Charleston has a full City Council for the first time since October, when former Councilwoman Marie Delcioppo resigned, with the District 1 seat filled Jan. 25 after a runoff special election and two new council members joining the team Jan. 11.
With a number of contentious items on the agenda for the upcoming year — including the continued back-and-forth on a proposed racial conciliation commission and the long-planned peninsula sea wall — city council newcomers have had a fast introduction to the local political sphere.
District 1
Boyd Gregg
Stepping into the seat vacated by Delcioppo, Councilman-elect Boyd Gregg said his professional experience will be an asset to the council when it comes to addressing the significant infrastructure challenges facing the city and specifically Daniel Island — which he represents. With flooding and rapid development top priorities, some of the projects on the docket for the year are shaping up to have a huge impact.
“The flood wall will obviously come up,” he said. “It’s been delayed now, but it will be on the agenda in the coming year. The Calhoun West project will be significant, but we need to figure out how we’re going to execute that project.”
Gregg said he is already beginning to have conversations with council members involved in the projects he’s interested in, particularly the Calhoun West project. “I know how great of an impact that will have on the city. With the more frequent flooding we’re seeing, that project will be huge,” he said.
But knowing some of the items coming up have been divisive is a challenge he said he’s up for.
“You’re trying to talk to everybody, get multiple voices and trying to make that decision based on those voices,” he said. “I think Joe Riley said something to the effect of, ‘There’s not a lot of room for partisan politics in local government,’ and to some extent, he’s right.
“If we look at some of the issues we’re talking about … it’s pretty cut and dry what’s best for the city.”
District 10
Stephen Bowden
Councilman Stephen Bowden defeated former Councilman Harry Griffin and took the seat representing part of West Ashley for his first council meeting Jan. 11, and he said he is looking forward to getting to work on all the major issues facing Charleston this year.
“I want to thank former Councilman Griffin for the work he did the last four years. I know how hard that can be to do,” he said. “I want to build on that, and I want to make
sure my district is getting what it needs — a livable community we can get around in,
with new businesses opening up and thriving, without introducing some of the division
— and pitting parts of the city against each other — that has become all too common.”
And Bowden said he believes he has the confidence of those in his district who elected him to make those tough decisions.
“I am the one talking to stakeholders — and certainly those in my district are stakeholders — so I’m not making these decisions alone,” he said. “But at the end of the day, I’ll make the decision and live with the consequences.”
Some of those tough decisions have already been made, like his support for the racial conciliation commission that has proved divisive both on council and among Charleston residents. But regardless of controversy, he said the decisions he makes are those he believes will only benefit the city.
“This city is going to sink or swim together, and I intend to see it swim.”
District 12
Caroline Parker
Councilwoman Caroline Parker was also sworn in on Jan. 11, after unseating first-term Councilwoman Carol Jackson to represent James Island. And while she knew what to expect, she said she wished her first meeting wasn’t as contentious.
“I had certainly hoped that my first council meeting would not have been made into an event where people felt divided and needed to protest outside,” she told the City Paper in an email, referring to the proposed racial conciliation commission. “I understand there are very contentious items on the agenda, and that I ran a campaign that opposed some of these items that some don’t agree with. I was certain that my time on council was surely going to be ripe with discussion. I just wish it didn’t have to be my first night in council chambers.”
Asked about upcoming projects City Council will be tackling this year, Parker said she wants to be directly involved in outreach programs, something she said is important to help strengthen the community.
“Unfortunately, I won’t always be able to make everyone happy — that is the most difficult aspect for me,” she said. “I will certainly always try to find a middle ground, if there is one.”
“I will continue to approach everything with an open mind and an open heart and hope that my fellow council members will do the same,” Parker said. “Just because we have different opinions doesn’t make mine wrong and theirs right. We have to work together to accomplish what we were elected to do, which is taking care of our tax-paying citizens and ensuring that the city is providing them with their core government services.”
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