Where do Tybee Island mayoral candidates stand on hot issues? Here's what they said
Former Tybee Island City councilmember Brian West, activist Julia Pearce and well-known resident Mack Kitchens participated Wednesday in a Tybee Island mayoral candidates forum.
The forum, the final of three forums hosted by Forever Tybee and the League of Women Voters of Coastal Georgia, was moderated by Adam Van Brimmer, who covers politics and Coastal Georgia news for the Atlanta-Journal Constitution.
Pearce, who would be the first Black Tybee mayor if she wins, opened by saying that in her 26 years of living on Tybee, running for mayor had never crossed her mind because Tybee has always candidates that were "mayor material" on council.
"As I sit here now in front of you, we have mayor material on council now, but they chose not to run for whatever reason," Pearce said. "So, when I went to sign my name, there was only one person running and that was Brian West, and I know that can do a better job. That shocks me more than it shocks anyone in this room, but I know that to be true."
West followed her and agreed that Pearce would do an excellent job in the role. He said he decided to run for mayor because there are a lot of things he wants to accomplish and would like to establish a vision for the next seven years of Tybee.
Kitchens acknowledged that most people associate him with kiteboarding, because he notably saved one girl from drowning in 2020, and the next year he ran for city council. In 2019, he ran for mayor and finished last in a three-way race with 96 votes.
"I've ran this gauntlet a couple of times before," Kitchens said. "My position is just trying to educate people about what goes on here on Tybee and try to draw some distinctions in ordinances and code."
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Orange crush and other unsanctioned events
The annual Orange Crush Festival returned in April to Tybee in a big way, with 50,000 people coming to the island for the HBCU beach bash, overwhelming the island its resources. Finding a way to address that will be arguably one of the biggest challenges facing city officials in the coming spring.
"You know, I have a lot of ideas about what to do whenever we experienced Orange Crush this past year, and after I saw Police Chief Tiffany Hayes' response to the event and the way she managed the next two, or three events that occurred, I have every confidence in her to handle anything that could happen in the future," West said.
Pearce said her ideas are to once again, look at relationships.
"We know that this event is over 30 years old, it's one of the oldest events that Tybee has," Pearce said. "This last event was overwhelming, and no one could have anticipated all the people that showed up. So we need to pay attention, we need to talk to social media, to organizers, we need to bridge gaps. That's what we need to do."
Kitchens said that being held hostage for three days is not acceptable, but the protocols under Bob Bryson, the previous Tybee Island police chief, were "amazing - he kept up with the event, and called local agencies and made sure people were safe."
Van Brimmer asked the candidates if they thought the island should work on its own or with the Georgia legislature to find a way to prevent pop-up events from happening.
West said "we need to face the fact that we need outside help for things, we need the state and federal government for certain things."
Pearce answered that she thinks the city should look into that but have to look at it "within our history, we're not operating in a vacuum, there was a time certain people could not come to the beach. We have to pay attention to make sure we treat events as they should be treated."
Views on STVRs, Orange Crush discussed by Tybee Island City Council candidates
More: Here are the qualified candidates for the Tybee Island elections on Nov. 7.
Short-term vacation rentals
One of the hottest topics on Tybee Island is the presence of short-term vacation rentals. The latest ordinance passed on STVR's in October banned new ones in the island's residential neighborhoods.
The candidates were asked if they thought STVR's were maxed out in residential areas.
"All of our neighborhoods on Tybee are different, we have some that shouldn't have as many STVR'S, they're very quiet," West said. "There are other neighborhoods where you can't help but have noise there because they are pathway to the ocean, and it might be more appropriate to have short-term rentals in those areas."
However both Pearce and Kitchens said the area is maxed out
One option that has come up previous is if an STVR permit should end when the property changes owners.
"Absolutely, they should not transfer," Kitchens said. "And the reason I say that is because we need to bring the money back to the people here who have the permits and allow them to operate. Leave the money here with the people who live here."
Pearce agreed with Kitchens, saying attrition is the only way to manage it.
West said if the property changes owners to another family member, no, they should be allowed to keep it, but otherwise, he said he thinks the limit they have in place is good.
They were all asked if they had any planned changes to the current STVR ordinances. Pearce and West said no.
"Yes, enforcement, caps, look at the density, let attrition take over basically," Kitchens.
They were all asked how stringent enforcement should be for STVRs in terms of parking capacity and the number of people there. West said he thinks they should evict right away if there's a problem and create a reputation that if you come to Tybee and screw around you will get kicked out.
"I think we need to be vigilant about that, I think we have code enforcement officers, and we should pay attention that, it should be a priority," Pearce said.
Infrastructure
When asked, all three candidates said they support the current 35-foot height limit for construction.
They were all asked if the city should be involved in providing or finding childcare. All three said yes, but West said he would like to see an independent business attempt to make that successful first, then the city gets involved.
"There are a lot of workers that are coming to the YMCA to work and bringing their children with them because they don't have anybody to stay with them," Kitchens said. "There wasn't really a budget mentioned for it, so that's something that will have to be addressed at some point."
Van Brimmer asked Kitchens and Pearce how the city can get businesses on the island, like a bank, pharmacy, doctors, daycares or senior services.
Kitchens said that there are only 2,500 full-time residents on the island, and Wilmington is so close that he doesn't know if it would be worth it to try and keep them on Tybee, because they had previously been on the island but couldn't create enough business.
"We have to build relationships," Pearce said. "We're a city and we don't have a pharmacy, don't have [auto repair]. We don't have those things because tourists don't need those things. We need to be more directed towards the community."
The Georgia Department of Transportation is interested in Highway 80 and Butler Avenue being safer, by creating two lane traffic. Van Brimmer asked West his thoughts on the plan.
"I will say I've seen the plan and I like it," West said. "It does create safety; it narrows the road so that it's a shorter distance for people to cross at crosswalks. The traffic will move as quickly because there will be a center turn lane, and two turn lanes in each direction, allowing for cars to get out of the way so regulated traffic can keep moving."
Leadership style, fostering and building relationships
Van Brimmer asked candidates about their leadership styles, fostering and building relationships between the mayor and council members, as well as between council members and the public.
One of the questions Van Brimmer asked the candidates was their definition of an ethical and transparent government.
"We have a code of ordinances for ethics for Tybee, that were largely provided by the Georgia Municipal Association, and I think they're very good and give us direction on behaviors and when it's appropriate to vote and not to vote and when you should recuse yourself," West said. "They sometimes don't seem fair, but they are consistent, and we have to abide by them. As for transparency I think we can do more, and I have some ideas."
West said he thinks the city already does a good job of transparency, but it's just not very easy to find on the website, and they need to make it easier to find.
Pearce and Kitchens were asked the same question. Pearce said she felt that everything important had already been taught in Kindergarten.
"You know when something's wrong, you know when you're coming up against something questionable," Pearce said. "You pay attention and ask those questions, but we know intrinsically, when we have things, we need to look at."
An issue that has come up in previous forums for city council candidates is communicating among council members, with mayor and with the city manager. Van Brimmer asked the candidates what they would do individually to ensure the ability to work with all the other council members for the benefit of Tybee.
"I guess you could go to them individually. Executive sessions play a big part in that after the meetings, emails, and they're sent by council members to try to keep everybody on board with the information at hand," Kitchens said. "Other than that, you know, it's a kind of a work together process between the members."
Pearce said building relationships with the people on council are important and having conversations and regularly talking to one another was what she would do. West, as a former member of council, said that they don't have an opportunity to get together and discuss things, and he feels like he can bring council members together and have an open meeting and discuss what goals to achieve and work together in a friendly way. He said it takes friendships to make things work together.
The former city manager of Tybee, Shawn Gillen, submitted his resignation on Sept. 28, 2023 after a long leave of absence. Acting City Manager Michelle Owens has been filling his duties and will continue to do so until a new city manager is hired. Van Brimmer asked the candidates if they were the sole decision maker in that hire, what qualities they would look for in a new city manager.
Pearce, Kitchens and West all agreed that the current acting city manager Owens was doing a wonderful job. Pearce said she hoped Owens would apply when the time came. Kitchens said he would look for integrity, honesty and transparency and Owens has all those qualities. West said it takes vast knowledge and experience and it takes someone who can stand up to the pressure, and while Owens has done a terrific job they need to do their due diligence and make sure they have the best person for the job.
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More: Here's what Tybee Island council candidates said about the city's pressing issues in 2nd forum
Forever Tybee will be hosting a candidate meet and greet on Nov. 5, from 2-5 p.m. at the Guard House. Information about early voting can be found here.
Destini Ambus is the general assignment reporter for Chatham County municipalities for the Savannah Morning News. You can reach her at dambus@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Tybee Island mayor candidates talk Orange Crush, short-term rentals
