Columbia, SC (WLTX) - Richland County Councilman Seth Rose says he won't seek re-election to his current office, but instead will run for a seat in the South Carolina House of Representatives.
Rose announced Tuesday he intends to seek the District 72 seat in Richland County next year.
“I represent a new generation of leadership that wants to restore public trust in our government,” Rose said in a statement. “As a councilman, I have been an advocate for the taxpayers and citizens I serve on County Council. I’m ready to take my record of service to the next level and help even more people in Richland County and across the great state of South Carolina.”
The House 72 seat is current held by Rep. James Smith, a Columbia Democrat. But Smith announced recently that he will run for governor, which will leave his spot open.
Rose has been on the council since 2011. He lists as his major accomplishments getting a public broadcast of council meetings and establishing on-the-record roll call voting.
If elected to the State House, he says he wants to focus on increasing per student education funding, making sure the state's gas tax is properly used, and reforming the oversight of county recreation and election commissions. He also wants reforms to the agencies that were responsible for overseeing the V.C. Summer nuclear project fiasco, a failure that led to 5,600 people losing their jobs.