Andre Bauer’s leadership has never been questioned. From running his own business to rising up the ranks to lead the state in both the legislative and executive branches as lieutenant governor for two consecutive terms. In 1996, at age 26, he ran for state representative for Lexington and Newberry counties and won. During his term, Bauer fought for taxpayers, proposing legislation to reduce expenses and the role of government. In 1999, he took office as a state senator after a special election. And in 2003, he was inaugurated as South Carolina’s 87th Lieutenant Governor, one of the youngest in the United States, at age 33.
As Lieutenant Governor for two consecutive terms through 2011, Bauer lobbied the General Assembly to restructure South Carolina’s Older Americans Act programs by transferring the Bureau of Senior Services from the Department of Health & Human Services to the Lieutenant Governor’s Office on Aging (LGOA) in 2004. He oversaw the $35 million LGOA, an agency representing the state’s 750,000 senior citizens, and testified before Congress on the condition of the Aging and the Older Americans Act. You see, Bauer is not only known for leading, but for looking out for those who tend to get left behind.
Like our elder citizens of South Carolina, both in his role as lieutenant governor and as chairman of the Palmetto Tomorrow Foundation, a nonprofit for which he organizes projects for Senior Citizens, recognizes elders who have made significant contributions to our state and country through the Palmetto Patriot program, and has traveled to more than 20 countries on behalf of South Carolina to recruit new businesses to the state. He’s also been recognized for his support of military families while in office through his endorsement of the Military Relief Fund, which offers financial assistance to families of reservists and guardsmen.