Island Packet dead wrong
The Hilton Head Island's "home" newspaper endorsed someone other than Ed McCullough.
Last week they misquoted Ed, putting words in his mouth (which not only is unsanitary, but disrespectful), and now they come out in support of a Town Council member who has been endorsing Mayor Peeples agenda for like seven years. How sad. They still owe Ed a correction... here is his rebuttal to the endorsement:
On redevelopment, the Land Management Ordinance was broken 7 years ago when Drew was elected and it is still broken. Where's the leadership?
On Town culture, the town culture was broken and rabidly ant-business 7 years ago when Drew was elected. It didn't just break yesterday. Where's the leadership?
On Town finances, under Drew's careful watch, the town manager expense in the budget grew from $533,450 to $734,420 during the great recession and raises were given out across the board in the planning department of 15% to 35%. Yeah, that's the guy you want to be the "watchdog" looking after your tax dollars.
On the downward pressure from the economy, under Drew's watch:
The town chased The Farmers Market and its $2.2 million economic engine over the bridge to Bluffton.
The town wasted $2.2 million on The Compass Rose Park where no one ever goes (how fitting that mayor Peeples chose that site to endorse Drew).
The town refused to fund a sailing and rowing center and Gullah museum for the same amount of $2.2 million that would have put thousands of heads in beds and improved quality of life for locals.
The town did not push through the process of achieving official designation as a "Bike Friendly Community" which would have drawn thousands of additional bike tourists to the island each year.
The town and its bureaucracy made the process of approval for redevelopment for The Mall at Shelter Cove so onerous (did you know that the town demanded that the mall give them 5,000 sq ft of office space to house their swelling staff for free?) that the owners gave up and the mall is now a half empty ghost town from which it is estimated that ten additional stores will leave in January.
The town with Drew as a member of the committee drew up a trash recycling program that would make it impossible for small local trash haulers to bid on an island wide contract, it would put the local small business haulers out of business and it would raise fees to condo owners by as much as 35% (such as at Marsh Side where the 35% increase would result in an increase in trash hauling fees to that complex alone of $10,000 per year).
*****
As the next mayor of Hilton Head Island, I, Ed McCullough, solemnly pledge that in the first 90 days:
I will bring in a new sponsor for The Heritage Golf Tournament.
I will bring in world class developers and completely recreate The Mall at Shelter Cove. It will be a vibrant village of rich diversity in the heart of Hilton Head Island. It will include state of the art performance space, convention space, meeting space, boutiques, cafes, walkways, benches, park space, retail space, living space, education space and high tech office space.
I will rewrite the Land Management Ordinance to protect our environment, facilitate good business and be completely user friendly and not be an impassible obstruction to reclaiming and redeveloping older so called non conforming structures on the Island.
I will fully fund the rowing sailing Gullah museum project.
I will see to it that the town achieves Bike Friendly Community Status.
I will bring a successful Farmers Market to Hilton Head Island.
I will see to it that the newly conceived Hilton Head Island Marathon will find a home here.
I will see to it that expenses are reduced in excess of the $1.2 million in additional taxes that the other 6 candidates want to levy.
*****
I understand why Drew is sitting on the sidelines wringing his hands and worrying about the reassessment of 2012 which will reduce tax revenues. It's because he has no idea how to generate new business to create new revenue to offset it. His only response thus far has been to suggest raising the atax or the sales tax 1% which of course is a total business killer coming out of a great recession.
The only thing I have done in business on this Island for the last 26 years is generate new business! New Leaf $4.5 million! Second Nature $4.5 million! The Farmers Market $2.2 million and growing strong!
I promise you I will use all my skills and experience and every ounce of energy I have to bring new business to this Island! I promise you I will re-energize this economy!
Please forward this to hundreds of your friends and please encourage them all on Nov 2nd to
Vote for Ed McCullough!!! Thank you!!!