Shift in Simpsonville politics?

Interesting little political adventure brewing in Simpsonville. According to WSPA, a small group of Simpsonville residents were/are against the construction of 11 Habitat for Humanity homes inside city limits. The backstory, of course, is a little more political. City Council had approved this project about three and a half year ago, just as the shenanigans over the fate of embattled police chief Keith Grounsell started to blow up. Of course that battle, ultimately led to a shift in council leadership that decided to stall the project in 2013. However, when a new Council leadership came into place, the Habitat plans shifted again. The project was back on schedule.

Following?

Well, two weeks ago, three members of the City Council expressed concerns over the project in an open meeting citing concerns over flooding issues. They were Sylvia Lockaby, Taylor Graham and Elizabeth Braswell. The three council members no longer part of the power group and who typically vote in lock step with each other. Last night came the first public vote on the project. About 50 people for the Habitat project attended the meeting. Less than five were against. So what happened? The vote was 5-2. Braswell broke ranks after hearing from the community, hearing from Habitat and seeing that the flooding was a non-issue.

It will be interest to see what happens next? Will be Braswell now be a needed independent vote on Council? If so, that is a good thing for the future of Simpsonville?

#Simpsonville #SimpsonvilleCityCouncil #ElizabethBRaswell