More than 200 Isle of Palms residents gathered at the Citadel Beach Club Sept. 28 to find out more about the eight people seeking seats on the IOP Council in the upcoming Nov. 7 election. Members of the overflow audience heard from five of their eight fellow islanders who would like to represent them. The candidates agreed on subjects including the city’s decision to limit development in Wild Dunes, the necessity for beach renourishment and that the IOP Police Department is doing an excellent job of keeping residents and visitors safe.
In other areas, the opinions of Elizabeth Campsen, Scott Pierce, Ashley Carroll, Tim Ahmuty and Brian Duffy differed, though usually not significantly. Unfortunately, the audience learned nothing about the other three candidates. Incumbents Kevin Popson, Rusty Streetman and Jimmy Ward were invited to participate but chose not to.
The forum was sponsored by The Island Eye News, the Barrier Island Preservation Alliance and News 2 and moderated by Riley Benson, who hosts a political show aired by the local television station.
Four of the five candidates voiced their support for a referendum that will be on the Nov. 7 ballot and would limit to 1,600 the number of investor-owned short-term rental licenses on the island. IOP voters were given the opportunity to decide that issue after the Council voted by a 5-4 margin on July 11 to ignore an ordinance proposed in a petition signed by 1,173 local residents. Popson, Streetman and Ward all voted against the ordinance, along with Blair Hahn and Mayor Phillip Pounds. Pierce, the only incumbent who attended the forum, was joined in the minority by Jan Anderson, Katie Miars and John Bogosian.
At the forum, Ahmuty said the referendum has struck a balance between homeowners’ rights and maintaining the island’s quality of life, adding that “I would love to see generation after generation grow up here.”
“Property rights are defined in the zoning ordinance,” Duffy pointed out. “The referendum is an excellent approach.”
Both Pierce and Campsen said they support the referendum, with the latter noting that “every other community has established limits.” Carroll seemed to disagree, saying that the short-term rental issue “can be resolved with common sense solutions.”
There also were differences of opinion on the question of whether communication is a hallmark of the current Council. After stating that “they’re working within the framework we have, and it’s a challenge, Campsen noted that “there’s not a lot of collegial behavior.” Pierce, meanwhile, said “there’s no communication.”
“There’s a lot of dysfunction. We need leadership and camaraderie. It’s a well-intended group of people, but we need to work on issues instead of working on agendas,” he said.
Carroll said “there’s not a lot of time for them to dialogue effectively. We need to find common ground and compromise,” while the other two office seekers were a bit harsher in their assessment of the current Council.
“They don’t do a good job communicating. That’s a reason to get a new Council in place,” Ahmuty said.
“Those who did not show tonight showed how they really care about the island and their willingness to communicate. There’s a very negative tone from portions of the Council, and, to me, that’s unacceptable,” said Duffy, who served previously on the Council.
There also was a difference of opinion on the question of whether the Isle of Palms has trouble recruiting and retaining firefighters. In fact, several candidates denied that the issue exists.
“I don’t think we have a problem,” Pierce said, pointing out that all city employees have received a 24% pay adjustment in the past 15 to 16 months and that the average pay and benefits package for all employees is now in the neighborhood of $103,000 a year.
“That question is probably a flawed question,” Pierce said.
Campsen and Duffy agreed, though the former pointed out that “there’s not much more important than a firefighter when you have a fire.”
The five candidates had differing opinions on the plan to re-stripe the IOP Connector bridge. The Council passed a resolution in April supporting Concept 5, one of five proposals presented by the South Carolina Department of Transportation. That plan would have one lane of traffic entering IOP, two lanes leaving, a bike and pedestrian path on one side and no emergency lane in the center. Pierce, Carroll and Campsen favored Concept 5, but both Ahmuty and Duffy said they looked forward to the return of the emergency lane.
All five candidates agreed that Chief Kevin Cornett and the Police Department are doing a great job and that beach renourishment is an important function of the city. Ahmuty suggested that IOP have a contractor on retainer who can react “when we need sand and we need it today.”
And they agreed for the most part concerning the ordinances the city passed in November 2022 in an effort to limit development in Wild Dunes, some more vehemently than others.
“The city was well within its rights. The city should always have the option to control commercial development,” Pierce said.
Ahmuty noted that “I wouldn’t negotiate one iota. I’d fight them tooth and nail. All we did was close a loophole.”
To watch the entire forum, click here.
