Crawford unofficially wins runoff for Horry council District 6 seat
Cam Crawford won the Republican runoff election Tuesday for the Horry County Council District 6 seat, defeating Kirk Hanna by a vote total of 547-482.
The results still have to be certified Thursday, and Crawford still must go through a General Election Aug. 4, where write-in candidates are allowed to run. Crawford fills the seat served by former Councilman Bob Grabowski, who committed suicide earlier this year.
“I was elated at the support that I got in the runoff,” Crawford said. “I felt like the message to the people of District 6 was about quality of life and it was realistic in its merit.”
Crawford could not be reached Tuesday night by phone, text or email.
Crawford, 38, is a small business owner and has said, if elected, he plans to deal with infrastructure, crime and unemployment.
“I believe that resonated with people,” Crawford said.
“In terms of infrastructure, projects like the Southern Evacuation Lifeline are critical to enhancing safety and quality of life,” Crawford has told The Sun News. “With almost 80,000 people living on the South Strand, the area needs its own evacuation route in order to prevent highways [S.C.] 544 and [U.S.] 501 from becoming overwhelmed in the event of a hurricane. Studies have demonstrated that S.E.L.L. could reduce the county's evacuation time by as much as seven hours.”
Crawford said District 6 has experienced “a great deal of difficulty with crime.” He said he wants to work to meet the national average of 2.4 officers per 1,000 people and re-establish a police substation in Socastee. He also would like to see added jobs.
“Given our steady increase in population, it's reasonable to assume that tourism alone cannot absorb the expanding labor pool,” Crawford has said, noting the current unemployment rate in Horry County is 7.7 percent. “I believe in the long run, with worthy investment in infrastructure along with the continued utilization of the EDC, we could foreseeably lower the rate to hopefully a figure hovering around 5 percent; that would be a goal I would work toward.”
Contact JASON M. RODRIGUEZ at 626-0301 or on Twitter @TSN_JRodriguez.
▪ Name | Cam Crawford
▪ Age | 38
▪ Party | Republican
▪ Address | PO Box 31234, Myrtle Beach, SC 29588
▪ Occupation | Small Business Ownner/Coastal Carolina University - Department of Academic Outreach
▪ Family | Wife, Heather Ammons Crawford
▪ Civic and political experience | Former Assistant to Congressman Henry Brown; President of Grand Strand Young Republicans; Former Vice President of South Strand Republican Club; Socastee/St James Kiwanis
▪ Education | BS Physical Education - Coastal Carolina University; BA Political Science & History - Coastal Carolina University; Master of Business Administration - Webster University
▪ Military experience | N/A
▪ Contact information | None provided
▪ Question 1 | Match your strengths or areas of expertise with the needs you feel District 6 is facing.
▪ Answer to Q1 | As a former assistant to Congressman Brown I learned first hand about the unique needs of our area. I learned to be an advocate for our community, and if allowed to serve I will continue my advocacy for critical infrastructure needs in District 6. Building from that experience I’ve worked diligently to build rapport with both the public and leaders at the local and state level. Bearing that in mind, I believe I could effectively help unite the county and state on various issues, such as the local government fund. Additionally, as a small business owner I’ve obtained a great deal of experience generating budgets and making them work. [Maximum word allowance reached]
I believe that’s valuable experience particularly when as a councilman you’re tasked with finding ways to fund critical projects.
In 2011 my home was burglarized, and I experienced the impact it had on my neighborhood and family. This experience motivated me to learn more about crime, specifically, in the Socastee area. As a result, I understand the need to ensure first responders are fully funded. Moreover, it’s clear that we need more officers to compensate for the increase in our county’s population, and I prepared to strongly advocate for enhanced coverage in the greater Socastee area.
▪ Question 2 | If you were given the ability to provide more funding for one area/line item of the budget in the next four years, where would you provide more funding and why?
▪ Answer to Q2 | Public safety. Government’s primary duty is to protect its citizens. Currently, the national average per 1000 people is 2.4 police officers. In Horry County the average is 1.15 officers. As our population continues to increase county government will need to close this gap in order to provide the necessary coverage to its citizens.
This story was originally published June 30, 2015 at 8:40 PM with the headline "Crawford unofficially wins runoff for Horry council District 6 seat."