SC6 On the Road.... Florence County GOP Meeting Tonite...

Glynn Willis to Run for At-Large City Council Seat......

No, this is not Glynn Willis, this is Charles Butler and his wife. I forgot my camera tonight, so I had to retread an old picture. Charles was at the meeting tonight, so he apparently is still gunning for Clyburn. He did well tonight, and the crowd liked what they heard from him. I wish him the best...

The political season is starting to heat up a little here. Lots of local candidates and incumbents, and a couple staffers from the Romney camp. Everyone is playing nice right now - we're all on the same team, so the only people getting ripped seems to be Fred Thompson. The inside scoop is that Fred is not ready for the debates, and sounds ....... well, like a guy who's been in Hollywood more than DC the last few years. When you still refer to Russia as "The Soviet Union", you won't appear to be up to date. Next he'll set up a meeting with Mikhail Gorbachev.....

Glynn Willis was the speaker for tonight. He is the Chair of the Florence City-County Planning Commission, and it appears he will be running for City Council. How do I know? By the Glynn Willis for City Council bumper sticker on his truck. Nothing gets by me !!

Now I have had my run-ins in the past with the Planning Commission, but I will stick up for Glynn, even if he is related to Frank Willis, though I'm not sure how - cousins or Uncle, I think..... Going to the Planning Commission was an art in futility - everyone on the panel was a Real Estate agent or builder. How do you think they were gonna vote. If your whole neighborhood didn't show up with torches and pitchforks, you lost. All development was good development. Glynn has changed that.

Nowadays, the changing of zoning, particularly from residential to commercial, needs to meet certain criteria, based on the neighboring parcels, the area - things that were put in place by the state 10 years ago, but ignored by previous commissions. The little guy stands a chance now, and the Planning Commission is pretty fair. That's all we ever asked.

Now the bad news...... The city is splitting from the county planning board. Great. Now if you live in the city, you have to go to two different boards, or if you aren't sure if you are city or county, you better find out ASAP. Nothing is worse in local government than duplication of agencies - remember 9/11 ???? But, i'm sure the city has it's reasons.. Like having total control over the downtown revitalization. How is that going anyway. Maybe Hartsville, Marion and Cheraw could give them some lessons on how to do it.

Nothing earth shattering tonight. The meatloaf and mac and cheese were good as always. This Thursday, I'll be sampling the buffet at the Compass in Turbeville for Clarendon's meeting. See you there.....

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