Sumter's Parnell pledges support to veterans

A son of a U.S. Air Force veteran who served at Shaw Air Force Base, Archie Parnell pledges to do more for veterans if he's elected to Congress.

Parnell, a Sumter resident and the Democratic nominee for the state's 5th Congressional District in the Nov. 6 general election, made those comments Wednesday night in a campaign stop here at "home."

Before a crowd of about 25 supporters and other voters at USC Sumter's Arts and Letters Building, Parnell discussed veterans' medical care, specifically those who suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

According to statistics, Parnell said, 500,000 veterans across the U.S. who served in the War on Terror currently suffer from PTSD, but he claimed his opponent, incumbent U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman, R-SC, doesn't believe the disorder is real.

While Norman was a member of the state House of Representatives, he voted against a bipartisan majority on several bills including one that would allow police officers to be eligible for workers compensation if they suffer from PTSD. In explaining his vote, Norman said officers shouldn't receive benefits for PTSD because they "knew it was coming," given their line of work, according to reports.

"Unlike my opponent, I realize that PTSD is real," Parnell said.

The disorder, along with other forms of mental illness, is the leading cause of veterans' homelessness, substance abuse and unemployment, he said.

He also referenced statistics revealing that veterans with PTSD are four times more likely to commit suicide than veterans without it and that veterans represent 20 percent of all the suicides in the U.S., despite only being 7 percent of the total population.

All those numbers translate to 20 veterans taking their lives per day, Parnell said.

"These are very bitter and sobering words," he said. "We've got to do something about it."

Parnell noted a 12-point pledge he has signed that, if elected, he will serve veterans in any way possible.

"I will do everything in my power to serve the veterans of my district, the state and the U.S.," Parnell said.

Those points include supporting the expansion of community-based outpatient clinics for veterans and supporting digitization of health care records for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Parnell has never served in political office. His career was as a tax attorney, and he worked for the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington and also as a staff member on the House Ways and Means Committee before entering the private sector.

Parnell also said, if elected, he would try to work across the isle, similar to former 5th District Congressman John Spratt, D-SC. He said he would listen and encourage civility in Washington; something, he said is lacking today.

Former state Sen. Phil Leventis, D-Sumter, was in attendance and described Parnell as someone who is available and objective and one who fairly evaluates the facts. He said the district needs someone in the mold of Spratt, who helped balance the national budget in the late 1990s.

“Archie is that kind of guy,” Leventis said. “His background is taxes and having worked in Congress as a staff member, he’s ideally suited because he does not go there with the ‘burden of party.’ He’s running as a Democrat, but he’s no more beholding to a national party than any local voter is. That’s the problem with the incumbent — Norman is going to vote with the party.”

The 5th Congressional district includes portions of 11 counties, including Sumter and Lee counties.

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Continuing election coverage

The Sumter Item will publish a special pullout section called Vote 2018 on Thursday, Nov. 1 that will include complete coverage of how the Nov. 6 general election affects voters in Sumter, Lee and Clarendon counties. The section will include information on when, where, how and what you need to vote and Q&A profiles on candidates in contested local races. All candidates of contested races in Sumter, Lee and Clarendon counties have been invited to participate.