Issues
Infrastructure. Flooding & Traffic!
Whether you’ve lived here your whole life, or you’re new to the district, you know that our Lowcountry infrastructure leaves a lot to be desired. Commutes are getting longer, city streets are flooding more, and our public transit system is underutilized. I know investing in our community’s infrastructure is critical for its short-term stability and long-term success. This means reducing traffic and congestion on our roads with data-driven strategies, halting poorly planned construction in areas that flood and building resilient landscape features to give stormwater a place to go, and enhancing existing public transit options while exploring more.
None of this is easy. But neither is living with the status quo. How many times have you missed a child’s baseball game or an important work meeting because our roads were backed up? How long does your lawn stay flooded after a heavy rain? When’s the last time you felt like you could rely on safe, effective public transit to get to your destination? When buses are reliable, convenient, and affordable, more people ride them—meaning less traffic on the road, less pollution in our air, and more equity & opportunity in the Lowcountry.
As your State Senator, I will partner with city officials and fellow state lawmakers to advocate for realistic legislation and policy to strengthen and modernize the infrastructure of our, district, city and state. It will improve our lives, safeguard our property, and give our community what it needs for future growth and prosperity.
Housing
We’ve all heard the headline, Charleston County needs over 16,000 affordable / workforce units before the end of the decade. As it stands, we are not even close to meeting that goal.
Housing is a basic human right. Anyone who works 40 hours a week deserves a quality roof over their head and a safe community to raise a family. However, that fundamental American dream is out of reach for many workers. The State Legislature has a big role in incentivizing the type of housing we build, and we must realize we are playing catch up. I will be a leader in the State Senate when it comes to housing advocacy.
We also need to take a hard look at Housing as it relates to our infrastructure woes. People want to live near their place of employment and when that opportunity is not available, we must spend more time in our cars. With the arrival of Lowcountry Rapid Transit (LCRT) in 2026, we have a once in a lifetime opportunity to encourage vertical housing near LCRT station nodes. Connecting housing to mass transit is not a new concept, but it is a new idea for our region. It is imperative that we view housing and transportation infrastructure and one in the same.
Education
I’m a fierce believer in the transformative power of public education, and I’m running to make sure that all South Carolinian students have access to the education they need to become successful community leaders, business owners, and citizens of this great state. Currently, our school system is badly broken. We sit 43rd in education according to US News’ national ranking, with just 38% of residents holding college degrees. Teachers are leaving our schools (and in some cases, the profession entirely) in droves because of low pay, poor classroom conditions and unnecessarily partisan school boards. Our kids aren’t getting the professional attention & expertise they need to develop as students and citizens and are graduating late or not at all. We know these challenges are particularly acute in low-income communities and communities of color.
Many view education in South Carolina as a moral issue, as do I. But it’s also an economic one that affects you even if you don’t have children in our public school system. Studies have repeatedly shown that low graduation rates correspond to higher economic costs borne by society, in the form of lost tax revenues, assistance programs, and healthcare costs. As a small business owner, I also know employers need access to high-quality labor. If our schools can’t provide it, employers will hire from out-of-state (depriving South Carolina of economic benefit), or may decide to leave.
We must properly fund, maintain, and improve our public education system. As a parent of two young children and a small business owner, I feel both moral and economic imperatives to improve our district’s (and our state’s) approach to education.
