Did ‘conservative businessman’ up for Myrtle Beach council do past work in government?

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Nick Vaugh is running for Myrtle Beach City Council as a conservative businessman.

“Conservative businessman” is even listed as Vaugh’s occupation on LinkedIn. The phrase is emblazoned on his signs decorating lawns, mailers sent to voters and his campaign website, which touts his co-founding of the Vaugh Spadaccini Hospitality Group and support for charities, youth programs and community initiatives.

With 13.74% of the council vote, Vaugh will face off against incumbent Myrtle Beach City Council members Jackie Hatley and Phil Render in a runoff election Tuesday, Nov. 18. Although there’s no mention of it on his campaign website or campaign materials, outside the private sector, Vaugh has served on a city council before.

In 2007, as a sophomore at Clarkson University, Vaugh became the youngest person in Ogdensburg, New York, history to be elected to the city council at just 20 years old. He served a four-year term as a city councilor starting in 2008.

“If you look at any candidate, they don’t list their entire bio for their entire lifetime, but it’s something that…we’ve talked about on the campaign trail with people,” Vaugh said of his time as a councilor.

When asked if he served in any other elected or appointed government roles, Vaugh told The Sun News that he didn’t “believe so.”

Vaugh didn’t seek reelection, but did launch a Republican campaign for an Assembly District seat, before dropping out of the race in 2010 due to illness in his family. After, he worked as a senior advisor for a Republican congressional campaign.

“I’ve always believed that public service is something that everyone should consider, and that’s why I ran as a Republican and won and served honorably for four years,” said Vaugh.

Now 38, Vaugh says he became a resident of Myrtle Beach five or six years ago. Despite his council experience years prior, Vaugh maintains he would bring an outside perspective to the Myrtle Beach City Council.

“We need new leadership, and that’s what I bring to the table,” said Vaugh. “The status quo has failed Myrtle Beach, and I bring new ideas, new energy, and just some common sense that we’ve been missing for far too long.”

According to his LinkedIn, which Vaugh said is “pretty much comprehensive,” he went on to work in political and business fields as a political affairs specialist for the Oneida Indian Nation, director of government relations at Capital Region Chamber, director of public affairs at Noble Gas Solutions and on the board of directors for Fort La Presentation Association.

Vaugh also worked as a U.S. Chamber of Commerce lobbyist for 10 years from 2015 until this year and has been president of CSB Investments LLC since 2014.

“I worked with local chambers of commerce throughout the eastern seaboard. I worked with small businesses across the East Coast, and so a lot of local communities interacting with federal officials. We never did any state issues, it was all federal issues,” Vaugh said.

As the co-founder of the Vaugh Spadaccini Hospitality Group, Vaugh is involved with Grand Strand restaurants like 357 Raw Coastal Bar, Crave Italian Oven and Bar and Sol y Luna Latin Cantina.

“On the campaign trail with people, we’ve been focused on, look at through my business experience here in Myrtle Beach, I’ve seen the good, bad and the ugly,” said Vaugh. “We’ve seen how the status quo has failed Myrtle Beach, and I’m running to change that.”