Why I'm Running
A Voice for the People
Crime Rates
We deserve to feel safe at home. One of the most difficult things that I’ve ever had to do was a death notification, notifying a parent that their child had been murdered. I spent my entire career working to make Orangeburg and our state safer. I’ve investigated and prosecuted violent crimes, crimes against children, our elderly, vulnerable adults, businesses, and others. I’ve also conducted trainings for law enforcement, state agencies, schools, churches, businesses, and our community. We need a leader to effectively and efficiently reduce crime through community policing, while building community partnerships.
Jobs
Orangeburg County is the 2nd largest county in our state. I will work collaboratively with the different levels of government and our local Businesses to make our economy more resilient and to retain the brilliant students educated at two of the nation’s most prominent HBCU’s and one of the most state of the art technical colleges. There is no reason they should feel the need to leave the area to find employment in surrounding counties and states. We should build a business friendly environment to keep their talent here. My pledge to you is to use my experience as a board member for the Lower Savannah Council of Government’s Workforce Development Committee to solve this problem.
Affordable Housing
Orangeburg County needs to partner with public and private entities to ensure that our college graduates can afford to live in Orangeburg after graduation. We need to ensure that people are able to pay their monthly rent while being able to afford to live their lives and enjoy their lives. We need to ensure we are assisting people with resources for affordable housing and we open doors for them to have a path to affordable housing. No person should be paying more than 30% of their income towards rent or housing.
Infrastructure
We need to extend waste water treatment plants. Orangeburg has been getting more resources to address issues as it relates to the water and sewer system. I will be a leader to make sure that we approach and implement projects to ensure that communities are not restricted to the use of wells. We also need to ensure to expand our broadband and high speed internet for all people of Orangeburg County. With better infrastructure and internet services we can expand Orangeburg and welcome new businesses which in turn brings more jobs to the district.
Education
It will be my goal as the next Councilmember from District 7 to build a line of communication between the different levels of local government to create efficacy and efficiency. We have to do a better job in supporting each other, especially our children for their future. That is why I pledge to work with the Orangeburg County School Board to collaboratively address issues facing our school district so we can attract new business and retain talent in Orangeburg County.