Kristopher Crawford
Kristopher R. "Kris" Crawford (b. November 12, 1969) is a former Republican member of the South Carolina House of Representatives, representing District 63 from 2006 to 2014.
Crawford cited both family reasons and the re-organization of the SC House as the basis for his decision.[1] According to The Nerve, the resignation may have linked to their investigation into the State Representative's campaign records and annual income-disclosure reports. The site's investigation alleged mis-use of campaign funds, including payment for campaign work to a company owned by his wife and registered to the State Rep.'s personal address.[2]
Biography
Crawford earned his B.S. from The Citadel in 1992. He went on to receive his M.D. from the Medical University of South Carolina in 2001. Crawford is chief resident of McLeod Family Practice. He works as a physician.
Committee assignments
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Crawford served on the following committees:
| South Carolina committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Labor, Commerce and Industry |
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Crawford served on the following committees:
| South Carolina committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Labor, Commerce and Industry |
| • Rules |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Crawford served on the following committees:
| South Carolina committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Labor, Commerce and Industry |
| • Rules |
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Crawford served on the following committees:
| South Carolina committee assignments, 2009 |
|---|
| • Labor, Commerce and Industry |
| • Rules |
Issues
Cap on superintendent pay
In 2011, Crawford co-sponsored a bill (H. 3297), introduced by Representative Phillip Lowe, that would have limited severance packages for fired school superintendents to their annual salary or less. Any exceptions to this law would have had to be approved by school district voters in a special election.
Lowe's bill came in response to the March 2009 firing of then-Superintendent’s Alisa Goodman. The Marlboro County School Board, in a split vote, approved buying out her contract for $400,000, with nearly $10,000 to cover attorney fees.
"I understand that there’s a contract, that there’s a need to do something," Lowe said. "But not a golden parachute. This is public money."
"I think we have to be serious about admin costs," said Crawford.
Following were the top 10 highest-paid superintendents in 2010, according to The Nerve’s analysis of DOE data:[3]
- Phinnize Fisher, Greenville County Schools, $218,167;
- Katie Brochu, Richland District 2, $213,244;
- Valerie Truesdale, Beaufort County Schools, $205,600;
- Cindy Elsberry, Horry County Schools, $205,000;
- Anthony Parker, Berkeley County Schools, $195,000
- Percy Mack, Richland District 1, $195,000;
- Herbert Berg*, Lexington-Richland District 5, $193,375 (retired);
- Jospeh Pye, Dorchester District 2, $191,267;
- Nancy McGinley, Charleston County Schools, $191,084;
- Lynn Moody, York District 3, $184,240; and
- Marc Sosne, York District 2, $174,916.
The bill did not pass during the 2011-2012 session.[4]
Elections
2014
Elections for all 124 seats in the South Carolina House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election took place on June 10, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 30, 2014. Incumbent Kris Crawford ran unopposed in the Republican primary and was unchallenged in the general election.[5][6][7]
2012
Crawford ran unopposed in the Republican primary on June 12 and won in the general election on November 6, 2012.[8][9]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican |  Kristopher Crawford Incumbent |
68.8% | 11,305 | |
| Democratic | Austin Smith | 30.9% | 5,079 | |
| Other | Write-Ins | 0.3% | 52 | |
| Total Votes | 16,436 | |||
2010
Crawford ran unopposed in the June 8 Republican primary for District 63 of the South Carolina House of Representatives. Crawford defeated Sheila Gallagher (D) in the general election on November 2.[10]
| South Carolina House of Representatives, District 63 (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Kristopher Crawford (R)
|
8,239 | 64.17% | ||
| Sheila Gallagher (D, WF) | 4590 | 35.75% | ||
| Write-In | 11 | 0.09% | ||
2008
On November 4, 2008, Crawford won re-election to the 63rd District seat in the South Carolina House of Representatives, defeating Barry Wingard (D).
Crawford raised $121,928 for his campaign, while Wingard raised $32,644.[11]
| South Carolina House of Representatives, District 63 (2008) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Kristopher Crawford (R)
|
11,941 | |||
| Barry Wingard (D) | 6,217 | |||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Endorsements
Presidential preference
2012
Kristopher Crawford endorsed Newt Gingrich in the 2012 presidential election.[12]
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of South Carolina scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2014
In 2014, the South Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 14 through June 6.
- Conservation Voters of South Carolina - 2013-2014 scorecard
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental and conservation issues.
- Greenville Tea Party - Greenville Tea Party Scorecard 2014
- Legislators are scored by the Greenville Tea Party on their votes on bills "related to jobs, spending, and freedom."
- South Carolina Chamber of Commerce - 2014 legislative scorecard & year in review
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills supported or opposed by the organization.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
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In 2013, the South Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 8 to June 20.
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2012
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show]. |
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In 2012, the South Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 11 through June 7.
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2011
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2011, click [show]. |
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In 2011, the South Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 11 through June 2. On June 2, 2011, Governor Nikki Haley (R) attempted to call the legislature into an "emergency" special session to begin on June 7 to create the new South Carolina Department of Administration. A lawsuit was filed by Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell (R), in which he contended that Haley's call for a special session was unconstitutional, and that it violated the state Constitution's requirement of separation of powers among the governor, legislature and courts.[13] On June 6, the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled 3-2 against Governor Haley, stating that her order violated the Legislature's ability to set its calendar and agenda. The legislature met in a special redistricting session from June 14 - July 1.[14] The legislature re-convened July 26.[15]
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The Palmetto Liberty PAC Scorecard
The Palmetto Liberty Political Action Committee, a conservative, pro-limited government think tank in South Carolina, releases its scorecard for South Carolina representatives and senators once a year. The scorecard gives each legislator a score based on how he or she voted in the two-year legislative term prior to the election on specific issues that the Palametto Liberty PAC thinks are anti-limited government. "Most of the votes shown on the score card are votes that we lost. Now we can identify the Legislators that caused us to lose these votes. These Legislators are the ones who need to be replaced if we are to achieve the vision of having the most free state in the nation."[16]
2012
Kristopher Crawford received a score of 13% in the 2012 scorecard, ranking 88th out of all 124 South Carolina House of Representatives members.[17] His score was followed by representatives Laurie Funderburk (13%), Jerry Govan Jr. (13%), and James Harrison (13%).[18]
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Crawford and his wife, M. Rebecca, have four children.
Noteworthy events
Arrest
On April 1, 2010, Crawford was arrested for failing to file income tax returns. He was charged with four counts of failing to file individual income taxes from 2004 to 2007, as well as three counts of failing to file corporate income taxes for 2005 to 2007. If convicted he faced up to seven years in prison.[19]
Resignation
State Rep. Kristopher Crawford resigned on December 9, 2014, a month after earning re-election to the South Carolina House of Representatives. Crawford cited both family reasons and the re-organization of the SC House as the basis for his decision.[1] According to The Nerve, the resignation may have been linked to their investigation into the State Representative's campaign records and annual income-disclosure reports. The site's investigation alleged mis-use of campaign funds, including payment for campaign work to a company owned by his wife and registered to the State Rep.'s personal address.[2] According to Ashley Landess, president of SC Policy Council, The Nerve's findings raised questions about Crawford's activities.[20] Fellow Republican lawmaker disagreed with the idea that Crawford's resignation was based on anything but his interest to spend more time with his family and the changes to the South Carolina House of Representatives. “Former Speaker Bobby Harrell and Kris were very close and the downfall of the former speaker probably contributed to Kris’ decision,” Lowe told SCNow.com. “I’m absolutely sure this has nothing to do with anything negative with Kris Crawford.”[1] Crawford was unopposed in the 2014 election, earning re-election on the heels of being found guilty of not filing tax returns on time between 2004 and 2007. He paid a $10,000 fine, but received no jail time for the misdemeanor charges. According to the South Carolina Election Commission, the primary to fill Crawford's seat was held on February 24, 2015, and a special election was held on April 14, 2015.[21]
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Kristopher + Crawford + South + Carolina + House"
See also
- South Carolina State Legislature
- South Carolina House of Representatives
- South Carolina House of Representatives Committees
- South Carolina Joint Committees
- South Carolina state legislative districts
External links
- Profile from Open States
- Legislative profile from Project Vote Smart
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Campaign Contributions: 2012, 2010, 2008, 2006
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Gavin Jackson, SCNow.com, "Florence Rep. Kris Crawford resigns from office," December 9, 2014
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Rick Brundrett, The Nerve, "Crawford’s Resignation Tendered After Nerve Investigation," December 10, 2014
- ↑ The Nerve, "Bill Would Cap Payouts to School Superintendents," January 17, 2011 (dead link) (dead link)
- ↑ South Carolina Legislature, "Session 119 - (PRIME) Representative Lowe," accessed September 10, 2013
- ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission, "Election Results," accessed June 10, 2014
- ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission, "Official general election results," accessed November 13, 2014
- ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission, "2014 Election Information," accessed March 31, 2014
- ↑ AP.org, "South Carolina State Senate and State House Election Results," accessed November 7, 2012
- ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission, "2012 Candidates," accessed April 23, 2012
- ↑ www.enr-scvotes.org, "2010 General Election Results," accessed May 1, 2014
- ↑ Follow the Money, "2008 campaign contributions," accessed May 15, 2014
- ↑ Newt Gingrich 2012, "South Carolina Legislative Endorsements For Newt Gingrich," January 20, 2012
- ↑ The State, "High court rules against Haley," June 6, 2011
- ↑ The Sun News, "S.C. House to have special session in June," May 6, 2011
- ↑ The Island Packet, "S.C. Senate OKs new congressional districted anchored in Beaufort County," June 29, 2011
- ↑ The Palmetto Liberty Political Action Committee, "Voting Records," accessed April 11, 2014
- ↑ Palmetto Liberty Political Action Committee, "South Carolina Senate Score Card 2012," accessed April 11, 2014
- ↑ Palmetto Liberty Political Action Committee, "South Carolina Senate Score Card 2012," accessed May 15, 2014
- ↑ WMBF, "SC legislator arrested on income tax charges," April 1, 2010
- ↑ Robert Kittle, WSPA, "SC House Member Resigns Amidst Ethics Questions," December 10, 2014
- ↑ Seanna Adcox, Associated Press The Republic, "Florence House member Kris Crawford resigns 1 month after being elected to 5th term," December 9, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
South Carolina House of Representatives District 63 2006–2014 |
Succeeded by NA |
