South Congaree Town Councilman Brian Jackson running for re-election

South Congaree, SC 04/01/2022 (Paul Kirby) – South Congaree Town Councilman Brian Jackson has filed to run for reelection. The voting for the two council seats that are coming open will take place next Tuesday, April 3rd, 2022, at the South Congaree Town Hall. Polls will open at 7 a.m. and will close at 7 p.m. and this is an at large, non-partisan race. Only registered voters who are residents of the Town of South Congaree may vote in this election.

Brian has served the citizens of the Town of South Congaree in some capacity since 2013. Brian says he’d love to have the voters of South Congaree look at his record, who he is, and then re-elect him to town council so that he can finish what the councils he’s served on have started and worked so hard on over the years.

Brain is the owner of Jackson’s Septic Company and is the single father of Elijah, a student at Fulmer Middle School. Over the years, he has always used his resources to promote town functions and to help neighbors that are in need. He said during a recent interview that the community of South Congaree has played a major role in forming the man that he has become today and in return, he’s been honored to give back to the people of the town where he grew up and cares for so dearly. He concluded by saying he will always continue to do that.

One of the major projects he said he like to see completed is working to make the town’s Comprehensive Plan a top priority so South Congaree's citizens will be able to know where the town is heading and how they plan to get there. For too long, Brian says, they’ve worked without one and it’s time that is corrected.

Brian said he’d also strive to keep South Congaree a Council form of government. You can click this LINK and click on CONTINUE READING for a comprehensive explanation of what that is. It’s the form of government that the citizens of South Congaree first selected when the town was chartered more than 50 years ago. In the simplest terms, by law, South Congaree’s Council and Mayor have equal powers. No one is more powerful or has a stronger vote than the other. Any power granted the Mayor, such as presiding over meetings, is granted to the Mayor by ordinance voted on by a majority of the town council. He said that today, some simply disregard that fact and form and act as if South Congaree is a monarchy and they sit on the throne of power. This needs to stop, according to Brian. "The council needs to work together for the welfare of the citizens, businesses, and the town’s employees, as well as the entire community," he stated.

Brian says that he will continue to strive for better communication, accountability, honesty, and openness with the community. “This is your town, and you need to be able to easily find out what’s going on if you are interested,” he said.

“I’d like to help create a plan that will upgrade our town park and bring back additional family friendly town events through the reestablishment of an Events’ Committee,” Brian stated. “I also have a goal for the council and community to work together to provide a safe place for our youth that will pair young people with vetted mentors that are representative of the highest moral and ethical values of our town, its employees, and citizens.”

Brian also stated that he will aggressively work to safeguard and provide more citizen services, police services, and building inspections and code enforcement. “We have enough laws and ordinances in place, we simply need to enforce those fairly and equally,” he said.

He would also like to work to restore the creek along the town’s park. “When I was a child, the creek was a beautiful place of wonder. It can be again,” he said. “I know that swimming may never be allowed there again however, we could have a nice boardwalk connected to a walking trail that showcases the beauty of the creek and the land alongside it.”

Brian also plans to work to improve the relationship between the town and the area’s businesses, churches, and other civic and community organizations. He stated that, “if everyone will combine their efforts and work together, we all certainly can improve our town on a larger scale.”

In closing Brian said, “It’s time for South Congaree to grow in a quality way while still maintaining that small town feel. Although the addition of sewer service along West Main Street from Ramblin Road toward Edmund is going to bring more high-quality development along that corridor, I still think our citizens want quiet neighborhoods where their children can play in their yards safely. We need to be a walking and biking friendly town and apply our Zoning Ordinances carefully so that residential areas stay residential, and commercial development doesn’t negatively impact our neighborhoods. Good growth should be welcomed, we just need to recognize that not all growth is good growth. This is something we have to closely monitor so that we don’t get too far away from that small town my grandparents knew and served for years.”

Brian Jackson said that he would welcome your questions and comments by calling him over the weekend at (803) 530-9929 or by email at jacksonseptic@yahoo.com.