BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C.—In just a few days, Berkeley County voters will head back to the polls, choosing between incumbent Dan Davis and Moncks Corners mayor Bill Peagler for county supervisor. Neither received enough votes during the June 10th primary to win the race.
For voters who call Bonneau Beach, Overton, Macedonia, Moncks Corner, Berkeley Club Estates, Whitesville, Windwood, Pinopolis, Highway 17A South and Lazyhill Road home—they will also have to choose between challenger James Law and incumbent Jack Schurlknight for the District 6 county council seat.
Just like the supervisor’s race, both District 6 candidates are facing a runoff. During the primary, Schurlknight received 45 percent of the vote while Law received 39 percent. Baron Thomas, who also ran for the council seat and finished last, has since endorsed Law for the position.
Schurlknight has served on county council since 2006, and it’s a position he hopes to continue.
“The major thing I want to get accomplished is continuing the road improvements—not only for convenience but for safety,” stated Schurlknight. “The other thing would be is economic development.”
Schurlknight says he wants to focus heavily on creating job opportunities for Berkeley County by attracting more companies to the area.
“That’s why I was interested in purchasing the nursing property,” explained Schurlknight. “I still feel that would have put the county in a position to get some good manufacturing jobs there for the central and northern end of Berkeley County.”
In 2010, Carolina Nurseries on Highway 52 closed its door after nearly a century in business. More than 300 people lost their jobs. At one point, the county had looked into the possibility of buying the property to keep the facility in business; however, Supervisor Dan Davis said ultimately council members decided it was not the county’s responsibility to buy private land.
“There’s been some talk that the county wanted to spend $16 million on it, and that’s not true. The county had agreed to pay 12.1 million,” explained Schurlknight. “Sixteen million was roughly the appraised value.”
Law, who is no stranger to Berkeley Co. politics, believed council made the right decision by not purchasing the property—and it’s one of the issues that peaked his initial interest in running for council council.
“I just thought that was the wrong way for the government to be going,” stated Law. “We need to get back to providing the things that we are supposed to provide—a safe place to live, roads and bridges that work.”
Law is a familiar face around the lowcountry—often doing interviews for the media as a spokesperson for the South Carolina Department of Transportation.
“It’s a good job. I enjoy it,” said Law.
However, he’s no newbie when it comes to the world of politics. During Hurricane Hugo, Law served as the mayor of Moncks Corner until 1992. He also served at one point on the town’s public works commission and in the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1993-2003.
In terms of how the two candidates differ on the issues, Schurlknight says it comes down to economic development.
“My opponent seems to think that it needs to be held in the private sector, and I disagree with that,” stated Schurlknight. “I think Berkeley County needs to be a leader in economic development. There’s a reason why we are the fastest growing county in the state. That didn’t happen by chance. That happened by long range planning and working with industries, trying to get them here, showing what Berkeley County has to offer.”
Law wants the county to prosper economically; however, he puts more emphasis on public safety: better roads, stronger EMS services and funding the sheriff’s office—particularly the portion of the jail that remains vacant.
“Wayne DeWitt does a wonderful job with the sheriff’s office,” stated Law. “He should have had those deputies years ago. Now there’s some controversy over whose fault it was—those things should have never happened.”
Voters head back to the polls on June 24th.
To hear more from the candidates, watch the videos below.
Prior Story:
DeWitt wins big in sheriff’s race, Davis & Peagler face runoff in supervisor race
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Berkeley County, you are SCREWED!! I had intended to make a positive comment about the one running against Dan Davis, UNTIL he said that Wayne Dewitt was doing a great job, then I cut the video off! You are SCREWED!!! Dan is trouble, this guy is probably trouble, the ONLY thing I can say, is that Jack Shurlknight seems to me to care about the people, but without a good supervisor, and without a good Sheriff, you are STILL SCREWED!! God help Berkeley County!!