Yesterday the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled, once again, against the Town of James Island. This means that despite continual and overwhelming support from the people who live on James Island, the City of Charleston and the courts have determined that we are not allowed to exist as a municipality. At this point in time the Town of James Island has two weeks to petition the SC Supreme Court to rehear the case should we choose to go that route. There is a preliminary article about this on The Post and Courier  and I will continue to post new articles about the subject on my website www.votemcmillan.com

While it is too early to know what our next step will be I want to let all of you know that I have thoroughly enjoyed my time on Town Council. I genuinely believe there is something special about James Island and I have enjoyed serving all of my constituents.

While I am disappointed with today’s ruling I want to thank all of you for the opportunity to serve. I hope that regardless of the outcome of this decision I will be able to continue to serve the people of our community.

Carter

I wanted to send an update out after the Post and Courier ran an article yesterday morning entitled “Is there an I-526 Silent Majority?“

I’ve set up a website to gauge feedback about this issue. You can vote in the poll and leave a comment by clicking here. I want to be sure to get input from as many people as possible so please forward this on to friends and encourage them to fill out the poll as well.

While this won’t be a scientific poll it should help all of us get a bead on how people in the town feel about this critical issue.

Thank you as always
Carter

PS – To vote be sure to click here.

You may have already received your check, or it may be on the way once
you pay your property tax – but it was been an honor to send out these
checks.

If you have questions about how to qualify for this refund, and you
own property in the town please call us at 843-762-7744.

Also if you think your friends would like learning more about how we
are working hard to protect the tax-payers money please visit
www.VoteMcMillan.com and ask them to sign up for future updates.

Thank you as always – It is a pleasure to represent you on Town Council
CM

Good Morning -

Just wanted to remind you all that today is election day and that polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

On election day back in August, I spent all day standing outside Harborview Elementary and I was really impressed with all the people I talked to about what needed to be done on James Island as they came in to vote.  In a mid-term election like the one on Tuesday, voter turnout is once again critical to having James Island’s voice heard on some real critical issues, be it here in our town, Charleston County, South Carolina, or in Washington, DC.

If you aren’t sure where to vote you can click here and use this new Google Maps tool to locate your polling location and how to get there.  You’ll need to bring your voter registration card, SC driver’s license, OR an SC DMV-issued ID card. If you’re voting for the first time since registering, there may be a few other rules you need to keep in mind, so cilck here to review those.

Remember, polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., so be sure and exercise your right to vote!

Until next time,

Carter

As a reminder I am sending out this email to serve as an update to my constituents and for people who have written to me with concerns about James Island. You can always read older posts at www.VoteMcMillan.com – for those who have contacted me regarding the 526 issue you can read my previous statement here.

Recently I’ve been spending a considerable amount of time working on the recent string of burglaries on James Island. Many residents are concerned about what town council is doing about this issue. You can be assured that we are working closely with police to increase patrols and making sure that any good lead is fully investigated. As you can see from the following articles there are many actions residents can take to decrease the chance of becoming a victim of a burglary.

1 – Be sure to lock your home and car at all times – many break-ins occur where homes or cars are unlocked

2 – Talk with your neighbors, a tight-knit community makes it easier to spot something out of the ordinary (like a robber in your neighborhood)

3- Is you see something suspicious report it to the proper authorities

Related Articles:

Residents talk crime prevention

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Also as many of you already know the Town of James Island has finally passed a budget! After we began to straighten out the mess left by the previous administration we looked at what areas within the government could be cut to reduce wasteful spending. We want to be sure that we continue to provide quality public services like ditch cleaning and trash removal but we want to be sure that we are spending your tax money wisely. You can read more details in this Post and Courier article.

That’s all for now – thank you again for your continued support.

Carter

I want to stay in contact with you during my time in office. Periodically, I will send out an email update and post it on my website (www.VoteMcMillan.com). However, this communication shouldn’t just be one-sided – I want to hear from YOU! You can always email me at cartermac@aol.com or call me at 843-814-8684.

It’s been a month since election day and I wanted to thank all of you once again for your support. I am so honored to be serving as your representative on James Island Town Council. When I was out campaigning I promised not to be another politician who only talks with folks around election time, and that is why I’m sending this email.

I want to stay in contact with you during my time in office. Periodically, I will send out an email update and post it on my website (www.VoteMcMillan.com). However, this communication shouldn’t just be one-sided – I want to hear from YOU! You can always email me at cartermac@aol.com or call me at 843-814-8684.

I’ll keep the first update brief - but let me know what other issues you want to hear about.

Carter

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BUDGET 2010 -

As some of you may have heard, the budget we inherited from Mary Clark and her administration is worse then we thought. Thousands of dollars had been allocated to frivolous causes, her son was paid in full for his contract without completing all the work, and the list goes on. However instead of getting stuck in the past, we went to work. I, along with the rest of Council and Mayor Woolsey, have been doing our best to develop a smart budget that reigns in spending and shifts money to more essential services like ditch-cleaning.

You can read more about our efforts in a few articles from the Post and Courier:
Woolsey proposes new budget with $1M less spending, 9/8/10
Changes ahead for James Island, 8/30/10
Payments by former Mayor Clark prompt questions, 9/14/10
“James Island’s clean-up job,” 9/15/10

PROPOSED I-526 EXPANSION -

Also, many of you have be writing to me and asking about the proposed I-526 expansion. All too often, people on both sides of a controversial issue jump to conclusions without studying all the facts. For a project that will cost half a billion dollars, and affect thousands of residents I think it is important to have all of the facts before making a decision

I have spent substantial time studying the facts and do not believe that the expansion of I-526 is a wise idea at this point.  It seems to be a very expensive project and I haven’t seen enough proof that it would actually fix the traffic issues on James Island. I also want to commend the hundreds of residents who have come out to public forums over the last few weeks to express their opinion about this issue. It is so good to see the people of James Island standing up for what they believe in.

For more information on the proposal here is the DOT’s plan (http://www.dot.state.sc.us/i526) as well as a website from those who are opposed to the expansion (Nix526.com).

Today’s forum is 7-8:30 p.m. at St. James Presbyterian Church, 1314 Secessionville Road. The forum is open to all, is sponsored by the St. James Foundation, and light refreshments will be served.

A Tuesday forum for the five mayoral candidates is set for 6-7:30 p.m. at James Island Baptist Church, 2023 Wappoo Drive, in Riverland Terrace. It is also open to all.

As we move into the final few days I’ll be out knocking on more doors and putting up more signs. If you need one for your yard be sure to call and I’ll bring one right over!

-Carter

Despite numerous attempts and meetings regarding the budget, a consensus was never reached. McMillan reacted by saying: “It’s clear that change is needed. It is truly disappointing as a citizen that the Mayor couldn’t get a budget passed on time. I’m running to bring common-sense values to town council so we can get things accomplished on-time, and without personal squabbles clouding the process.”  Carter McMillan is running for James Island Town Council. You can find more about Carter and the Aug. 3 election at www.VoteMcMillan.com