Issues & Personal

√ ENCOURAGE & PROMOTE BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
√ MANAGE THE TOWN BUDGET IN A FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE MANNER
√ PROMOTE OPEN AND ACCOUNTABLE GOVERNMENT
√ MAINTAIN QUALITY EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUR CITIZENS

Balance is important. We must discern alternate sources of revenue for the Town while considering the importance of maintaining the quality of life in the area. As a member of Mount Pleasant Town Council, my goal will be to seek an intelligent, common sense balance of business, light industry, and lifestyle. I will vote in such a way as to bestow the most benefit on the greatest number of Mount Pleasant residents.

The widening of roads is happening now, but it cannot be the only solution. There is a growing need for our Town to study the feasabilty of options such as light rail, the best use of CARTA, and safe bicycle / pedestrian access to help lighten the future load on our crowded roads.

Further, all of us value parks, recreation, and leisure services, so we must work with the CCPRC to make sure the interests of the community are taken into consideration when Laurel Hill Plantation and the Rifle Range Road properties are developed.

Finally, I do not support drastic changes to Mount Pleasant – it is a wonderful place to live. Things have changed, so we have to respond to keep Mount Pleasant the great place it is. We have not been able to isolate ourselves from the economic turmoil the country is going through. We have to take common sense approaches to keep Mount Pleasant moving forward. The good things we want to do for Mount Pleasant depend on having a sufficient tax base. Real growth will require new business and creative “outside the box” economic development. With the right decisions by the Town Council, we can do this and still keep our great environment.

PERSONAL:  

After college at Baylor University and NIU (degrees in Finance and Law), I moved to Albuquerque where I met and married Kimarie, a native of Georgia. In the 1990′s, Kimarie and I decided to re-locate to the Charleston area. At that time, we undertook an exhaustive search and landed squarely in Mount Pleasant. Mount Pleasant met and exceeded our needs. One merely has to consider that Mount Pleasant offers top performing schools, great churches, incredible natural beauty, good people and, of course, nice warm weather.

Since we moved to Mount Pleasant, two of our children have graduated from Wando HS. Our youngest, Kathy, is a senior at Wando. After attending Wando, Laura graduated from the CofC and is now enrolled in Dental School at MUSC. Eric, also a Wando graduate, is in college at the Moody Bible Institute.

• Married to Kimarie Nickels, a Registered Nurse at East Cooper Hospital
• Politically Active (President of MTP Precinct 3 GOP)
• Small Business Owner at Clawson & Staubes, LLC
• Active Member Seacoast Church