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.
Candidate has not yet responded.
Candidate has not yet responded.
Candidate has not yet responded.
Candidate has not yet responded.
Campaign Phone
843-960-8025
Qualifications
Jannine Mutterer is a mom of two kids in Beaufort County public schools, a small business owner, and an attorney with over 20 years of experience. She runs her own firm focused on organizational governance, community association law, and civil litigation. She and her husband Chris have called Bluffton home since 2008. She serves as Finance Chair on the Beaufort County Library Board of Trustees and founded a nonprofit to keep a local youth sports program alive. Jannine is running for County Council District 9 to bring accountable, responsive leadership to the table.
Education
San Diego State University, Bachelor of Science - Business Administration, 1997. California Western School of Law, Juris Doctor, 2005.
Trust is built when residents feel informed, heard, and respected, and too many don't right now. Major decisions too often appear settled before public hearings even begin. When officials like our former CFO depart with no explanation, that silence only deepens distrust. My commitment is to make residents partners, not bystanders: showing up in the community before votes happen, holding regular district meetings with real answers, and pushing for post-executive-session communication that shares what can legally be told. I'll also push for citizen oversight committees, like the one proposed for the 2026 transportation tax, on major spending, and I am not afraid to speak up with a different perspective or idea.
Growth is part of our community, but how we grow is up to us. I will push to follow the 2040 Comprehensive Plan's vision for responsible growth. That means adding tools like concurrency requirements, so infrastructure is in place before development is approved. It also means proactively reviewing existing zoning to protect vulnerable areas like St. Helena and Alljoy. Business growth must be responsible too, locating jobs where roads and utilities can support them. Over half of renters in Northern Beaufort County are cost-burdened, so rather than more sprawl into rural land, I support workforce and missing-middle housing near jobs. Smart planning is how we keep the natural beauty and history that brought people here, even as we grow.
For too long growth has been a free for all. New development should only move forward when matched with real funding for roads, schools, and utilities, not after the fact. I support Senator Tom Davis's concurrency bill at the state level and would push to adopt that authority locally, with safety as a top priority, safer roads, crosswalks, and intersections for our community.
While I will support the 2026 sales tax referendum, I would have preferred a smaller, more manageable version. The 2018 referendum still has unfinished projects, and 2024 failed. Residents need results before the next ask. I also want the oversight committee to have real teeth: flag projects falling behind and push Council to act, not just report after the fact.
Beaufort County School District serves over 20,000 students and ranks #19 out of South Carolina's 80 plus school districts. That success comes from our teachers and administrators, and from the funding our community supported through the 2019 bond referendum to build more facilities. An independent citizen-led oversight committee has tracked that spending quarterly, delivering projects on time and under budget. That's a model I want to build on. I would also push to revive greater developer impact fees for schools. Finally, I support multiple paths to success: expanding technical and career programs alongside academics, so students headed for a trade, the military, or college have more opportunities.
