Meet the Myrtle Beach City Council candidates, find out where they stand on improving public safety
Michael Chestnut (incumbent)
Age: 52
Address: 1202 Ragin St.
Occupation: Restaurant owner
Family: wife, Maxine; kids, Michael, Miccaela, Marcus
Civic and political experience: City council since 2000; past boards – Myrtle Beach Housing Authority, Grand Strand Housing Authority and the Grand Strand Regional Hospital Board of Directors; chairman of the deacon board at Sandy Grove Missionary Baptist Church; past member of Ocean View Masonic Lodge; past president of the BTW Neighborhood Association; founding member of the American Culinary Federation Myrtle Beach Chapter
Military experience: none
Contact information: 843-251-5647
Question: What do you propose to improve public safety and public perception regarding crime in Myrtle Beach?
Hiring more police officers, more visibility in neighborhoods throughout the city and working closely with the neighborhood groups.
Question: Recent studies revealed a wealth of opportunity for the city’s south end with ideas ranging from an outdoor performance area and moving sculpture garden to a parking garage with solar panels and rooftop gardens. What do you think can be done to spur redevelopment there and how can you as an elected official help turn dreams of redevelopment into reality?
I am open to discuss any plan for redevelopment with developers or small business owners and see what we can do as the city to make their plan a reality as long as it is going to improve the area. We have already put in place a plan of incentives for the south area of the city and Broadway. The short answer is I am ready to look at any plan.
Mary Jeffcoat
Age: 63
Address: 8121 Amalfi Place
Occupation: Owner of Long Bay Professional Services, Inc., helping nonprofit and governmental organizations with strategic planning and media relations
Family: Married for 38 years to Allen Jeffcoat, a local attorney. Two daughters, Ann Jeffcoat Corbin and Sarah Jeffcoat; one granddaughter
Civic and political experience: Current: Myrtle Beach Rotary Club member, New Directions of Horry County Board member. Past experience: Mercy Hospice of Horry County Board member and chairwoman, Taste of the Town chairwoman, Street Ministries Board member and chairwoman, YMCA supporter, United Way supporter, Leadership Grand Strand Class 1 graduate, US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ National Advisory Council member and chairwoman, two-term Myrtle Beach City Council Member (1984 – 1992).
Military Experience: None
Contact information: Mobile (843) 222-9255; email: mjeffcoat.longbay@gmail.com
Question: What do you propose to improve public safety and public perception regarding crime in Myrtle Beach?
When I decided to run for city council back in February, I identified public safety as my top priority. Protecting our residents from crime requires a number of strategies, including: (1) Pay our law enforcement officers more; (2) Provide our officers the resources they need to keep us safe; (3) Put adequate street lighting in our neighborhoods; (4) Increase police presence in our at-risk neighborhoods; (5) Work with churches on programs for at-risk youth; (6) Revitalize our downtown and other blighted areas; (7) Diversify our economy to provide better paying, year-round jobs.
Question: Recent studies revealed a wealth of opportunity for the city’s south end with ideas ranging from an outdoor performance area and moving sculpture garden to a parking garage with solar panels and rooftop gardens. What do you think can be done to spur redevelopment there and how can you as an elected official help turn dreams of redevelopment into reality?
Since a disproportionate percentage of crime happens here, I support the city’s redevelopment initiatives in the South Mixed Use Area, including: (1) Locate a police substation in this area; (2) three-year streetscape improvements on Ocean Boulevard from First Avenue North to Eighth Avenue North; (3) Work with Myrtle Beach Economic Development Authority to attract non-tourist businesses for good paying, year-round jobs; (4) Realigning Hwy. 501 to connect with Seventh Avenue North, making a gateway to the ocean; (5) Credit vouchers to provide developer incentives; (6) $10 million line of credit to help purchase and/or tear down blighted properties.
John Krajc
Age: 25
Address: 1360 Wycliffe Drive
Occupation: Co-owner with my dad of Lifestyle Custom Renovators; Realtor at Coldwell Banker Chicora
Family: Single
Civic and political experience: Leadership Grand Strand Class 36; legislative committee member-Coastal Carolinas Association of Realtors; spokesman for Young Professional Network-Coastal Carolinas Association of Realtors; focus group with Downtown Redevelopment Corp. and city to attract more young professionals to Myrtle Beach; University Government at Radford University as a class senator; president of Beta Gamma Sigma International Business Honor Society 2011-12; sat on College of Business and Economics Advisory Board 2011-12
Military Experience: none
Contact information: 843-685-3179 or jskrajc@outlook.com
Question: What do you propose to improve public safety and public perception regarding crime in Myrtle Beach?
Currently you see Myrtle Beach Police on bicycle, motorcycle, golf cart, Segway, and automobile. However, you do not see any on our streets. I propose foot patrol officers that walk in pairs (officers should never walk alone as it is not safe) in crime distraught areas. They can park their squad car in a central location, and then walk together. They can go up to front porches and say hello. They can smile and wave to tourists, locals, business owners, and even hug a small child, showing that we truly are “first in service.”
Question: Recent studies revealed a wealth of opportunity for the city’s south end with ideas ranging from an outdoor performance area and moving sculpture garden to a parking garage with solar panels and rooftop gardens. What do you think can be done to spur redevelopment there and how can you as an elected official help turn dreams of redevelopment into reality?
Downtowns are my passion. Streetlights, pubs, street fairs, family fun, and culture are what make a metro area great. Our focus should be more rapid code enforcement and beautification of the South End. After we fix the parking issue, let's turn our goal to bringing vertically built business to our downtown area from 29th North to Third South. Not every 20 story structure has to be a hotel. Why not a research institution, banking or financial headquarters, or a technology/IT business that we already have infrastructure for?
Mark McBride
Age: 52
Address: 5614 Marion Circle
Occupation: waiter at The Original Benjamins
Family: married for 28 years to Laura; daughter, Milsom, 23; son, Struthers, 25, and O’Neil, 15
Civic and political experience: two years on the Community Appearance Board, four years on council, eight years as mayor
Military experience: none
Contact information: 907-1153, mbpublicsafety@gmail.com
Question: What do you propose to improve public safety and public perception regarding crime in Myrtle Beach?
I want to take a portion of the one percent local option tourism development fee sales tax and use it for public safety instead of advertising in Los Angeles and south Florida. The tax in its first five years produced $88.3 million. This year, according to the city, the fund will be worth $20 million. It is in place through 2019 and by simply changing a couple of sentences in the law we would be able to use the proceeds for public safety. I’ve gotten calls from other local municipalities interested in my proposal. In fact, it would be part of a solution to the county’s police department woes.
Question: Recent studies revealed a wealth of opportunity for the city’s south end with ideas ranging from an outdoor performance area and moving sculpture garden to a parking garage with solar panels and rooftop gardens. What do you think can be done to spur redevelopment there and how can you as an elected official help turn dreams of redevelopment into reality?
I support limited government. The city is not the developer. We just entertain projects brought to us. The first responsibility of government on any level is the safety and the protection of the residents and business owners. That needs to be addressed first and in doing that the city provides an environment which is attractive and conducive to investment. And then the city upon a proposal from a future developer, that is when the city works with the developer upon their specific request.
Robert Palmer
Age: 66
Address: 3459 Pampas Drive
Occupation: mortgage loan originator/semi-retired
Family: single
Civic and political experience: president and member of Southern Regional School Board, vice president of Ocean County [N.J.] School Boards Association, county delegate to State School Boards Association, board member of Ocean County College, board member of Ocean County Library, executive board member of Boy Scouts of America, board member of New Jersey State Library Construction Advisory Board and board member of Long Beach [N.J.] Island Rotary, Long Beach Township Board of Commissioners, commissioner of public works, commissioner of revenue and finance, commissioner of water and sewer department and commissioner of beach patrol
Military experience: none
Contact information: palmer4mb@gmail.com
Question: What do you propose to improve public safety and public perception regarding crime in Myrtle Beach?
The population in our town spikes up and down with our tourist seasons and with that comes more criminal activity. We have many retired people with a wealth of skills, one being retired law enforcement folks. I would propose we hire these folks during our “high” time to keep our police force at an even level with the added guests. We do not have to train them, we do not have to provide benefits, they are compensated at a part-time level and they have a wealth of experience. I truly believe MBPD does an outstanding job. It is not an easy task with the change in population.
Question: Recent studies revealed a wealth of opportunity for the city’s south end with ideas ranging from an outdoor performance area and moving sculpture garden to a parking garage with solar panels and rooftop gardens. What do you think can be done to spur redevelopment there and how can you as an elected official help turn dreams of redevelopment into reality?
I happen to live in The Market Common area and one of the issues I am running on is to appoint some new faces to some of our boards, i.e., planning, zoning, architectural, etc. There are many knowledgeable people, one person who has been involved from the beginning in the development of this area is Mr. Ed Carey him and people like him could be very beneficial to ensure the south end ebbs and flows smoothly. Also I would like to look into providing space and electric for golf carts in the parking garages.
Phil Render (incumbent)
Age: 61
Address: 5709 Quail Hollow Lane
Occupation: Dentist, college administrator, clinical instructor
Family: wife of 32 years, 27-year-old son
Civic and political experience: three-term city councilman, former member of Myrtle Beach Regional Economic Development Corp., South Carolina Independent Colleges Board of Trustees, Horry Higher Education Commission, and the Ocean View Memorial Foundation
Military experience: none
Contact information: 843-602-1325
Question: What do you propose to improve public safety and public perception regarding crime in Myrtle Beach?
Appreciating Myrtle Beach has a permanent population of 27,000 residents, the city's daily average population is many times that number. Council should continue to recruit new officers and enhance efforts to retain veteran officers, continue to provide our police with the finest in crime fighting technologies such as body and surveillance cameras, expand community outreach efforts combined with career training, add a south Myrtle Beach police sub-station, and continue to maintain a maximum level of cooperation with other local and state law enforcement agencies. The city of Myrtle Beach should continue to work with area media outlets to assure accurate information is disseminated to the public.
Question: Recent studies revealed a wealth of opportunity for the city’s south end with ideas ranging from an outdoor performance area and moving sculpture garden to a parking garage with solar panels and rooftop gardens. What do you think can be done to spur redevelopment there and how can you as an elected official help turn dreams of redevelopment into reality?
There was a reason south Myrtle Beach was developed first years ago. The downtown area of Myrtle Beach is located on very good land. It benefits from excellent topography which lends itself to redevelopment. Council has implemented zoning to allowing more new construction opportunities, reduced setbacks in some zones, restructured DRC [Downtown Redevelopment Corp.] finances to accommodate redevelopment, and establish a Loan Pool with a private bank consortium to speed redevelopment. Another Downtown initiative will be working with property owners, business owners, and Realtors to identify prospective tenants and city resources to achieve success.
Rick Sarver
Age: 57
Address: 104 9th Ave. N.
Occupation: business owner of Boardwalk Coffee House
Family: married 29 years, three children, nine grandchildren
Civic and political experience: volunteer for nonprofit organizations, active board member of Myrtle Beach Downtown Redevelopment Corp. and president of Oceanfront Merchants Association
Military experience: four years in the U.S. Air Force
Contact information: 704-968-3176, success1800@gmail.com
Question: What do you propose to improve public safety and public perception regarding crime in Myrtle Beach?
Myrtle Beach has taken a few brand hits online over the past few years concerning crime and the perception of Myrtle Beach as it relates to crime. Whether fair or unfair, as a city, we need to manage both the real issue and the perception issue as well.
The process here will be just as important as the results. My experience in owning five successful ventures has been in bringing teams together to solve challenging problems. We can revitalize downtown with a higher-end bed-and-breakfast district, attract a higher-end range of tourists, and raise average daily rates for all hotels up and down the greater Myrtle Beach area.
Question: Recent studies revealed a wealth of opportunity for the city’s south end with ideas ranging from an outdoor performance area and moving sculpture garden to a parking garage with solar panels and rooftop gardens. What do you think can be done to spur redevelopment there and how can you as an elected official help turn dreams of redevelopment into reality?
One of my core beliefs is that the role of local government is to create a climate, zone, or master plan where private business and private investment can then step in, create, and flourish. I have never been a big fan of top down, all-government-controlled decision-making in any venture as I believe such puts all of the opportunity into too few hands. Teamwork and cooperation with small business owners will be key in developing the city's south end. Bringing the right mix of a team that would include the business community, city planners, and the investment community together, I believe, would create the best overall product.
Jackie Vereen
Age: 47
Address: P.O. Box 70758
Occupation: Small hotel general manager/owner
Family: Daughter, Athena
Civic and political experience: Member of Myrtle Beach Woman’s Club, two terms on Myrtle Beach Board of Zoning Appeals, two terms on Community Appearance Board, Grand Strand Water & Sewer Citizens Advisory Committee, Leadership Grand Strand XVII
Military Experience: none
Contact information: 843-602-4428
Question: What do you propose to improve public safety and public perception regarding crime in Myrtle Beach?
Public safety is a core government function and should be prioritized first. While spending money on other projects may be important, no benefit will be realized from any project if people are mugged in the parking lot. Public safety needs to be funded properly, from the salaries to the equipment, to attract the best personnel and allow them to do their jobs effectively. We also need enhanced cooperation with the citizens and more substantive neighborhood watch meetings. As an experienced businesswoman, I understand the importance of building relationships and creating budgets to fund priorities. Public safety is that priority.
Question: Recent studies revealed a wealth of opportunity for the city’s south end with ideas ranging from an outdoor performance area and moving sculpture garden to a parking garage with solar panels and rooftop gardens. What do you think can be done to spur redevelopment there and how can you as an elected official help turn dreams of redevelopment into reality?
As a business owner, I hear firsthand the frustrations of fellow businesses, but there are numerous things we can do to spur development in our city. First, we must properly prioritize critical infrastructure initiatives in the budget. To create a better business environment, council can sunset regulations, which allows for periodic review, and seek input from businesses on potential ordinances. Equally important is making our tax climate conducive to allowing investment to occur. If we truly want Myrtle Beach to prosper, we must listen to the concerns of the businesses and better partner with them.
This story was originally published October 31, 2015 at 7:31 AM with the headline "Meet the Myrtle Beach City Council candidates, find out where they stand on improving public safety."