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VOTE411 Voter Guide

Beaufort County Council, District 8

Beaufort County Council is an elected body responsible for passing ordinances, setting county policies and developing an annual budget for the administration of public services to citizens. Council members serve 4-year staggered terms and each council member sits on at least one - usually a few - of five committees that focus on specific areas of concern. Committees include Community Services, Finance, Executive, Natural Resources and Public Facilities. Committee members must also participate on sub-committees and specific task forces as needs arise. Each Council member represents one of eleven districts within the County.NOTE: If a candidate's answers are not visible, the candidate may not have completed the survey prior to our publication date. Updated response will be posted as they are received. Voters are welcome to encourage the candidate to share their views.

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  • Candidate picture

    Bill Beltz
    (Dem)

  • Candidate picture

    Paula Brown
    (Rep)

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    Kraig Gordon
    (Rep)

  • Candidate picture

    Trey Judy
    (Dem)

Biographical Information

How will you ensure that County Council decisions are transparent, inclusive, and responsive to residents’ concerns?

What is your proposal for balancing business growth, housing development, and quality of life in Beaufort County’s future?

What will you advocate for the county's infrastructure projects including transportation improvement plans?

What would you do to improve funding and support for Beaufort County Public Schools in light of the growing population?

Campaign Mailing Address 177 Whiteoaks Circle
Bluffton, SC 29910
Campaign Phone 8432471234
Campaign Email williambeltz177@gmail.com
Qualifications Former teacher, former member of the Beaufort County School Board, former general contractor with certifications in buildings, roads, paving, concrete, marine and roofing. Also, served as president of the Bluffton Farmers Market for four years.
Education Cardinal Stritch University, Masters of Educational Psychology
Constituents are encouraged to contact me at my email address or call me to confirm.
Specific limits and guard rails will be proposed from all viable sources to maintain the infrastructure with adjustments for new growth as needed to continue on any futuristic needs as new growth becomes inevitable and requires positive responses for measured sustainability.
Maintain all existing infrastructures and generate new solutions for growth and development.
Look to the Beaufort County Board of Education for their direction to achieve the best solutions to make the public schools in Beaufort County first class in all areas of development and accomplishment.
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Campaign Mailing Address 201 Summerton Drive,
Bluffton, SC 29910
Campaign Phone 8437578719
Campaign Email kraig4bcc8@gmail.com
Qualifications Chairman Beaufort County Transportation Committee
Education BS in Engineering Management, MS in Engineering Management, Professional Degree in Engineering Management
As a 25 year U.S. Army veteran and current Chairman of the Beaufort County Transportation Committee, I will ensure County Council decisions are fully transparent by demanding clear, data driven presentations, timely public notices and easy access to information to every resident. I will hold regular town halls in District 8 communities. like Rose Hill, Belfair, Moss Creek and Hilton Head Plantation. I will actively listen to concerns and bring those voices to council. My engineering mindset means asking hard questions, measuring twice and putting service first- no backroom deals, just honest leadership that puts Lowcountry families ahead of politics,
The Lowcountry's desirability will keep attracting people, but we must manage growth not reacting to it. I will fight for updated impact fees that make growth pay its own way. smarter zoning that protects our unique character and way of life. We need a long-term capital plan holding developers accountable. We need targeted economic development that brings quality jobs and expands the tax base without overwhelming our infrastructure or eroding the quality of life that makes Beaufort County special.
Beaufort County's roads, bridges and intersections were never designed for today's traffic volumes. As Chairman of the Transportation Committee, I've already been working on data, budgets and engineering solutions. On Council, I will prioritize fixing what is broken, smart project sequencing, honest timelines and engineering driven decisions that eliminate wasteful band-aid fixes. We must plan proactively for future growth while delivering real relief to District 8 residents now.
Strong public schools are essential to our community's future. I will advocate for responsible budgeting that directs more local resources to classrooms, support teachers and addresses needs driven by population growth. By managing development wisely and ensuring growth pays its fair share through updated impact fees, we will ease pressure on schools, expand facilities where needed and maintain the high quality of education our families expect and deserve- without raising taxes on existing residents
Campaign Mailing Address 97 Meridian Point dr
Bluffton, SC 29910
Campaign Phone 980-622-3823
Qualifications 40 Years business experience, including 20+ years focused on federal legislative and regulatory issues. I have formed multiple coalitions or people and organizations. I have worked to get over 60 senators to sign into my efforts.
Education BS in Business, MBA, and additional graduate work in economics.
I plan to create accounting systems that provide detailed tracking of projects against budgeted expenditures and make reports publicly available.
I want to institute pre-approval requirements on developers to address infrastructure and environmental challenges. Building and zoning approvals will not be granted until these issues are addressed to the satisfaction of the council.
We will evaluate needs and reprioritize projects to include prior and projected growth as well as environmental impacts. We will also develop a grading system using these factors and cost to come up with a prioritized list of projects. Then, we will have to manually consider the inter-project impacts.
I do not have all the answers but am committed to optimizing our revenue, particularly from federal and state sources.