3 of 5 Charleston mayoral candidates discuss planning for city’s future

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - On Tuesday, three of the five mayoral candidates for the City of Charleston gathered for a panel discussion.

The discussion took place during the Charleston Home Builders Association’s general membership meeting. The candidates who attended were Councilman Mike Seekings, Councilman Gary White and College of Charleston employee Will Freeman.

There were multiple topics discussed during the meeting including affordable housing, growth within the city and flooding.

All three candidates agreed these were serious issues – but opinions differed on how to fix them.

Seekings said we need to prioritize projects that also deal with transportation because the roads can’t be catch basins.

White agreed that we need to identify manageable projects that can be handled now which includes maintenance. He added we also need to set a 20 year strategic plan.

Freeman said our leaders need to be our biggest lobbyists when it comes to getting funding from the state and federal government to help handle these projects. He added we need to stop studying the issue and start fixing it.

Councilman Harry Griffin, who is also running for mayor, was invited to join the panel discussion but had a scheduling conflict.

Mayor John Tecklenburg had a long-standing appointment with the city’s emergency manager about the upcoming hurricane season.

Devin Gosnell, Teckleburg’s campaign manager, provided the following statement:

“The filing period for city elections opens in August, and Mayor Tecklenburg looks forward to a robust public debate in the fall. Until then, he plans to stay focused as mayor on our citizens' top livability concerns--flooding, traffic, housing, public safety and the related problems of over-development."

There are five people currently running for mayor. They are listed below in alphabetical order.

Mayor John Tecklenburg (incumbent)

Copyright 2019 WCSC. All rights reserved.