Name: Shari Sebuck
Party: Nonpartisan
Office: Mount Pleasant Town Council at-large
- Why are you running?
Mount Pleasant is my home! I take a personal interest in maintaining the charm, safety, and well being of the town through the exponential growth Mount Pleasant has experienced.
2. What do you expect to accomplish if elected?
- Preserve the natural beauty of our environment and create more recreational and green spaces.
- Attract new small businesses and retain current ones to keep our Lowcountry charm.
- Work with critical parties to reduce traffic congestion and create sustainable living.
- Ensuring stations, equipment, and personnel for our first responders are consistent with our town’s growth.
- Provide access to more resources for our senior population and their caregivers.
3. What distinguishes your candidacy?
I grew up in a household of government workers when serving the government was viewed as prestigious. There seems to be a disparity with that philosophy today. I want to lead by aspiring to a higher level of standards fitting democracy today returning to simple respect among humanity. I have an understanding of how our global economy is all interconnected and how that can affect commerce, education, and jobs all the way down to the local level.
4. Describe how the impact of climate change in the Charleston area would affect your work if elected.
We need to make choices today that will positively impact the planet and our community tomorrow. This may include the need to stop clear cutting and overbuilding that can create a floodplain where one did not previously exist. Concrete does not absorb water.
5. Pick an issue you believe has not been adequately addressed by local government. Describe solutions you will pursue if elected.
We have an urgent need for resources for Caregivers and more resources for our Senior population. I have been in the role of caregiver to a mother with Alzheimer’s. It’s a tedious and thankless calling for a caregiver – especially if there is no help to offer any respite from nearby family members. We need another Senior Center on the North end of town and a resource guide of where, who, and how to access assistance of various kinds – including VA benefits for our veterans.
6. Pick one urgent issue currently facing the office you are seeking (different from questions 4 and 5) and describe how you would address it.
First responders. With the growth to our community, it’s imperative that we keep up with staffing, stations, and current and adequate equipment to serve the needs of the community in an efficient and effective manner. I would like to see (and do) a comparison of the aforementioned items to other comparable communities with population and median income. Are we providing enough of everything for the wellbeing of the entire town as it continues to grow in density and North?
7. Do you pledge to work with other council members to move forward collaboratively and to reduce partisanized bickering? How will you accomplish this?
Yes! Diplomatic relations and effective communication is imperative to accomplish this. First, we have to realize that it’s ok to disagree without name calling, incriminations, or judgement. We need to listen to others’ ideas and weigh, objectively, what is in the best interest of the town of Mount Pleasant? Most importantly, we need to listen to the people of Mount Pleasant! We are elected to serve you!
8. Please give a 150-word summary of your background.
I have been a small business owner, in Mount Pleasant, and understand the process from application to completion when building and operating a small business. I understand the importance of zoning, setbacks, impact fees, and the financial plus social responsibility an owner has to a community. I have served, or chaired, the School Improvement Council for JME, Laing MS, Cario MS, and Wando HS. I have fought hard to have schools built in Mount Pleasant to keep up with growth and to have adequate seats in those schools so they wouldn’t open already overcrowded. I was the primary caregiver for my mother for 5 years and understand the need for resources for both the caregiver and the Senior population. (Therefore, this makes me experienced with dealing with governmental red tape to complete an application or a process!) I am also an avid tennis player which has afforded me the stamina and endurance necessary to orchestrate the demanding needs of my professional jobs and life’s challenges.
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