VOTE411 Voter Guide

My name is Angela Aiken, and I am the bridge that reconnects people to their government. My qualifications are rooted in lived experience and a lifelong commitment to fighting for people who have been overlooked and excluded. As a certified Phlebotomist and Echocardiograph Technician, I have spent my career serving people with compassion and integrity. I am also among the first graduates of the Environmental Justice Academy in Greenville County. I have served on the board and as spokesperson for the New Washington Heights Neighborhood Association, worked alongside G.O.A.L.S. for Justice, led the Latch Key Kids Organization providing mentorship and meals for children, and partnered with Sustaining Way on food access. My advocacy has brought me before County Council, City Council, and public agencies as a voice for the people. I live by the words of Vincent Coe: "The opposite of justice is poverty." I am here to ensure every person feels seen, heard, supported, and respected.

The most pressing issues facing Greenville County are ones I have not read about in a policy brief, I have lived them: public health, public safety, affordable housing, and access to public transportation. In the 1980s, I watched neighbors die from cancer while oil tanks sat in our community and DHEC never responded. Clean air, clean soil, and safe water are rights, not privileges. I will push for environmental accountability. Forty-three years ago, I requested a speed bump and a "Blind Child" sign on my street. It has never been addressed. Every neighborhood deserves safe, equitable infrastructure. Affordable housing and transit are equally urgent. Growth in Greenville County must be equitable growth, and I am committed to ensuring no one

County Council must take a comprehensive approach addressing the full pipeline, from unlocking underutilized land assets to creating financing pathways and building a local ecosystem of mission-aligned developers. Council needs policy frameworks that recognize the full spectrum of housing need, from workforce families to residents in recovery. Greenville County already has the raw ingredients: faith institutions sitting on developable land, federal funding tools that remain underutilized, and a growing community of local advocates. What's missing is a coordinated strategy that pulls these resources together. Any housing initiative must be developed with community stakeholders and designed to drive wealth into existing neighborhoods, not extract it. We have seen too many times what happens when developers enter under the banner of affordable housing but leave residents with less. That cycle ends with intentional policy and genuine accountability.

Greenville County's transportation plans cannot be developed in isolation from our affordable housing strategy, the two are inseparable. Working families placed in affordable housing beyond the reach of reliable transit and safe pedestrian infrastructure have not been given a real opportunity, they have simply been relocated. Effective transportation planning must prioritize direct connections between where families live and where they need to go: grocery stores, pharmacies, hospitals, social services, and employment corridors. What's needed is a coordinated framework that treats transit access as concurrent with housing investment, not an afterthought, and ensures transportation dollars produce equitable outcomes countywide.

As an incumbent running for reelection I have experienced the real elements it takes to govern under the laws of the State of South Carolina. Additionally I have served as a Neighborhood President that kept me in touch with the needs of the people and how to use available resources to address the needs. I have business experience which helps me to understand how problems and issues need to be addressed from practical and economic perspectives. I have worked as a Planner so I know the elements of forecasting. Also my experience in Architecture and construction uniquely qualifies me to flush out the potential waste in proposed projects. I have worked with FEMA and HUD, and graduated through the Greenville Citizens Police, Fire, and Greenlink Academies which puts me in a position to be more aware of the inner workings of these agencies and departments. I have worked in the healthcare industry which has helped me to hone my skills in prevention and care to help keep our citizens safe.

I believe that personal insecurities and broad infrastructure elements are the most important issues facing our County at this time. Some of the personal insecurities like Housing insecurity, food insecurity, food deserts, and the absence of fresh, nutritious fruits and vegetables or other healthy choices that are readily available in nearby stores can make it difficult for County residents to achieve a healthy quality of life. Many of the current food options available are high in calories and low in nutrient value. Over the decades, infrastructure elements, including roads, have been inadequately maintained with few improvements. I will work creatively to partner with governmental entities, businesses, and industries to address issues.

Council will have to develop and support creative building solutions that start with product and continue through the construction stage. The housing should go into the areas of Greenville where it is needed the most and where it can be most impactful relative to the workforce. In order to promote more units, we need to help everyone understand the need for, and the impactful significance of, having the units constructed.

To help ease traffic congestion, some solutions could be as simple as improved signalization at critical intersections and at high impact times of day. Other solutions may need critical analysis based on population growth, density, and sprawl. We have already expanded the run times and implemented shorter deadhead times between busses with our Greenlink transportation system, Our current Greenlink system is built on the spoke-wheel plan with busses funneling into the downtown area for transfers. We need to also consider crosstown connections. We should also think of creative alternatives to just busses and automobiles on roads. Bicycles on busses is already a system that is working.

I’ve called this community home my entire life. And I care deeply about what happens in Greenville County. Through my work, I’ve had the opportunity to help thousands of people find jobs and support their families. And through my involvement in the community, working with neighborhoods, churches, and local organizations, I’ve seen firsthand both the challenges people are facing and the strength of this community.

I have been a servant leader for the past thirty years, serving on boards and commissions (GTA/Greenlink Board, Greenville Housing Authority Board, Legacy Early College, Richland Historic Cemetery Commission), among others. I have demonstrated leadership as the past president of the Overbrook Neighborhood Association and Board of Directors leader of Pleasant Valley Connections Center.

I will be the leader who shows up. Leadership that listens. And leadership that works every day to deliver real results for the people it serves.

I believe that we have encouraged people to come to Greenville with our “Yeah That Greenville Campaign”; however, we have opened the door to excessive and rapid growth. I believe the County Council has a responsibility to effectively manage growth and development with a Smart Growth plan that includes smart fees in lieu of tax policies, and smart infrastructure plans that support rapid growth and development, and keep pace with county expansion. County Council District 23 is facing the challenges of rapid growth that has led to gentrification and displacement. The excessive housing costs have displaced residents in legacy neighborhoods, along with unreliable public transportation due to funding issues priorities that prioritize other areas

Developing Affordable, Accessible, and Attainable Housing for low to moderate-income families, by sustaining legacy minority communities that have been decimated by gentrification and taxation policies, which are displaced by excessive taxation and home loss due to county tax policies.

I will advocate for the GTA/Greenlink Transit Development Plan, supported by dedicated funding sources, by passing and using a portion of the transportation component of the County Penny Sales Tax, which has dedicated transportation funding in the tax.