Jen Gibson
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Jen Gibson
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Jen Gibson (Democratic Party) ran for election to the South Carolina House of Representatives to represent District 99. She lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.
Gibson completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.
In addition to running as a Democratic Party candidate, Gibson cross-filed to also run with the Working Families Party in 2018.[1]
In 2020, Gibson participated in a Candidate Conversation hosted by Ballotpedia and EnCiv. Click here to view the recording.
Biography
Jen Gibson was born in Columbus, Ohio. She earned a bachelor's degree in political science from the College of Charleston in 2001. Gibson's career experience includes working as the director of philanthropy for Trident Literacy Association and as the owner and head of sales at Wanderlust Travel Boutique.[2][3]
Elections
2020
See also: South Carolina House of Representatives elections, 2020
General election
Republican primary runoff election
Democratic primary election
Watch the Candidate Conversation for this race!
Republican primary election
2018
General election
Democratic primary election
Republican primary election
Campaign themes
2020
Candidate Conversations
Candidate Conversations is a virtual debate format that allows voters to easily get to know their candidates through a short video Q&A.
Click below to watch the conversation for this race.
Video for Ballotpedia
Released July 8, 2020
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Jen Gibson completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Gibson's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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Jen Gibson's family hails from a mining family in the mountains of West Virginia. She moved to Mount Pleasant when she was a girl. She attended Charleston County public schools and graduated from Wando High School in 1992. She went on to earn her Political Science degree from the College of Charleston. After spending twenty years as a successful small business owner, she entered the nonprofit sector as the Director of Philanthropy at Trident Literacy Association. She is married to Paul Gibson and they have a son, Charlie in the 7th grade.
Jen serves on several boards dedicated to improving the lives of people living in economically depressed communities. She is active in women's networking groups where she mentors young women as they begin their careers. She was a graduate of Emerge SC and went on to join the Board of Directors in 2019. She has been active in the Democratic Party for many years and currently serves as 2nd Vice Chair in Berkeley County.
Jen loves animals and is a proud mom of Figaro and Mr. Snuggles. She loves to garden and read. Jen's greatest joy is making new friends which makes running for office a little easier.
Equity in education, health care, and justice are my policy passions. I believe that without equity are community and economy can never reach its full potential.
Elected officials should be honest and accountable. We owe it to our constituents to be as transparent as possible about our views and positions. Surveys like this are important because voters can do in depth research into the policy positions and character of the candidate.
Elected officials should have excellent communication skills and be able to work well with members of their own party and those on the opposite aisle. Policy is created through discussion and compromise among stakeholders, and there is no room in the process for inflated egos or self interest.
We should be good listeners. We can only solve a problem, if we know about it. We must be accessible and attentive.
Elected officials should be hard working and creative. Once elected, a person has the extraordinary honor and responsibility to create the policies that will guide our state forward. It requires extreme dedication to be available to your constituents, be well-versed in policy, and put in the long hours to create coalitions that can craft effective legislation.
I was 11 years old when the space shuttle Challenger exploded after taking off. My classmates and I were watching it on a TV that had been rolled in to the classroom for the special occasion. It defined how my generation understands that teachers are heroes. Whether it was Christa McAuliffe reaching for the stars or the teachers in our classrooms that comforted us and helped us process our grief, we knew they were heroes.
I am currently obsessed with the science fiction series The Expanse. It is well written and provides an interesting commentary on so many of the issues we face in society today. The characters are complex and flawed, and it is difficult to always know who the good guys are, just like in real life.
As a mom of a child with special needs, I have struggled with many issues I never thought I would. I had to gain expertise in health insurance, physical therapy, special education, medical supplies, and so many other things I never associated with being a parent. I had to learn to do research and become an expert in unfamiliar subjects, use that information to be a strong advocate, and become a good listener without prejudging the speaker. I had to learn that sometimes there is no good choice. You just have to make the best decisions with the best information available and the resources you have in front of you. I learned that even though we may have the same problem, we will not have the same struggle. Most of all, I learned that the decisions our elected officials make can make the struggle easier or harder, and that is why I am running for this office.
The SC General Assembly has the tremendous task of overhauling the SC Education Accountability Act. I believe this legislative process will span several sessions for the comprehensive reform needed. I plan to make education reform one of my major priorities, and I will keep pressure on leadership to keep it on the legislative agenda. I will work with several education organizations to craft legislation that will support teachers and students in today's learning environment.
Transportation is another major issue facing our state. The James B Edwards Bridge, Interstate 526, and Highway 41 are just a few examples of major routes serving the district that will require major investments in the near future. My priority will be to draft legislation that requires transparency, public input, stakeholder collaboration, and long term planning goals by the Department of Transportation. For too long, major decisions about our roads and bridges have been made in back rooms by a few powerful business interests. I will put public pressure on the Department of Transportation, General Assembly, and Governor's office to create a sustainable strategy that works for all South Carolinians and protects our natural resources.
Lastly, balancing growth and development, responsible environmental policy and adequate infrastructure in our fast growing state will need the legislature's focus.
An independent, non-partisan redistricting commission would ensure South Carolina House, Senate, and Congressional districts are drawn in the best interest of its citizens and not political incumbents. The legislature can pass substantive reform measures in advance of the new district lines that will be in effect until 2031. Political candidates, elected officials, and lobbyists have a conflict of interest and should not serve on the redistricting commission. Those that do serve on the commission should not be eligible to run for an office affected by the district lines for four years. Ideal commission members would have a background in statistics and data analysis. Above all, members should be impartial. There is no room for partisan politics or special interests on the commission. All meetings of the commission should be recorded and available for public viewing. Listening sessions should be held in each county to learn the concerns of each community before the redistricting process begins. The goal of the new district lines should be for greater efficiency in government and geographic communities should be prioritized.
District 99 spans two counties, four municipalities and two unincorporated areas. That is four mayors and forty-nine council members plus their various staff and commission members that must work together to establish what works best for the district. It is the definition of inefficiency. The representative for District 99 was elected in 2000 and went unchallenged until he resigned his seat after being convicted of corruption charges seventeen years later. We deserve fair elections and fair redistricting is how we get them.
My primary committee request would be Education and Public Works.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
2018
Ballotpedia biographical submission form
The candidate completed Ballotpedia's biographical information submission form:
| “ | What is your political philosophy?
Jen Gibson is an enthusiastic community advocate, a small business owner, a dedicated mother & wife and a committed public servant. It is her goal to give a voice and a presence to those that are underrepresented or even ignored in her district by current decision makers. She believes the path to solutions lies in diversity and innovation. Two years ago, Jen's son was in crisis during the first grade. It was his third school in his short academic career, and it was clear he needed a professional evaluation to determine his specific challenges. Her family was hit with the reality of a broken education and mental health system in South Carolina. As she was helping her son with special needs navigate the world around him, her father was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. It was his third fight against cancer and he fought hard, but he succumbed to the horrid disease after 9 months. The experiences devastated her, and she realized the only way she made it through was with their access to good health insurance and financial resources to go outside of the education and health care system. She committed herself to improving these broken systems, so every South Carolinian would have access to these basic services regardless of their financial status. Her advocacy brought her to the South Carolina State House to work with all branches of government, political parties, and interest groups to create meaningful reform and accountability to every department managed by the state government. Is there anything you would like to add? Jen Gibson was endorsed by the Charleston City Paper, South Carolina Education Association, SC Equality, Planned Parenthood Votes South Atlantic, AFL-CIO South Carolina for the 2018 general election for SC House District 99. [4] |
” |
| —Jen Gibson[5] |
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ South Carolina Election Commission, "2018 List of Candidates," accessed October 29, 2018
- ↑ Information submitted on Ballotpedia’s biographical information submission form on November 1, 2018
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on July 8, 2020
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
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Leadership
Speaker of the House:G. Murrell Smith
Majority Leader:Davey Hiott
Minority Leader:James Rutherford
Representatives
Republican Party (88)
Democratic Party (34)
Vacancies (2)
