Issues

I will bring my experience managing people and technology projects to bear on the challenges facing Mount Pleasant: to protect our resources, provide recreation and other services, and practice responsibility in the government of our town. Traffic and transportation, community and economic development, and essential services are and will continue to be critical issues over the next four years and beyond. There are no quick fixes, but we need energetic leadership willing to make tough decisions for the long term success of our town and to ensure a vibrant, livable community for this and future generations!

Resources

Last modified on 2009-09-17 05:09:23 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Everything we do to plan for the future of Mount Pleasant should be guided by a focus on our natural, cultural, and historical resources as well as by a realistic view of the financial resources, personnel, and time available to complete the project. By understanding the value each project, service, or program brings to the community and balancing that value with the impact it has on our infrastructure, environment, and quality of life, we will make the best decisions for our town.

Recreation

Last modified on 2009-09-17 05:13:38 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

In one sense, “Recreation” is a catch-all term for the programs and services offered by the town. From the availability of athletic fields to accessible water and waterfront views, from the programs available at the Thomasena Stokes-Marshall Senior Services Center to the volunteer coaches teaching our children to play soccer and t-ball, recreation is a critical characteristic of Mount Pleasant.

In another sense, however, the term “recreation” puts a spotlight on some areas where we need to continue to improve. As part of the various revitalization, infrastructure, and community development efforts that are planned or in progress (Coleman Blvd, Highway 17 North expansion, Shem Creek), we must consider how to incorporate elements that contribute to our quality of life in addition to simply improving our infrastructure. Elements such as mixed use developments where citizens can live, work, and play as well as bicycle and pedestrian corridors that reduce the need to jump in our cars just to go around the corner.

And as important as recreation is to our town, even more critical are the core services that make Mount Pleasant great. We have accredited fire and police departments, high quality sanitation and stormwater services, and an administrative staff that is second to none. In order to keep Mount Pleasant at the forefront of communities in South Carolina, we have to maintain the high quality and exceptional value of these essential services to our citizens.

Responsibility

Last modified on 2009-09-17 05:12:57 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

“With all [our] blessings, what more is necessary to make us a happy and a prosperous people? Still one thing more, fellow citizens–a wise and frugal Government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government, and this is necessary to close the circle of our felicities.” –Thomas Jefferson: 1st Inaugural, 1801.

The government of the Town of Mount Pleasant, its council, mayor, and professional staff, is accountable to the citizens of Mount Pleasant. The government exists for the people, not the other way around.

Every decision that the next Town Council makes must be made with a commitment to fiscal responsibility, consideration of the citizens affected by the decision, and the long term benefit to the people of the Town of Mount Pleasant. My focus on resources and recreation is guided by a commitment to responsibility to the people I will serve.