ELGIN, S.C. — The District 3 seat on Kershaw County Council is up for grabs. It's one of the most populated areas, as it includes the Town of Elgin.
Brad Parsons and Derek Shoemake are running for the District Three seat on Kershaw County Council. We asked them to tell us a little bit about themselves.
Parsons: "I graduated from Camden High School, then I moved up to Charleston and went to The Citadel. Graduated in 1987 there, then went to the U.S. Army. Then, when I was done with it, I went to the Reserves, joined the S.C. Highway Patrol, did that for a number of years, four or five, and then moved back to Camden and have been here the past 30 years."
Shoemake: "I actually grew up here in District 3 in the Elgin area, went to elementary school here, and really spent my whole life here, other than a period of time when I was in the Marine Corps. I moved back in 2005 after leaving the Marine Corps. My wife and I decided to start our family here. My wife teaches elementary school here, and both my kids go to high school here."
Each candidate has a different take on what they could bring to the district.
Parsons: "I don't feel like I'm a politician. I'm a representative, and Elgin has gotten kinda busy, a lot of traffic, and we need to research ways to kinda help alleviate that with growth and things like that. And as far as that, and looking into the sewer issues, that's a big uproar."
Shoemake: "I've managed businesses and non-profits with multi-million dollar budgets, and I think the two things this area needs right now is a person that's going to make sure we're being fiscally responsible, but also someone with the leadership to make sure Elgin and the Elgin area get access to recreational and access to infrastructure dollars, and gets access to those things that a growing community needs."
Election day is Tuesday, January 24th.