerable groups and accomplishing nothing relating to our health, South Carolina has lost over a hundred independent pharmacies and at least 7 in Lexington County because of the legislature allowing monopolization of the pharmaceutical industry. I see patients on a daily basis forced to use a pharmacy across town they do not wish to use, forced to travel far away from home for network-preferred health care, and premiums and deductibles that swell every year. This problem can be solved, and when I’m elected, the first bill I propose will be to reign in the pharmacy benefit managers (PBM) who monopolized our medication access.

Coldstream subdivision near Irmo has multiple neighborhood entryways, but several lead to Old Bush River where the traffic is too intense to consistently turn left in a reasonable time frame. Additionally, there is an intersection coming off Bower Park Way onto Piney Grove Road where the right turn lane was built too small, meaning traffic backs up for miles and drivers have to wait excessively instead of being able to turn right. I am proposing stop lights for Coldstream intersections and a widening of the right turn lane at Piney Grove/Bower Parkway. Your elected officials should want to make your daily life better and reduce needless traffic jams.

The State Legislature has shown an inability to accomplish anything of substance for South Carolina. The Freedom Caucus, of which my opponent is a member, flies on our taxpayer dime to D.C. for publicity stunts while our state ranks 43 rd in Education, people all over the country joke about the terrible condition of our roads, and our healthcare quality is crumbling. I reached a point in my pharmacy career where it became clear our problems couldn’t be fixed without serious people who want bold action instead of political fame. I’m running because it’s worth the sacrifice to make the state that I love the best it can be. I have hope for our future in SC because our residents care about their state and their neighborhoods, and people from all over realize we can solve problems with better leadership.