Personal Background
I was raised in Walterboro, but I was born in Bamberg, South Carolina. My mom and dad were born in Orangeburg, South Carolina. I didn't graduate in Walterboro, but in Philadelphia where my dad lived. I have four brothers and no sisters. All my brothers graduated in Walterboro. I have two daughters, and they are super daughters. They keep me updated with what's going on in the world and what's going on in community.
Why are you running for city council?
Well, first of all, I've worked, you know, politically. I've been doing this quite a bit, quite a long time, you might say, ever since I was able old enough to vote. I've been hanging in there, and people always come and ask me if I will help them with their campaigns, and I'm always out there on the trail. I've never asked for anything in return. I've always pretty much volunteered everything, and because I enjoy doing it. I look at my community and other people's community, and I see where there's so much that has to get done all the time but sometimes, if you don't have a title, people don't want to listen to you a lot. You want to go places, and you want to say things, but people will say, “Well, who are you?” So, I feel that I want to work with city council, because I want to help with city council with planning and building things for the community. I feel like I have, I would have strategies, and I feel that we would work together really well t to make the community a much better place.
What are some of the things you would like to see changed regarding violence and infrastructure?
Well, I usually talk with people in the community and ask them, what they would like to see change. Because, after all, working with city council, I think that's going to be the most important thing is what the people would like to see. First, I think I would like to see us as people in community, take an interest in coming back to taking some pride in the community.
I see so many things; I see where people throw trash out and if it flies off their vehicle or something. Nobody stops to pick it up. I see where many animals, you know, are ran over because people are speeding. I see simple things, as far as just having lines in the road painted and what people can see at night; maybe some more signs put up. I see where the lighting in just even in downtown Walterboro, there's some lights that need to be changed, or just more lighting in the communities. Even some trees, because I've noticed a lot of trees just fall into the road. This is dangerous for people, because we all must be on the road. There are lots of potholes. The list goes on and on, but this is what people say. They say there are certain places where we need caution lights, we need more sidewalks, so people won't need to walk in the street. I would like to see people who do walk and do not have transportation to see where maybe we could have something like reflectors and so forth to put on their clothing, their shoes, when they are riding a bicycle. Also, cars and people can see them, because I work part time in Charleston with my daughter, she has a spa and so we are on the road pretty much all the time. We see people, we are always amazed to see people just walking, and you don't know they are there until you get right up on them. So, I said, if we had some place where you did not have to pay any money, you would just go to this place, and they could get reflectors and that sort of thing, just so people can know that they are walking in the streets and walking at night, or they're on bicycles at night.
I would like to again, be a part of the growth of Walterboro and make this a place where, when I'm in Charleston, people will not say when they ask me where I'm from, and I say, Walterboro, and they say things like, oh, Walterboro. I've heard of Walterboro. They say, you all have a lot of crime. Then some people say, it is so dark over there. I hear this very often. I'd like to be a part of getting some of that done. I live in a high crime area myself. As a matter of fact, right this very moment, I have a bullet hole in my window, but folks, we know how that got there and it did not come from me. But something must get done. We have to get people more involved. But people cannot just live in a neighborhood and say they don't care, or we cannot live in a neighborhood and pull our blinds down and don't want to look out of the window. We cannot say, oh, I go to church, I go to the doctor, and I go right back home. We have to do something more about that. I want to see health. I want to see people more healthy. I want to see more people in the in the yards, trying to, you know, create their gardens and so forth. There are many things I would like to seriously take part in, things of that sort. Maybe we could have someone in churches to be involved, to pick up senior citizens and those who would like to go fishing again, things of that sort. There is much to be done. I plan to volunteer to do to see to it that some of these things are being done. I plan to come out and clean. I clean my area around my neighborhood, often, all the time. I want to continue doing these things. Of course, we all need help, no matter what we do. So I feel, and I believe, that people such as myself still care. They are looking for other people who care. I want to be that person they can look up to and say, you know, Ms. Peggie is always out there, because I'm Ms. Peggie, and I am always out there. It might be an election, or it might be just cleaning the neighborhood of the block or what have you, or something that is going on. I'm always yelling out or speaking out. I should say against things that's unrighteously done to people or anyone.
Conclusion
On November 4th, make sure to come out and vote. You do not have to wait till November 4th, there is our early election, October 20th. So please come out and vote for Peggie Hammonds. I'll be right there with you.
To see the complete interview please visit The Press and Standard YouTube page at the link: https://youtu.be/wVnB5YFh59w
