Personal Background
I am from Greenville, South Carolina originally. I went to The Citadel and graduated from there in 1997 and then dental school in Charleston and graduated in 2001. I practiced for a few years in Beaufort, and then went back to the residency for a couple years at Wake Forest, and then I taught for a year at the dental school. Then my family and I moved here, and my wife's from here originally, so we've been here thirteen years.
Why are you running for City Council?
My wife kind of pushed, she saw the opportunity and said, “You gotta do this.” I think you run for two things, for two reasons. One, you're really opposed to what's going on, and I'm not. And I think we like two, we’re going in the right direction. I'll be part of that, and that's really what kind of brought me to it.
Over the past few years, we have had some violence and we have had some infrastructure changes. What are some of the things you see going on?
I think we are on positive tick. Violence and crime is tough, and I think by time we get the police involved, it's too late.
I think my main platform is economic development. Whatever I can do to aid in that rising tide of this. I feel like, if people have hope and opportunity, which economic development provides, I think that we would see crime decrease, but obviously we got to work on all that as well. But, the infrastructure that the city council is already working on with the sewer line going through Forest Hills out to Exit 57, that is a huge deal. I think things like that, anything I can provide to help and establish an ability for us to have more business easily, I'm all for that.
People will say, and we've read comments online, that, it's hard to build a business here in Walterboro, because of all the rules and regulations. Do you think there's a way the city can say, let us help you do this, but this is how you can do it, while staying in the guidelines?
I will say my business, I have not had any problems with the city. I think anything we can, help business easily, make it more easy, I'm for. I wish I had more examples of that, because my small business has been a relatively, I think, streamlined event. I do not have much effect from the city, but otherwise, I'm a little different being a dental practice actually.
What else do you see? What are you looking towards?
I think economics is my main push. I think infrastructure is huge first. Whatever we can do provide more to encourage businesses to come. I know as city councilman, I cannot make businesses come, anything I can do to aid that. Second I look around town, I don't think it's a Walterboro problem. I think it's a US problem, probably a world problem; older commercial buildings with no use. We need less of that nowadays because we do not have storefronts like we used to. So anything we can do, maybe to repurpose or remove buildings, it would be a major plus to not drive down Jeffries and see empty buildings. I think anything would do to improve that.
The third thing I would love to see, and again, I'm not gonna build any buildings, but I think opportunity for residential homes for people that they can afford is a major need in Walterboro. I live in a nice house, and I love Forest Hills, but there is not a whole lot of homes available for a young family to move here. That's what I think we've got. People live here. They love it. We got, we want to encourage people to move here because of jobs and a nice home they could purchase. I think anything I do to improve residential homes in the area be a big plus as well.
As a councilman, where do you see your role in dealing with the city and dealing with the people of the city?
A conduit. Obviously everybody has complaints. Take those in and voice those to my fellow councilmen if I get elected. But I think just encouraging and maybe being a positive influence. We have great stuff. We have I-95 we have Charleston, not too far away. We have growth coming this way and be a positive conduit for Walterboro. I think we have a great little place to live here.
To view the complete interview visit The Press and Standard YouTube page at this link: https://youtu.be/QqX1edkkHyE
