Ford announces his candidacy for governor (January 7, 2009).

The New Year brings the promise of relief from the economic problem that’s gripping South Carolina. But until that relief arrives a harsh reality remains. People from all walks of life are finding it hard to feed their families. They are losing their jobs and homes. People who help people find shelter from the cold and protection from domestic violence are struggling too.

State and local governments aren’t protected from the economic pain. Budgets are shrinking. When government cuts back ordinary people suffer. The social services government provides are vanishing, taking away the help people so desperately need.

As I’ve watched this downward spiral I’ve been inspired to take on the biggest political challenge of my life. I have decided to run for governor of South Carolina in the 2010 general election. I am running on a platform to expand the gaming industry to help this state overcome its financial crisis.

As governor, I pledge that I will return video poker to South Carolina as a new source of revenue. My base of support comes from a new statewide coalition of people who stand to gain the most from video poker revenue.

I am the only candidate who can assemble this coalition of people who love gaming, state employees who need a major raise in salary and school districts starving for cash. This coalition also includes officials from city and county governments.

When video poker was alive and well in South Carolina it was a $3.5 billion business. But the only money the state received was $62 million in fees. The bill that I have introduced every year since video poker was outlawed in 2000 would bring it back with not only the fees but also with a 25 percent tax on the gross income. That would gain the state about $750 million in new revenue. And as governor, I pledge to the voters of South Carolina that I will tap this windfall to boost our economy.

More than 80 percent of the state’s citizens play the lottery or bingo on a regular basis. When video poker was legal, only 15 percent of the state’s residents participated. The majority of the video poker players were motorists passing through the state or short-term visitors to the communities along the state’s borders with Georgia and North Carolina. That is why 65 percent of the video poker machines were located along the interstate highways.

Without the revenue from video poker we will see a continuation of state employees losing their jobs and income through furloughs and deepening cuts in services for the elderly, disabled and people with special needs.

In the past twelve years, no other candidate for governor and no other candidate for a statewide office has proposed a mechanism through which South Carolina can gain a source of new revenue.

I was the only state official to campaign for the lottery. I personally supported the lottery by visiting all 46 counties at least three times.

Since announcing the formation of the coalition last month, I have been pleased by the response, and I am humbled by the opportunity to pick up the torch to support video poker to relieve an economic crisis that has gripped every sector of our economy and society.

Source: http://www.robertfordforgovernor.com/25861.html

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