By Roxanne Cordonier
Programs Chair/1st Vice President, DWGC
Since the inauguration of Donald Trump, it feels like our world has been turned upside down. A recent headline in The Atlantic on DOGE said: ‘It Feels Like It’s Chaotic on Purpose.’ The disorganized and haphazard way DOGE is going about cutting costs is so bizarre as to make it clear that the chaos is, in fact, the point.
In a recent NY Times opinion column, Thomas Edsall made the following predictions, “expect the elimination of tens of thousands of jobs, the decimation of liberal institutions to go on for all four years of Trump’s second term, expect government services to deteriorate, expect more homelessness, hunger and disease. Expect the financial starvation of universities and nongovernmental organizations, expect a pervasive climate of suspicion and a preoccupation with revenge. Expect more suffering, more fear, less security and less happiness.”
Already up against a super majority of Republicans in the legislature along with a Republican governor, Democratic elected officials in South Carolina now face a MAGA super majority statewide. Into this vipers nest, our elected officials go every day. What must it be like to try to represent sensible, balanced, effective government, in an environment where officials want to duplicate all the federal horror here in SC.
We’ll get a look behind the curtain at our April 14 meeting when our guest speakers Representative Chandra Dillard and Greenville County Councilman Dr. Ennis Fant will talk about what it’s like to be “Governing in the age of Trump”.
Chandra Dillard made history in 1999, when she became the first woman to be elected in her district. She’s been a state representative from District 23 since 2008. Rep. Dillard is the Deputy Minority Leader, and serves on the House Ways and Means Committee. Over the course of her public service she has secured $100 million dollars to further community development and infrastructure in district 23. In 2018, Chandra to receive the South Carolina Democratic Party’s Elected Official of the Year Award.
Chandra is the director of community relations for Furman University. She has a BA from Winthrop University and a Masters in Public Administration from Walden University. She’s a graduate of Leadership Greenville, Furman’s Riley Institute Diversity Leadership Initiative and Leadership South Carolina. Chandra is an active member of John Wesley United Methodist Church and a longtime member of Democratic Women of Greenville County. She’s a reliable friend, a faithful public servant and a rock solid Democrat.
Ennis Fant is a native of Greenville and a product of Greenville County public schools. He earned a Chemical Engineering degree from the University of South Carolina. While working in corporate research and development, he was awarded two patents. Ennis pursued his theological studies at Erskine Theological Seminary and The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He serves as senior pastor of Pleasant View Missionary Baptist Church. He has served as a State House Representative.
On the council, Ennis is the chairman of both the Planning and Development Committee and the Affordable Housing Committee. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Appalachian Council of Governments, Greenville Area Development Corporation (GADC) and the South Carolina Technology and Aviation Center (SCTAC).
In putting together monthly programs and speakers for the membership, we strive to not only inform you about current events and issues but to offer you opportunities to engage. We believe that one person can make a difference but we also know that we are stronger together. In the months to come we hope to align our organization with agencies and individuals who are advocating for causes that support our platform and to offer you a variety of ways you can make a difference either individually or collectively. United we stand.
Starting with the April meeting, we will no longer have live Zoom options. But we will be recording each meeting and a full replay should be available within 2-3 days. The link will appear in the Donkey’s Tale and on our website.