Myrtle Beach Sun News - October 27, 2006
EDITORIAL
O'Connell for Council
Georgetown County could benefit from Republican's expansive political outlook
Few ballot choices on Nov. 7 will be more vexing to voters than the District 6 Georgetown County Council contest between Glen O'Connell and Jimmy Chandler. Democrat Chandler, a Georgetown County native, specializes in environmental law. Republican O'Connell, a retired Washington state transplant, has a strong record of civic and party participation. One of them will replace incumbent David Hood, who didn't run for re-election, on County Council.
Either gentleman would make a splendid council member, but O'Connell appears to be the better choice. His political outlook is more expansive, and his life experience seems more applicable to the challenges that County Council faces. Trained as an accountant with a background in computing, O'Connell worked for the Boeing Co. for many years. He sees County Council service as a logical extension of his civic involvement - a chance to exert direct influence over county policy, growth especially.
The west side of the county, he says, needs more and better jobs so residents can approach personal-wealth parity with upscale residents of the Waccamaw Neck. He sees the housing boom that could materialize near Georgetown and along the U.S. 701 corridor as the best hope of easing the local-government tax burden on Neck homeowners.
O'Connell strongly supports Horry County's Southern Evacuation Lifeline project, as the effort to connect S.C. 707 or S.C. 544 across the Waccamaw River to U.S. 701 is now called. He's member of the SELL commission and sees that highway link as a potential lifesaver for Georgetown County residents when massive storms threaten the coast.
O'Connell also believes it important for the council to realign planning and zoning to reduce stress on roads and other public infrastructure, and to protect the county's wetland and waterways from further degradation. He says it's important that the 701 connector be built in a way that minimizes harm to the fragile lifeforms in the Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge.
Chandler shares many of these views but would go farther than O'Connell in channeling growth into forms that are more environmentally friendly. County Council, he says, needs to do a better job of reducing the strain that development exerts on infrastructure. He asks voters, however, not to typecast him as an enemy of growth. Instead, he would rather act as a bridge between the conservation community and developers. The two are not mutually exclusive.
By virtue of his long residency in Georgetown County - and of his service on the county Planning Commission - Chandler has a more extensive background in county politics and policy than O'Connell. But both gentlemen understand the the need to update the county's comprehensive plan - unchanged in large part since the 1970s. Both understand the need to improve traffic flow down the Waccamaw Neck, and to relieve congestion on U.S. 17.
Both want the council to do all it can to develop the county economy and create better jobs. But because O'Connell would bring a well-informed generalist's perspective to County Council service, The Sun News recommends him for election Nov. 7.
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