Personal Background
Ulm was born in Augusta and moved to Charleston when he was young. Mr. Ulm is a veteran, and he began his military career in the Air force and subsequently in the transfer service to the Marine Corps in the desert. Ulm met his wife in Charleston 9 years ago. He did work on Bethel United Methodist, and he just felt at home in Walterboro. His wife had been here before, and she loved it as well. They were showered with hospitality and found the people to be “good people” when they made the move here in May of 2023, and the Ulm’s are very proud to live in Walterboro.
Why are you running for City Council?
When Ulm's first arrived in Walterboro as a resident, he did not feel the climate was too bad as far as hearing gunshots. After the open carry law was passed in 2024, it became worse. Ulm and residents in his neighborhood began hearing multiple gunshots every other day. Ulm also noted the fact that people were being killed all around them. He did not understand why no one was doing anything about the situation. Ulm spoke to a councilperson, whom he admires, and the councilperson said you must speak out and ask for help. Ulm began going to City Council meetings and became the de facto representative of the residents who were very concerned about the violence and the steps that could be taken to resolve it. Ulm felt he was there on behalf of the people then and he feels that is why he should run for office; to help Walterboro residents. Ulm wants to allocate resources for the police department and provide them with a raise. Ulm also wants to bring awareness about the situation. He feels law enforcement is doing an excellent job as evidenced by the decrease of gunshots residents heard in his area.
Ulm’s first priority is safety. He feels without safety growth in Walterboro will be nonexistent. His goal is to allocate resources to law enforcement, the fire department, and first responders. His thought is why would anyone want to invest in this area if it is not safe.
His second priority is government transparency and accountability. Ulm states there have been resources allocated through grants and further comments it is very difficult to find information about where money goes and what it is spent on. He also remarks that the city’s website is not good, and this is the general consensus of the constituents also.
Ulm knows that the city needs new and improved infrastructure, but acknowledges revenue is necessary to make it happen. He wants to promote the growth of businesses existing and new, because people and businesses need incentive to come to Walterboro. From Ulm’s perspective there appears to be red tape “blockades” that can prohibit growth. Ulm’s view is change is good, but change can be controlled.
Conclusion
Ulm wants to represent all the people who call Walterboro home because that is how it works and how it should be especially if elected by the people. Ulm says "He will do exactly what he says he is going to do; it’s called integrity."
To view the complete interview visit The Press and Standard YouTube page at this link: https://youtu.be/xyHwQO6TBio
