Candidate Profile: Sen. Ronnie Cromer, S.C. Senate District 18

The District 18 state Senate race will pit three challengers — , , and  — against incumbent GOP Sen. Ronnie Cromer, of Prosperity.

The district covers Lexington, Newberry, and Saluda counties.

Name: Ronnie W. Cromer

Age: 64

Home: Prosperity, S.C.

Occupation: Pharmacist

Current Political Position: SC State Senate District 18

Years in Office: 9

Prior experience (political/civil/etc): Town Councilman, Chairman of the local Water and Sewer Authority, 30 years of Active Duty, Guard, and Reserve Duty in the Army and the SC Army National Guard. Retired Lt. Colonel and Veteran of Desert Storm. Past member and chairman of the SC LLR Pharmacy Board, past member of the SC LLR Occupational Therapy Board. Past Chair of the Newberry County GOP.

Family: Spouse -- Linda, Two Daughters -- Candace (Chad Frick), Heather (Jeremy Harris). Three grandchildren -- Zachary-age 10, Zoe-age 4, and Ella Kate-age 1.

Education: BS in Pharmacy from the University of South Carolina

Campaign website: www.ronniecromer.com

Why are seeking re-election?  

I have been very successful in helping reduce the tax burden on our citizens with $1.3 billion of the current budget being given back to the taxpayers.  We still have work to do on the tax reform front and also I have been introducing bills for the last four years to force each state agency to be more accountable and efficient in their day to day operations.  One of my bills requires each agency to be audited at least every 5 years and to justify which programs need to be kept and which programs can be eliminated.

What makes you the best person for the job?  

My proven fiscal conservativeness.  My passion for bringing more jobs to district 18 and to South Carolina.

What areas of the office will you seek to focus on and what do you hope to accomplish in your term?  

Tax reform, repairing our dilapidated roads and bridges.  We currently have a good plan to ease traffic congestion in Chapin and the town of Lexington but a shortage of revenue has held up these plans.  My desire is to continue to try and find funding for these projects to help make the quality of life better in these areas.

Have you heard any repeated concerns from residents of District 18? 

Primarily the economy and the unemployment problem.

What do you think needs to be done to improve South Carolina’s education system?  

Change the way students are evaluated, i.e., better testing and immediate results testing to allow the teachers more time to teach to a child's weaknesses.

What do you think about South Carolina’s job creation strategy and what do you think should be done to bring more jobs to the state and improve our economy?  

Currently, we are having pretty good success on creating new jobs. We just need to keep working hard at promoting SC to National and International businesses.

Gov. Nikki Haley is fond of giving out grades to lawmakers. How would you assess her job so far in her first term as governor?  

B+. The governor has done a pretty good job at helping to bring in new jobs. The only fault I could find is a problem with the Savannah Ports Issue.

Anything else you'd like to add? 

N/A