Mount Pleasant Magazine Jan/Feb 2020

38 www.ReadMPM.com | www.BestOfMP.com | www.ILoveMountPleasant.com feature T he voters of Mount Pleasant have spoken, and, for the third election cycle in a row, they have made major changes in the makeup of the Town Council. When local residents went to the polls last Nov. 5, they chose four new Council members, none with any previous political experience: Howard Chapman, Brenda Corley, Laura Hyatt and Jake Rambo. The new Council members are individuals, motivated for varied reasons to donate their time and talent to making Mount Pleasant a better place to live. Corley and Hyatt will combine with Kathy Landing and G.M. Whitley to give Mount Pleasant its first Council ever that includes four women. Two of the new Council members grew up in Mount Pleasant, while the other two are relative newcomers, having moved here 42 and 19 years ago, respectively. The Council now can lean on the expertise of an educator, a former educator, a pharmacist and a retired engineer/transportation expert. On the other hand, the quartet of new Council members have more in common than their inexperience in the world of politics. For instance, they’re all about dealing with the pitfalls that go along with determining the direction of a town that has more than doubled in population in the past 20 years, from infrastructure and transportation to growth and quality of life – and they’re all anxious to get down to the business of tweaking and completing Mount Pleasant’s Comprehensive Plan. The four new Council members have one more vitally important thing in common: They’re all ready to roll up their sleeves and go to work to do what’s best for the people who elected them. COUNCILMAN HOWARD CHAPMAN “You have to have respect for each other.” During his lengthy career, Howard Chapman has gained extensive experience as a professional engineer and an expert on transportation, planning and emergency management, amassing knowledge and honing talent that will serve him well as a member of the Mount Pleasant Town Council. Though these attributes will undoubtedly help the Council address many of the problems that go along with living in one of the fastest growing towns in America, a major reason Chapman entered politics for the first time at the age of 73 was “to bring civility and respect back to the Council.” “There has been too much arguing and back-biting,” said Chapman, a Mount Pleasant resident since 1978. “You have to have respect for each other.” Chapman earned a degree in civil engineering at Virginia Military Institute in 1968. After adding a master’s from the University of South Carolina to his résumé, he Council chambers located in the new town hall.