Tybee Island councilmember Brian West wants to be next mayor

Brian West said that he started getting involved in Tybee Island politics, because he doesn’t want the island to turn into something it’s not.

“That’s a fear for a lot of people that have lived in Savannah and been on this island their whole lives,” West said. “They like it, it’s kind of like a little, quirky thing going on here and it’s a fun place to be. I want to preserve that.”

West was raised in Savannah, and came to Tybee Island like many other people who grew up in Coastal Georgia. He left for college but came back to Savannah, and then made the move to Tybee in 2010.

He said he was always interested in politics, but first became involved in 2019, when he ran for city council and got fifth out of eight people. In 2021, however, he ran again and got the most votes out of everyone, he said.

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Carolyn Williams, a friend, said West doesn't do things hastily, and is very reasonable.

"He doesn't make decisions on emotions, he tends to say, I think we should find out all of the information about something and that's what made me back him as a council person in the first place.

West said he thinks he got the opportunity to be a councilmember during that second run, because he spent more time meeting and talking with people about his vision of Tybee. He also thinks the short-term vacation rental debate was a factor, too.

According to West, there are two camps when it comes to the short-term vacation rental divide on the island. Some think there should be no short-term vacation rentals, and others want lots of them. He thinks they are necessary.

“We need tourists here,” West said. “That’s our economy, people come in, spend money, support the businesses. We need tourists, and they need somewhere to stay.”

West said that he hopes that’s something that the city can work on and figure out.

“It’s more appropriate to have vacation homes on the section of the island, across from City Hall on that side of Butler, less appropriate to have them in quiet areas a bit further from the beach,” West said. “But the way our zoning is set up, we can’t section off that area without making new ordinances. I think the rules the council has come up with in the past couple of years are good and workable, but it would be better if we could loosen the restrictions in some areas and maybe add them in others.”

West said he’s also running for mayor, because he wants to be involved in the “interesting” things that are happening in Tybee over the next few years, and wants to ensure that everyone, as a community, likes whats to come.

One of those things is the new bridges that are meant to begin construction in 2025.

“Those bridges are going to have bike lanes, so we’re going to have bike traffic that will be able to be on Wilmington and Whitemarsh Island, and there will be a bike lane all the way down to the beach,” West said. “We have to think about the way our road is designed, we don’t have anywhere for bikers to go when the come across the bridge, and it’s going to make the town feel different. I just want to make sure it’s reasonable and something everybody can live with.”

West also said that the city has plans to improve one of the parks to make it more playable, and to stop any further development if that's possible.

“If we can, have more green spaces, more family areas,” West said. “Maybe we can attract more families down here, I think it’s mostly retirement aged people here.”

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Other than short-term vacation rentals, another issue that all Tybee Island mayoral candidates will be expected to address is large, unsanctioned events such as Orange Crush. This year, the weekend event that takes place in April, garnered an attendance record of 50,000 people to the small island.

“It was out of hand,” West said. “We had to bring in more help from outside to calm it down, and that worked well. I think the city’s got a good handle on it now.”

West said the plan for next April, if he were elected, is calling on help from different law enforcement agencies like they had to do this year.

West said the position of mayor requires governmental knowledge and leadership skills.

“We need leadership, we have a city manager that runs everything, but that manager needs leadership, needs to know what direction to head in,” West said. “We need to organize our goals and talk about which direction to head in. That takes leadership. I can do that.”

Williams also said that she thinks West would be a great leader for Tybee.

"It's a unique city to be mayor of," Williams said. "I think Brian has the skillset to do it with his background. You have to be a really good communicator, and a diplomat, and has all of those qualities that I admire."

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Tybee Island councilmember Brian West wants to be next mayor