Hillary Clinton Campaign Press Release - SC Rep. Harold Mitchell Endorses Hillary

Upstate Leader Says Hillary Best for Environment and Conservation

(COLUMBIA, SC) – The Hillary Clinton South Carolina Campaign today announced the endorsement of State Representative Harold Mitchell of Spartanburg, adding to the list of Upstate leaders supporting Hillary. Sunday, Mitchell and former top White House Adviser and Senior Campaign Adviser to Hillary Alvin Brown visited two area churches. "She"s right on the issues. She's the right fit for our country and she has the right experience to get the job done," Rep. Harold Mitchell of Spartanburg said. "I wasn't always with Hillary, but the more I see, the more I know she's the right choice. I testified before her committee in Washington and I've had a chance to see her leadership. I'm convinced she's the best choice to lead our country and to lead the Democratic ticket."

Mitchell testified before the Senate Environmental and Public Works Committee's Subcommittee on Superfund and Environmental Health recently about a landfill in Spartanburg where medical, auto and industrial waste are being dumped close to the community. The July 25 hearing was entitled, "Oversight of the EPA's Environmental Justice Programs." Clinton, who chairs the subcommittee, has supported legislation to restore the "polluter pays" principle by reinstating a chemical company fee to fund cleanups of highly contaminated "Superfund" waste sites. Clinton also proposed legislation to create an environmental health tracking network to enable better understanding of the impact of environmental hazards on human health.

"Hilary understands the issue," Mitchell said. "Environmental justice today isn't a matter of litigating corporations or industry. But rather, it's about change, about community revitalization, about economic impact and jobs, about community health, and about affordable housing. Hillary gets it. This is about middle class economics and Hillary's been working in the Senate to put in place exactly what we need."

Mitchell heads the ReGenisis Partnership, an effort to cleanup and revitalize the area, and serves on the South Carolina House Committee on Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs. "Harold is a strong voice in the national dialogue about environmental justice and community empowerment. His voice will be an important one within the campaign and in South Carolina for Hillary," said Brown, who attended Sunday services with Mitchell at Mt. Moriah Baptist Church and Cornerstone Baptist Church, both in Spartanburg. "We've worked on a lot of the same issues and I have respect and admiration for Harold's work, for his passion and for his vision for what can be done to empower the community."

Brown served as Vice President Al Gore's Senior Adviser for Urban Policy and Vice Chair and Executive Director of the White House Community Empowerment Board. He was a top leader on a wide range of domestic issues in the previous Clinton administration, including community revitalization, job creation, new business development and expansion of affordable housing. Brown led the Clinton-Gore administration's $4 billion community empowerment programs, including the new market tax credits initiative and the Empowerment Zone/Enterprise Community program that fueled economic growth in rural America and the nation's cities. The pioneering program attracted $10 billion in private investment and drew praise for its innovative use of public-private partnerships.

Mitchell also noted Hillary's support for affordable workforce housing as another reason for his support. Hillary will establish a $1 billion fund to support state, county, and municipal housing trust funds. Housing trust funds generally use dedicated funding sources to support initiatives like building subsidized rental housing and safety net housing, and they also support nonprofit housing developers. Hillary's proposed fund will supplement the funding states, counties, and municipalities have already dedicated to these initiatives. Mitchell sponsored a bill passed this year in the legislature that establishes a local affordable workforce housing trust fund for South Carolina. For a list of other South Carolina and Upstate endorsements, visit www.hillaryclinton.com/hq/southcarolina.