Mount Pleasant Magazine Nov/Dec 2016

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the campaign, the trash didn’t get taken out and the dogs
didn’t get their daily walk with me. Running for local of-
fice has to be a total family effort.
I had been around politics before as press secretary for
a North Carolina congressman who had a geographically
large district. I had seen a campaign up close and personal.
I found the intensity of the 12-man race
for Town Council in 2015 to be much
higher than I expected. Social media
played a big role in adding to that inten-
sity, and sometimes it wasn’t pleasant.
The world is full of keyboard warriors
who snipe at candidates, possibly from
the safety of their parents’ basement. You
just never know, but you have to tune
out the negativity and stick to your mes-
sage and your purpose.
It was a tiring campaign – seven
formal debates, forums, fundraisers,
drop-ins and such. Mount Pleasant, for
all its size, is still a tightknit community.
People like to see and speak to local can-
didates. That’s a good thing, but it takes
time. The period immediately after the
election reminded me of the days right
after completing final exams in college.
I experienced complete mental, physical
and emotional exhaustion. Fortunately, I
had a positive result to show for it.
My response to those who have asked
what it’s like because they are considering
running is, “Whatever you think it’s go-
ing to be like, I guarantee you that it will
be different – and much harder.”
Because I had served on a congres-
sional staff, I was familiar with how little
the average citizen, even a fairly engaged
one, knows about upcoming votes in
Washington. It is entirely different at
the local level. I have described being on
Mount Pleasant Town Council as like
being on the Lowcountry’s biggest and most controversial
homeowners association. When there’s a proposed devel-
opment to be voted on, lots of people know all about it.
Engagement among the citizenry in Mount Pleasant is
high. Not only do residents show up at meetings, but they
do not hesitate to contact you as a Council member to let
you know how they feel. Town Council deals with a $100
million budget, recreation programs and facilities used by
over 10,000 people and more miles of streets and drainage
than I can count.
But this past year, what the TV satellite trucks and large
crowds showed up for at monthly Council meetings were
the land use decisions. These decisions about population
growth and development are more critical now than ever
because we’ve become the fastest growing
town east of the Mississippi River, and
we must properly manage growth while
maintaining the quality of life and coastal
ambience that make our town so desir-
able in the first place.
I’ve asked colleagues who serve on
councils in other towns what it’s like to
operate as a municipality that isn’t the
fastest growing town east of the Missis-
sippi. I imagine they debate the naming
of dog parks and budget items. In Mount
Pleasant, our big decisions are about how
fast, how high and how far our town
will grow. As chairman of the Public
Services Committee, which deals with
drainage, garbage collection and grounds
maintenance, I get my share of calls from
residents. However, the issues that people
stop me in the grocery store to discuss
have to do with traffic, development and
changes to the place they call home.
Teamwork on Council is key to get-
ting anything done. Mount Pleasant has
a strong council/weak mayor form of
government, so it takes a majority of the
eight councilmen plus the mayor to pass
anything. You learn quickly how to count
to five. You learn quickly who you can
count on. These relationships are impor-
tant if anything is to get done, especially
if you want to help lead the town rather
than just manage it.
With four new councilmen elected
last cycle, there has, of course, been an
adjustment period for everyone. But we’re finding our
rhythm. It reminds me of the sports teams I played on
growing up, where it took some time for everyone to come
together. But when that happens, things change. From my
perspective, that’s where we are now. As a town council-
man, I feel that we can keep moving in the right direction
and that Mount Pleasant will continue to be the best place
in the world to live.
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Above: Councilman Will Haynie. Below:
Haynie talks with Deputy Director of
Public Services Andy Weis.