YCDP-TV

Your intrepid YCDP TV producer went to the Trump rally in Rock Hill… just because. He filed this report

Texas Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett (“Bleach Blonde, Bad Build, Butch Body”) took time out from her own reelection campaign to visit Rock Hill and join candidate for Governor Jermaine Johnson on stage on October 29 for a rally sponsored by the SC Women for Change and YCDP.

The rally was held at the McGirt Auditorium at Emmett Scott Recreation Center, a venue upgrade when RSVPs to the event exceeded capacity at the original venue.

Rock Hill School Board Trustee Montrio Belton MC’d the evening, with a host of other candidates and speakers addressing the capacity crowd. In order of speaking, they are:

- Brandon Upson, Political Director for Jermaine Johnson

- Michelle Cummings, SC Women for Change

- Nikita Jackson, YCDP Chair, Rock Hill City Councilwoman

- Brian Ballard, York County Rising

- Jenny Desch, candidate SC House 26

- Bump Roddy, York County Councilman (Dist 4)

- Jason Belton, candidate for SC Secretary of State

- John King, State Rep, SC District 49

- Sam Skardon, candidate for Lt. Governor

- Jasmine Crockett, US House Congresswoman, Texas 30

- Dr. Jermaine Johnson, Candidate for Governor, SC State Rep

YCDP TV was able to stream the event live thanks to some quick technical work by William, the venue A/V tech.

Early voting is almost over. The election is less than a week away.

Senate Candidate Annie Andrews visited York County one more time to speak to a big crowd at the Old Town Amphitheater in Rock Hill on Wednesday, October 28.

Candidate for Congress Mallory Dittmer lead off the evening. Also appearing are SC State Rep John King, and Paul Vining, a lifelong Republican who announced that Andrews and Dittmer were the first Democrats he'd ever voted for.

Seven Democratic candidates — from School Board to Governor — made their final pitch to voters on Sunday, October 18, in Fountain Park, Rock Hill. This episode presents the full rally, plus a quick look at the all-important job of canvassing voters - that is, knocking on doors and talking to them one-on-one.

At the rally, you’ll hear from:

YCDP Chair Nikita Jackson

Jennifer Hutchinson, Vice-Chair, Rock Hill School Board

Seberina Barber Myles, Candidate, Rock Hill School Board At Large seat

Marina Franco, Candidate for State House Dist 29

Jenny Desch, Candidate for State House Dist 26

Clinton College Drumline

Ken Martin, Chair of the Democratic National Committee

Chad Williams, Candidate SC SENATE Dist 15 (Special Election to replace Wes Climer)

State Rep John King, Incumbent and Candidate for State House District 49

Mallory Dittmer, Candidate for US House for the SC 5th District (All of York and most of surrounding counties)

Jermaine Johnson, Candidate for Governor

York County joined the Nationwide NO KINGS/VOTE EARLY movement on Saturday, October 17, with a rally on Dave Lyle Blvd in Rock Hill.

Turnout was a little lighter than in the past, but enthusiasm was high as ever.

Senate candidate Dr. Annie Andrews brought her campaign to York County with a Town Hall in Fort Mill on Saturday, October 16. Every minute of the Town Hall is here on YCDP TV.

And a Bonus Extra. After the Town Hall, we found SC House District 26 candidate Jenny Desch talking to some folks and getting herself into ‘campaign mode’, so we rolled the camera and listened in for a mini-Town Hall. Two for the price of free!

Our Civics Lesson notes that there are FOUR School Districts in York County, drawn around for ‘population areas’: York (City), Clover, Rock Hill and Fort Mill. Each District has a seven-member Board of Trustees, with four-year terms. Some are elected this year, the rest in two years.

Candidates nominate themselves (in August) — they are technically nonpartisan, and are not part of the Primary process. All qualified candidates appear on the ballot, and voters choose several from the list.

This episode is the Fort Mill School Board Candidate Forum, sponsored by the Reaganites of York County and held on September 27 at the Catawba Ridge High School. Six of the seven candidates participated. There are four seats up for election, with three incumbents among the sevan candidates.

There will be another Fort Mill Candidate Forum on October 15 at Nation’s Ford High School. It will be livestreamed on the School District’s YouTube channel

The Rock Hill School District also held a candidate forum, and livestreamed it on their YouTube Channel. We don’t know if the York or Clover Districts have held or planned forums and/or put video online.

NO ENDORSEMENTS… but “a list”
Note that because the positions and election are nonpartisan, the YCDP does not endorse candidates, even though most have some political leaning. The GOP and the radical Mom’s for Liberty group do their best to influence candidates and elections, and this year, candidate preference lists are more public than usual (they are often kept quiet to avoid tipping of ‘the opposition’. So in this episode, we do discuss the candidate preferences we’ve heard about (but it’s still not a YCDP endorsement. We take a little more latitude on the YouTube/podcasts to discuss the political environment than we do on the rest of the website).

We also call out one candidate in particular - Larry Barnett - because local education activists tell us they discovered (and saved) some alarming Facebook posts on his public (at the time) timeline that were either made private or taken down the day after he filed for election. This is still not a YCDP position, but our producer compiled this PDF of the pages the activists collected.

THE LAST WORDS…
The program closes with another host/producer (vanity?) segment, this time focusing on an odd Facebook rant by the Reaganites, the group that sponsored the forum. They seem to have a lot of heartburn about us showing up to record the event on video (without asking first). We assumed that it was a public forum (which it was) and open to media (which, apparently, it wasn’t😕?). A minor point, quickly resolved at the event (we thought), but our routine production requests apparently escalated their annoyance (already pre-established because, after all, we’re Democrats) into a major beef🐄. Enjoy.

INDEX:

00:00 Intro 01:04 The Civics lesson. School District map, School Board election details 04:08 This video is the Fort Mill School District Candidate Forum. Details. 05:54 Who's recommended? Because it's non-partisan... we have a list. 07:43 Special attention to candidate Larry Barnett 10:06 Note on a second FMSB Candidate Forum, Oct 15 at Nation's Fort HS 10:32 Note on Rock Hill School District Forum on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/live/8HS0XHg4... 11:39 This video is edited to concentrate on Candidate comments. Unedited version available on York County Reaganites YouTube Channel 13:24 FORUM BEGINS - Intro 14:32 Larry Barnett opening statement 17:00 Keith Griffin opening statement 19:25 Joe Helms opening statement 21:30 Brandon Langford opening statement 24:07 Melissa Maynard opening statement 26:47 Lipi Pratt opening statement 29:07 QUESTION ONE: Spending growth 29:37 Joe Helms response 31:04 Brandon Langford response 33:19 Melissa Maynard response 34:48 Lipi Pratt response 36:35 Larry Barnett response 39:26 Keith Griffin response 41:32 QUESTION TWO: Bond Referendum, debt 41:59 Brandon Langford response 44:46 Melissa Maynard response 47:46 Lipi Pratt response 49:28 Larry Barnett response 51:33 Keith Griffin response 53:47 Joe Helms response 56:42 QUESTION THREE: Safety Issues 56:55 Keith Griffin response 59:04 Joe Helms response 1:01:46 Brandon Langford response 1:04:45 Melissa Maynard response 1:07:40 Lipi Pratt response 1:10:37 Larry Barnett response 1:12:34 QUESTION FOUR: Academic rigor, achievement, measurement 1:12:47 Larry Barnett response 1:12;14 Keith Griffin response 1:16:24 Joe Helms response 1:19:32 Brandon Langford response 1:22:13 Melissa Maynard response 01:25:07 Lipi Pratt response 1:27:16 CLOSING STATEMENTS (30 seconds each) 1:31:34 Gary returns for a little more 'politics' - Reaganites' Facebook complaints about CAPE/YCDP video coverage 1:36:41 Gary's response and comment 1:45:38 OVER and OUT

Our Meet the Candidate series brings us to Jenny Desch, the Democratic nominee for SC House District 26. That’s greater Fort Mill, or Zip Code 29715.

Jenny is currently an Assistant Solicitor (better known as Prosecutor) working in Columbia. She lives in Fort Mill (long commute!), and worked in the prosecutor’s office in York County for almost 20 years before switching to the Columbia office. She grew up an ‘Air Force brat’ in Germany and the Philippines before returning to the states to go to law school and ending up in South Carolina. And though she’s long been a state employee in the legal office, she’s also had her eye on making the laws she’s been enforcing all these years. 2026 is the year to pull the pin on that ambition.

This is a long, in-depth conversation. You’ll really get to know Jenny, and I think you’ll find she will be an awesome State Representative.

In this episode we hear from six Democratic candidates for office in 2026:

Sylvia Wright, running for Superintendent of Education

Mallory Dittmer, running for Congress - US House in the South Carolina 5th - that’s the seat that Ralph Norman gave up to run for Governor, so it’s an open seat… no incumbent

Jason Belton, running for Secretary of State

Tiffany Boozer, running for Comptroller General. We did an extended interview with Tiffany during the Primary

DeShawn Blanding, running for Commissioner of Agriculture. We had a long talk with DeShawn during the Primary as well

Jenny Desch, running for State House in South Carolina District 26. if your Zip Code is 29715, she’s your candidate

Before we hear from the candidates, host/producer Gary Pearce talks about the two Special Election/Primaries coming up in August and September for some York County voters, and he discusses a vision issue 👁 he's having that's keeping him from attending and recording events and forums. He'll have a partial cornea transplant in early August that will hopefully correct the issue 🤞.

Our thanks to Lacy Layne for providing this video. It was recorded on July 8 at an event called the Fort Mill Forum, but as you can see, five of the six candidates will be on the ballot for all of York County.

Details on candidates, voting and the Special Elections/Primaries at our website: https://YorkSCdems.org

Learn more about 'overdrive' 🚗 from our young friend here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJ9eynCm824

Rep. John King and former Rock Hill City Councilman Perry Sutton squared off for a lively debate hosted by the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority in Rock Hill on June 1. Sutton has challenged incumbent King in the Democratic Primary for State House District 49, which covers most of Rock Hill, and reaches out to the City of York.

The YCDP TV Media Empire thanks YCDP Chair Nikita Jackson for recording this debate. If you vote in House District 49 and you haven’t already voted early (or even if you have), watch or listen to get a good read on both candidates.