Personal Background
Tucker is a Colleton County native. She grew up in Ruffin, and her father was the pastor of Ruffin Baptist Church and a taxidermist. Her mother worked in school food service. From a young age she was around school. She decided to become a teacher and received her bachelor’s degree in English from Charleston Southern and was in graduate school at the College of Charleston and The Citadel to study history. Here she met her husband. They lived in various cities close by, but Tucker went back to Charleston Southern when they began their doctorate program and was part of the first cohort there. Her parents’ illness brought her closer to home. At the time Tucker wanted to continue teaching in Summerville which she did for two years. She then realized she needed to be closer than Summerville due to her mother’s declining health. Tucker returned home to Colleton County and remarks the past year teaching at CCHS was one of the best years she has had teaching. Ms. Tucker feels that living here the past three years she has become more and more a part of the community and wanted to be more involved in the happenings around Walterboro.
Why are you running for City Council?
When asked why she is running for city council, Tucker states her friend and also city council candidate Barrett Ulm was the push behind her running. The idea was since a few seats were opening on city council, was to get fresh voices on council. With the support of her husband and friends she concluded that it would be a great idea. Tucker reasoned if she is invested in the school, she is invested in the lives of the students here, and she should have a voice or try to have a voice in what is happening around town and see if she can be a part of continuing to make Walterboro better.
Tucker acknowledges that Walterboro is “looked down upon” for crime issues, but she feels that it has improved since she has come back to live in Walterboro. She would like to find ways to keep the crime reduction momentum going. She also feels safety can address more than crime statistics. She feels proper lighting in town spaces, repairs to sidewalks and road contribute to citizens feeling safe when they are out in Walterboro.
Additionally, Tucker feels one of the things that help with that issue is the idea of unity with the emphasis on the unity part of the community and having everyone feel like they have a say and a voice. “City council meetings are open for anyone to come and be a part of. I do not know if everybody really knows that.” She comments that she did not know what was happening at the city council level and that is why Tucker wants to be involved is to help make other people aware of what is going on and how they can be involved.
Tucker further expounds there has been a lot of great events the city has hosted with the Wildlife Center and the Civic Center, and she feels continuing to have events that people in the community can come and enjoy and be a part of the city and find ways to continue to grow economically. She does not want Walterboro to become Summerville with the traffic and congestion, but she feels there is room for growth, especially with two exits off I-95. This can draw people in to stop and spend their money; find good places to eat. Tucker further comments Walterboro has wonderful places already, but there is always room for growth. There are great shops where visitors can find great clothing, food, and coffee. People need to know they can come to Walterboro to spend money rather than driving to Summerville, Beaufort, or West Ashley.
Dr. Tucker states that she has not studied what goes into infrastructure with the kind of growth she is talking about. Development is always good, but there is a worry about taking away from the natural environment and the charm of the city. She states we do not want to interfere with the land run off in the swamps and not create environmental issues by growing too much to quickly.
Conclusion
Dr. Tucker wants everyone to know that Walterboro is a great place, and it produces amazing people. Even being gone for 20 years coming back Walterboro still feels like home. She feels there are ways people can get involved. There are organizations; political, non-political, church groups. “There are things to do here. If you want something Walterboro does not have, step out there and make it happen. Do not be afraid to get involved.”
To see the complete interview visit The Press and Standard's YouTube channel at this link: https://youtu.be/kl9lBJzkL7w
