Harvey S. Peeler Jr.

Harvey S. Peeler Jr. (born September 8, 1948) is an American politician.[1][2] He is a member of the South Carolina Senate, representing the 14th District from since 1981, initially as a Democrat, and from October 1989, as a Republican. He was the Senate Majority Leader from 2005 to 2016.[1]

Harvey Peeler
President of the South Carolina Senate
Assumed office
January 8, 2019
Preceded byKevin L. Bryant[lower-alpha 1]

(as lieutenant governor)
Hugh Leatherman

(as president pro tempore)
Member of the South Carolina Senate
from the 14th district
Assumed office
January 14, 1981
Personal details
Born (1948-09-08) September 8, 1948
Gaffney, South Carolina, U.S.
Political partyDemocrat (until October 1989) Republican (October 1989-present)
Spouse(s)Ila LaDonna
EducationClemson University (BS)

Early life and career

He was born on September 8, 1948 in Gaffney, South Carolina.[1] He received a Bachelor of Science from Clemson University in 1970.[1][2] He served as a lieutenant in the United States Army from 1970 to 1972.[1]

He is a dairyman.[1][2]

Political career

He has served as a state senator for South Carolina since 1981, and as Senate Majority Leader from 2005 to 2016.[1][2] He has also served as chairman of the Senate Medical Affairs Committee since 2001, and vice-chairman of the Senate Finance Committee since 2007.[1] He is the brother of former South Carolina Lieutenant Governor Bob Peeler.[1]

Confederate flag controversy

In 2015, after the shooting at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, which killed fellow State Senator Clementa C. Pinckney, Peeler voted against removing the Confederate flag. Peeler compared removing it to "removing a tattoo from the corpse of a loved one and thinking that that would change the loved one's obituary".[3] He was one of only three state senators to vote against its removal, the other two being Danny Verdin and Lee Bright.[3][4] Fifteen years earlier, Peeler was one of only seven senators who voted against the flag's removal from the top of the South Carolina Capitol Dome and both chambers of the South Carolina Legislature to its present position on the capitol grounds, arguing that the flag's removal would only worsen race relations.[5] The 2000 vote was a compromise between anti- and pro-flag forces in the wake of an economic boycott of the state.[6]

Personal life

He married Ila LaDonna Caudill on August 8, 1969, and they have three children: Brantlee Rene, Harvey Smith III, and Boone Solomon.[1] He attends Gaffney First Baptist Church.[1] He is a Mason and a Shriner.[1]

He is a member of the American Jersey Cattle Association and the American Legion.[1]

Notes
  1. The current office of president of the senate was merged from two separate offices by 2018 constitutional amendments.

References
  1. South Carolina Senate biography
  2. Official website
  3. Roldan, Cynthia; Kropf, Schuyler (6 July 2015). "S.C. Senate: Flag needs to come down; House vote next". The Post and Courier. Retrieved 6 July 2015. To remove the flag from the Statehouse grounds and thinking it would change history would be like removing a tattoo from the corpse of a loved one and thinking that that would change the loved one’s obituary. That won't change history.
  4. Smith, Tim (6 July 2015). "Senate gives approval to remove Confederate flag; Third reading tomorrow". Greenville News. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
  5. Firestone, David. "S. Carolina Senate Votes To Remove Confederate Flag". The New York Times on the Web. New York Times. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  6. Braun, Stephen (13 April 2000). "South Carolina Senate Moves to End Stalemate on Confederate Flag". latimes.com. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
Political offices
Preceded by
Hugh Leatherman
as President pro tempore of the South Carolina Senate		 President of the South Carolina Senate
2019–present		 Incumbent
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