Smart Growth. Sound Governance. Strong Communities.
Beaufort County is growing fast, and how we grow will define our future. My platform comes down to these three principles — building responsibly, spending wisely, and keeping our communities strong enough that no one gets priced out of the place they call home.
Smart Growth
How we grow will define our future. Smart growth means building in the right places — not in flood-prone areas — backed by strong regulations and a simple principle: developers should pay their fair share instead of passing the costs on to you. We don't need to start over. Beaufort County's citizen-driven 2040 Comprehensive Plan is our living blueprint. My opponent wants a brand-new "concurrency plan." I want the leadership to actually use the one our residents already built.
Grow in the right places
Smart growth starts with building responsibly — keeping development out of flood-prone and environmentally sensitive areas, and directing it to the places where our infrastructure can actually support it. Where and how we build determines whether growth strengthens the county or strains it, and that choice has to come first.
Just as important, growth can't outpace our resources. New development has to be matched by the roads, drainage, and services needed to sustain it — so that expansion adds to our quality of life rather than eroding the one we already have.
Make developers pay their fair share
Strong, clearly enforced regulations should require developers to contribute their fair share to the infrastructure their projects demand — so the burden of growth doesn't fall on existing residents and taxpayers.
Lead through collaboration
District 5 is inseparably linked to our neighboring municipalities and counties. Smart growth requires a representative who can work across county departments and beyond our borders — on infrastructure, environment, and housing — and who has the experience to make the hard, analytical decisions this moment demands.
Sound Governance
I'm a fiscal conservative — but being careful with your money means investing it wisely, not just cutting for the sake of cutting. Sound governance means spending every tax dollar where it delivers the greatest return for our community, finally delivering on the commitments made in 2018, and running an open, accessible government where your voice actually matters.
Invest for the highest return — not the lowest number
The opponent's answer is simple: cut taxes. But cutting for its own sake, at the expense of our community's well-being, isn't leadership — it's neglect. Sound governance means investing our resources fiscally responsibly in the initiatives that deliver the highest return for residents and genuinely help people. Every dollar should be measured by the value it brings back to the community.
Deliver on the commitments made in 2018
Residents were promised progress that still hasn't been delivered. I'll stop the waste, hold the county accountable to what was pledged, and move us forward in a fiscally sound manner.
Open, accessible government
I'm running to serve you and to be accessible to you. That means transparency in how decisions get made and how dollars get spent, and a council seat where your concerns and your voice matter — not a closed process that answers to itself.
A responsible position on the 1% penny tax
This November 3rd, voters decide on the 1% Transportation Sales Tax — the "Penny Tax" — a plan to raise $780 million for county roads. It would fund real District 5 needs: safety and intersection improvements, widening the 170, 278, and 46, and paving dirt roads.
But a good goal isn't a good plan. We still don't know the ballot language or how council will honor the principles its own Transportation Advisory Committee recommended — independent oversight, matching funds, and coordination with state and municipal partners. So far the county has marketed the tax with road signs but hasn't educated voters. That's backwards.
My position is straightforward: I can't support this referendum until council commits to disciplined management, transparent reporting, and honest communication. The dollars are significant and the needs are real — which is exactly why residents deserve accountability before we ask for their money. Put those guardrails in place, and this becomes a critical, well-run investment in the roads we depend on.
Strong Communities
Growth should make our communities stronger — not price people out of them. Our teachers, first responders, nurses, and service workers increasingly can't afford to live in the county they serve. I'll fight for attainable and workforce housing, protect access to healthcare and human services, and defend the environment and quality of life that make District 5 home.
Attainable and workforce housing
The rapid rise in housing costs is pushing essential workers — the people who keep our community running — out of the county entirely. I'll prioritize attainable and workforce housing so that first responders, teachers, nurses, and service workers can afford to live where they work, and so families aren't forced out by growth they didn't choose.
Protect access to healthcare and human services
Unmanaged growth has strained our healthcare capacity and limited access to the human services residents rely on. Strong communities require that we keep pace — protecting and expanding access so no one is left without care as the county grows.
Defend our environment and quality of life
The natural beauty and quality of life of the Lowcountry are exactly what's at risk when growth outpaces planning. I'll fight to protect our environment — our flood zones, waterways, and green space — as a core part of keeping our communities strong, healthy, and worth calling home.