[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.0.91″ custom_padding=”0px|0px|0px|0px” next_background_color=”#000000″][et_pb_row custom_padding=”0px|0px|0px|0px” _builder_version=”3.0.47″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_image admin_label=”Top Image” _builder_version=”3.0.106″ show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” force_fullwidth=”off” show_bottom_space=”on” src=”http:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/CrangleP1W_MJS-2.jpg” \/][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row custom_padding=”2px|0px|8px|0px” _builder_version=”3.0.47″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Top Image caption” _builder_version=”3.0.106″ text_font=”|600|||||||” text_font_size=”12px” background_layout=”light”]<\/p>\n
John Crangle, Democratic candidate for S.C. House District 75, has spent much of his adult life advocating for reforms in government, giving him a unique perspective on how to make the legislature better serve the people.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.0.92″ custom_padding=”2px|0px|37.9062px|0px” prev_background_color=”#000000″][et_pb_row custom_padding=”0px|0px|18.9531px|0px” custom_margin=”10px|||” _builder_version=”3.0.92″][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image 1″ show_in_lightbox=”on” show_bottom_space=”off” _builder_version=”3.0.106″ custom_margin=”||2px|” custom_padding=”|||” animation_style=”slide” box_shadow_style=”preset2″ box_shadow_horizontal=”4px” box_shadow_vertical=”4px” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” force_fullwidth=”off” src=”http:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/CrangleP5W_MJS-1.jpg” \/][et_pb_text admin_label=”Caption 1″ _builder_version=”3.0.106″ text_font=”|600|||||||” text_font_size=”12px” text_line_height=”1.4em” custom_margin=”8px|||2px” custom_padding=”|||” background_layout=”light”]<\/p>\n
John Crangle’s proposal would dissolve the South Carolina House of Representatives, getting rid of what he considers as simply “a stepping stone” to becoming a Senator.<\/p>\n
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124 members of the South Carolina House of Representatives might not be too keen on the prospect of their jobs being eliminated for a unicameral legislature.<\/p>\n
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The South Carolina Senate would be full-time under John Crangle\u2019s proposal, meaning the chambers would be empty much less often.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image 4″ show_in_lightbox=”on” show_bottom_space=”off” _builder_version=”3.0.106″ custom_margin=”||2px|” custom_padding=”|||” animation_style=”slide” box_shadow_style=”preset2″ box_shadow_horizontal=”4px” box_shadow_vertical=”4px” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” force_fullwidth=”off” src=”http:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/CrangleP13W_MJS-1.jpg” \/][et_pb_text admin_label=”Caption 4″ _builder_version=”3.0.106″ text_font=”|600|||||||” text_font_size=”12px” text_line_height=”1.4em” custom_margin=”8px|||2px” custom_padding=”|||” background_layout=”light”]<\/p>\n
Don Fowler thinks John Crangle\u2019s proposal of a unicameral legislature in South Carolina is interesting, but says that the history in America of a bicameral system points that it is the better way.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image _builder_version=”3.0.106″ src=”http:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/CrangleG1_MJS-3.jpg” show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” force_fullwidth=”off” show_bottom_space=”on” \/][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_3″][et_pb_text admin_label=”News Story” _builder_version=”3.0.106″ custom_margin=”0px||0px|” background_layout=”light”]<\/p>\n
John Crangle is a Democrat\u00a0running for the South Carolina House of Representatives, but he is already planning to wipe out his own legislative chamber if elected.<\/p>\n
After spending decades<\/a>\u00a0rooting out corruption in the State House, the longtime face of the watchdog organization Common Cause in South Carolina,\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>has seen first-hand what he considers to be incompetence at the highest level.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been going over there since 1987 and most legislators don\u2019t know anything about the actual process,\u201d Crangle, 77, said. \u201cWhatever the majority leader tells them to do, that\u2019s what they do.\u201d<\/p>\n Crangle plans to tackle the problem with a radical solution. He wants to abolish the South Carolina House of Representatives and establish\u00a0<\/span>a full-time Senate as a unicameral legislature. He believes the House has become a training ground for future senators.<\/p>\n \u201cQuite frankly, the quality of senator on average is higher than in the House,\u201d Crangle said. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of like the difference between Double-A baseball and Class A baseball, though in this case it may be more of Double-A to college.\u201d<\/p>\n According to Crangle, combining that inability to perform the job,<\/span> with what he says is a\u00a0continued<\/a> culture<\/a> of<\/a> corruption<\/a> in<\/a> the State House, results in an inefficient and wasteful legislature.<\/p>\n Adopting a unicameral legislature would mean South Carolina. would join Nebraska as the only other state with one legislative body. In 1934, Nebraska approved\u00a0a constitutional amendment abolishing the House of Representatives and in 1937 \u201cthe Unicameral\u201d<\/a>\u00a0met for the first time.<\/p>\n Nebraska\u2019s legislature is made up of 49 senators,\u00a0each chosen by a single-member district or constituency a nonpartisan election. What this means is the top two vote-getters in each primary are entitled to run in the general election, regardless of party affiliation.<\/p>\n John Hibbing, a professor of political science at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, says that Nebraskans, on the whole, are happy with their form of state representation.<\/p>\n \u201cIt works pretty well and the differences are maybe less than they would appear to an outsider,\u201d Hibbing said in a telephone interview. \u201cI think if there was a proposal to change back to two-house legislature, it would probably fail.\u201d<\/p>\n The Nebraska Legislature<\/a>\u00a0differs slightly from what Crangle hopes to accomplish in South Carolina. Nebraska senators still spend only 60 to 90 days a year in the capital, Lincoln, performing legislative duties, far from the full-time scenario Crangle envisions.<\/p>\n And the different demographics of the two states make it hard to project whether voters would be as pleased as they are in Nebraska.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a strong populist tradition here,\u201d Hibbing said. \u201cI think Nebraskans are a little bit proud of it, something unique as the only one in the union.\u201d<\/p>\n To get to a one-house general assembly, Crangle will have to navigate the complicated process of amending the South Carolina<\/a>\u00a0Constitution. Scott Huffmon, professor of political science at Winthrop University, says that may look easier than it actually is.<\/p>\n \u201cWe do have one of the most amended constitutions of all the state constitutions in the United States of America,\u201d Huffmon said. \u201cBut that is because we have one of the oldest, still functioning ones. It\u2019s not technically among the easiest to amend.\u201d<\/p>\n Phil Cheney, the only Independent candidate for governor, thinks Crangle\u2019s idea is very interesting but he isn\u2019t completely on board.<\/p>\n \u201cA unicameral legislature sounds like a good idea to me, but I think the Senate was designed to be a part-time job in South Carolina,\u201d Cheney said. \u201cIt was for those who were retired or had other sources of income, and I really think we need more retired folks to hold seats.\u201d<\/p>\n Crangle’s reforms don’t stop at just abolishing the House. He’d also limit the influence of\u00a0money\u00a0on elections\u00a0by banning campaign fundraising in non-election years. He says this would reduce a number of conflicts of interest within the legislature.<\/p>\n “It\u2019s like an auction house over there when you have leadership that\u2019s taking money from their own campaigns,” Crangle said. “They’re taking caucus money too. It\u2019s very easy to corrupt from the top down.”<\/p>\n While Crangle\u2019s proposal has precedence in government, there is skepticism that it will get any traction.<\/p>\n \u201cOh, I don\u2019t think the House is really going to like that very much,\u201d Gov. Jim Hodges, who held office from 1999-2003, said in a phone interview. \u201cMaybe John wants to get the idea out there so people will talk about it.\u201d<\/p>\n Crangle may find that his plan to abolish\u00a0the House of Representatives\u00a0has resistance even inside the Democratic Party. Don Fowler, former national chairman of the Democratic National Committee doesn\u2019t think it\u2019s viable.<\/p>\n \u201cI think there is wisdom in having two bodies,\u201d Fowler said. \u201cEvery state but Nebraska has two, the U.S. Congress has two and I think the U.S. Constitutional Convention of 1787 was wise in creating a House and Senate with different tenures, different geographical areas and people that they represent.”<\/p>\n Just getting seated in\u00a0the State House will be a challenge for Crangle. District 75 is solidly Republican, voting in Rep. Kirkman Finlay III, R-Richland,\u00a0the last three election cycles. Crangle is also severely out-funded by his opponent.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s an uphill struggle for me,\u201d Crangle said. \u201cIt\u2019s a gerrymandered, Republican district and I\u2019m going up against a guy who is worth $50 or $60 million, so it\u2019s a David-versus-Goliath situation.\u201d<\/p>\n He’s not interested in mudslinging to get ahead.<\/p>\n \u201cMy campaign is not personal attacks,\u201d he said. \u201cI know Kirkman\u2019s mother and I knew his father for years as well. This is strictly about reform ideas that I think have been needed for a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n And his campaign is solely focused on those reform ideas. While he may have an opinion on other issues, Crangle believes the government must be fixed to streamline solutions to other problems.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not going to talk about distracters, like the Confederate flag or abortion,\u201d Crangle said. \u201cWe\u2019re spending $22 million in excess on the House a year, that\u2019s money that could be used to solve things.\u201d<\/p>\n That attitude is unsurprising to many of the people who are familiar with John Crangle\u2019s past work.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can use any frank metaphor you want along the lines of an uphill battle to describe this election,\u201d Huffmon said. \u201cMy guess is that he views this as a chance to get a broader platform to try and force those in power to acknowledge issues he cares about.\u201d<\/p>\n But Crangle wants it to be clear that he is not running a sideshow campaign. He wants to win, but in order to do that he knows the political climate must be right.<\/p>\n “I think I have a chance because you don’t have a presidential election going on,” he said. “I’m going up in a year where I think the governor’s race is up for grabs more than most years and that will motivate a lot more Democrats to vote. It’s an uphill struggle, but if God’s on your side then it works miracles.”<\/p>\n For Crangle, this election is, hopefully, the culmination of a lifetime of work boring into the deep roots that corruption has taken in politics. He is the author of \u201cOperation Lost Trust: And the Ethics Reform Movement<\/a>.” It’s a 607-page magnum opus on the 1989 FBI sting operation in the South Carolina General Assembly, that saw multiple legislators indicted for accepting bribes.<\/p>\n After wading through that political dirty laundry and witnessing\u00a0a similar scandal almost 30 years later, in which almost half a dozen current or former legislators were indicted<\/a> in a special prosecutor’s investigation<\/a>, Crangle knows that it’s one of the most difficult tasks to fully accomplish.<\/p>\n \u201cThe nature of the corruption has changed,\u201d he said. \u201cCorruption is like bacteria. You can treat it with an antibiotic, but eventually it builds a resistance.\u201d<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" John Crangle is locally famous for taking down corrupt politicians at the State House. 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