My Platform

Inequity

Hartsville is far too obviously divided. The issue isn’t only race, but class. We even still have large physical barriers dividing one side of town from the other—the Ninth Street ditch that splits the town in two. These problems have existed for decades and we all know about them. We’ve made progress, but there’s much more work to be done.

I’m trying to be open and honest about this problem from the start. It’s something that’s hard for people to talk about, even me, but I’m willing to because it’s important. I know I have a lot of trust to build, and more connections to make, but I’m hoping that I can take this problem by the horns and make some improvements as mayor. I won't promise that I have any magic solutions, but I have promised to do my best, be honest and forthcoming, and work hard to effect change.

Infrastructure

Hartsville has seen a lot of growth and redevelopment over the last two decades. We’ve invested in our infrastructure along the way, but it’s time to put a little more focus on our infrastructure to fix remaining problems, make it more resilient to stress, and prepare for even more growth. Looking at trends, we are expecting significant growth over the next decade or two. That’s exciting! We just need to stay on top of it and make sure we are smart with how we invest in and develop Hartsville and it’s infrastructure to make sure we can not only handle the growth, but nourish it.

Doing so will require a better working relationship with the county. The relationship between the City of Hartsville and Darlington County has waxed and waned over the decades. The City and County have many opportunities to help each other and grow together, but we’ve got to get better at working together to do that.

Moreover, that relationship touches not only roads and other infrastructure, but public safety and schools, too. We’d be better together, and we’re losing out on a lot of synergy by being so siloed. Speaking of:

Public Safety

If we can’t feel safe in our own homes, then not much else matters. We won’t grow, our children won’t do as well in school, and lives will be lost.

I said in last week’s Town Hall that I used to argue about Hartsville’s crime data until I was blue in the face. My argument was that the data was skewed, didn’t tell the whole story, was incomplete, or some combination thereof. While each of those things were true, and in some cases still are, I realized that it didn’t matter. It doesn’t matter what the data says if we can’t feel safe in our homes and neighborhoods. It doesn’t matter if the data is faulty if that’s all a visitor or investor had to look at. If someone is considering moving to Hartsville, that data might be all they had to go by, and it would likely turn them away.

So, all that said, I realized I was taking the wrong approach. I had to listen to what people were saying and understand how they were feeling. And the fact is that many people don’t feel safe and many potential new homeowners didn’t think it was a good idea to buy a home here. Last, but not least, we really do have crime—drugs, guns, mnurder. It doesn’t matter at all what the data says when people, many of them children, are dying.

We’ve got to do better. Our police have made investments in community policing, and we can invest more. The law enforcement landscape changes all the time, and our police need resources to access new and better training to make sure they are doing the best job they can every day, no matter what new threats they may face. In talking to people, it’s clear that some have lost their sense of trust and respect for law enforcement, and some worry that the feeling is mutual—even though they may admit that our communities need protection and support for law enforcement.

So, we’ve got to bolster those community policing efforts and continue to provide resources to our Police Department so that they can do their jobs safely and effectively.

And not to leave out the Fire Department. Equipment, trucks, and training are expensive. We’ve got to make sure that the Fire Department gets the support they need to protect us.

To that end, the City has already made a huge investment in a large collection of property adjacent to Downtown Hartsville for a new public safety complex. I’m excited to pick that project up and help bring it into reality. A new unified public safety complex will help both departments work better and more efficiently—together—to help keep Hartsville safe.

Quality of Life

Improving quality of life for all Hartsvillians is the overall goal. By offering better quality of life, and making it accessible to more people, is how Hartsville improves and grows.

Public services, education, public safety, recreation, commerce, housing, tourism, and more all feed into the goal of improving Hartsville.

Improving quality of life is the umbrella term that informs all the work I and so many others have done over the years to make Hartsville better than is has to be—for everyone.