October 20, 2015: Six candidates, 24 questions, no redundancy, no rebuttal and two 3 question speed rounds made the Mayoral forum at the October 20 meeting of the Historical Charleston Rotary Club one of the most interesting—and by many listeners’ opinions—the most informative, of the many city-wide forums to date.
Rotarians submitted more than 50 questions from which organizers Past President Andy Brack and Past President Mark Smith chose 24 to present to the six candidates. Each candidate had 3 substantive questions with 90 seconds to respond and two “speed round,” questions requiring little more than one word. Past President Mark moderated.
Opening the forum, Toby Smith, William Dudley Gregorie, Ginny Deerin, Leon Stavrinakis, John Tecklenburg and Maurice Washington each introduced themselves and gave their qualifications to lead the city after 40 years of stewardship by Mayor Joe Riley. Following their introductions, each candidate answered individual questions about issues facing the Holy City and how they would address them.
City challenges that were most commonly addressed in the questions presented and most frequently discussed by the candidates during their 90-second responses were transportation, race relations, education, downtown quality of life/livability, housing and leadership style. While each candidate had individual ideas for addressing these issues, there was little disagreement on the importance of each one.
Toby Smith said that our city must face up to the realities and difficulties of race relations and that the problem must be addressed “systemically.” As mayor, she proposes creating a special committee to look at all aspects of how race relations impact our city and to formulate recommendations of how to improve them. She also wants to work “with Columbia” to design a “package” improving transportation.
Answering his second question, William Dudley Gregorie agreed with the premise that vehicles coming off the James Island Bridge and Connector are creating a daily “bottleneck” that has to be fixed. He believes that a solution would be a new bridge and more lanes to disburse traffic. He also believes that we should attempt to preserve our heritage monuments but wants to be certain that discussions about this kind of preservation are “inclusive.”
Ginny Deerin stressed the need for a new level of leadership “energy” that would produce a fundable “comprehensive transportation plan attacking congestion and failing infrastructure.” Ginny talked about the need to protect the many beautiful things in Charleston but also to support projects that are “good” for the city. She used Charleston Place as an example of a good project. She further stressed that bringing in technology jobs and innovation workers can have an impact on affordable housing availability.
Leon Stavrinakis said he believes that a “sustainable transit plan” can help alleviate city congestion, protecting and improving our quality of life. Further, he believes the city mayor has a “leadership role” to play in improving Charleston schools with the goal of school excellence—the kind of excellence that our City demands and achieves in other elements of community life. Asked if the BAR has “done a good job,” Leon responded that there is an important role for the BAR through its protection of quality of life and historical structures.
For John Tecklenburg, regional “cooperation and collaboration” are the critical keys to solving our biggest problems. Solutions to inadequate transportation, underperforming schools and insufficient affordable housing require that Charleston and surrounding cities/counties work closely and effectively together. In answer to the question of why he, specifically, is the most qualified candidate in a talented field, John underscored his and his family’s deep Charleston roots, his experience as Charleston’s Director of Economic Development, his involvement in many civic organizations and his career as a successful businessman. John believes these experiences plus his individual leadership style make him uniquely qualified to understand livability issues and to protect Charleston’s high quality of life.
Maurice Washington agreed that livability is a major issue and that decisions on tourism and development must be made within the context of neighborhood impact. He further pointed out the need to develop land use policies that would inform transportation, development and growth discussions and policy formulations. Maurice believes that consideration of actions curbing tourism promotion should include data gathered through an on-going evaluation of the impact of tourism on neighborhood livability.
The format was quick and lively and, because each candidate did not respond to each question, allowed for a variety of subjects and kept the comments positive and pertinent. While each candidate did not get a full 90 second shot at every question, he or she was allowed to use part of the allotted time to speak to prior questions.
The candidates may have different ideas on many topics but on two questions from the “speed rounds”—they all agreed. It is unanimous that Charleston should have public toilets South of Broad and all candidates oppose oil and gas exploration and drilling off the South Carolina coast. Another “speed round” question, considering the current level of Charleston sales tax was dubbed the “three bears question” as the answer choices were “too high,” “too low,” or “just right.” Five candidates think we’ve got it right and answered “just right” while Maurice believes that the taxes are “too high.”
Each of the six candidates has leadership experience and has accomplished much in their lives and each clearly expressed passion and concern for our City. As we head to the polls to elect our next Mayor, our Rotary forum provided an informative and enjoyable opportunity to meet the candidates and hear some of their positions and ideas. While an hour is a brief time for a forum and certainly too little upon which to make an important voting decision, Andy and Mark did a fantastic job presenting six outstanding individuals, one of whom will be Charleston’s next mayor.
PLEASE BE CERTAIN THAT YOU VOTE ON NOVEMBER 3!!!!!!!!!!
— Cheryl Kaynard, Keyway Committee