Matt Alexander and Frank Farmer: Inside Greenville's City & County Councils | EP 43

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Thank you for tuning in to the
Carolina Business Leaders

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Podcast where we share the
stories of local business

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leaders and impact makers who
are community focused and deeply

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rooted in the Carolinas.
So we have two guests, Frank

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Farmer and Matt Alexander.
Frank is a standing member of

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the Greenville County Council
and Matt is a candidate at large

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for the Greenville City Council.
So gentlemen, gentlemen, thank

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you so much for joining me.
Yeah.

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Thank you for having us.
Thanks.

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For having.
Us.

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So you've obviously both done
campaigns, you're both involved

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in politics.
Matt, how's the campaign going

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with us?
I'm not.

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Quite to the past tense, all
right.

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Have done a campaign yet still
in the middle of of one, but I

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think today the countdown is 46
days to go.

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So yeah, it's been going well.
I've actually enjoyed it the

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process so far.
Is this your first campaign?

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It is so I guess 2 words I'd use
to describe it as controlled

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chaos a little bit, especially
with, you know, citywide, a lot

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of ground to cover 3 little
kids.

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How many people are in the city
doing, you know, have a head

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counter since there's.
Approximately 77,000.

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So that's a lot of doors you
could knock on, yeah.

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Yeah, so household, just in the,
you know, mid 30s, thirty

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thousands.
But, you know, it's, it's a lot

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of folks.
Jeez, so I guess like what's

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Frank coming?
Have having done your own

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campaign before, can you just
give us a little taste of what

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that's like on the other end of
it having gone through the

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process?
And any advice maybe for Matt?

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Yeah, You know, once you win
your campaign, you end up

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gaining a bunch of weight
because you're just not knocking

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doors anymore.
You're just not walking as much

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and everybody wants to take you
out to eat.

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And you got to say no, no, if
you Take Me Out to eat now, I

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have to write all my ethics
report.

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I don't really want to do that.
So am I going to pay?

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Yeah, that's that's generally
something that happens.

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But.
But it's all jokes.

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Being on the other side of a
campaign, you know, actually

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getting to do the job that
you've been trying out for, so

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to speak.
It's a lot more fun than the

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campaign, or at least I think
so.

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But there I definitely have some
nostalgia with all the chaos

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that happens during campaign
season, especially the last two

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weeks, and the runoff
shenanigans.

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Those are the best you had to
run offers.

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Oh yeah, yeah.
Sure.

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Wow.
So that's you get all this hype

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and then just got to do it all
over again.

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Keep it down.
I I missed an outright win in my

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primary by 17 votes.
So I'm just like.

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One more day and I probably
would have been OK.

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One more row and you would have
had that.

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What's been the biggest surprise
so far on the campaign trail?

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I, I mean, I think politics in
general has this reputation for

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being so, you know, divisive and
polarizing and, and just not

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enjoyable.
But I, I think especially just

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like the door knocking process,
everyone told me one, just like

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how important that is during the
campaign process, but also how

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much they enjoyed it.
And having this been my first

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campaign and never really worked
on a campaign, it's just like

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you're crazy.
Like what are you talking about?

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But then like you get into it
and it's absolutely true.

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It's like once you knock on
someones door, they answer, they

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realize you're not trying to
sell them fiber Internet.

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Yeah.
And they just want to talk about

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the city.
They live in the city.

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Yeah.
Almost everyone loves living in

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the city and they're interested
about where it is, where it's

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going to go, and you kind of
walk away from that.

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Man, I wish more people would go
through this because I think it

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would change a lot of
perspective.

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Is that open dialogue, getting
different ideas?

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Yeah.
That's healthy, Definitely.

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Yeah.
Have you?

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I'm sure you've had plenty of
great conversations.

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Have you ever had any like not
so great conversations, not so

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welcoming guests?
Yeah.

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I mean, I think my ratio is
pretty good.

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I mean well over 1000 doors, but
at this point but I think only

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two doors have have been have
been shut in my face.

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I.
Think that's not bad?

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We.
Have a pretty good pretty good

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ratio.
That's less than 1%.

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Yeah, that's that's pretty
awesome.

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So I want to dive into y'all's
careers in a bit.

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But before we do that, can we
talk about like just the the

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roles and responsibilities of
both county and City Council?

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So I guess with you being
currently on the County Council,

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what's kind of like your
day-to-day with that?

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What are some of your
responsibilities?

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Honestly, the job is mostly
emails, OK, Just it's, it's just

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plug in your constituents into
the people that can actually

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take care of their problems,
like codes.

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That's a big one.
I forward a lot of stuff to

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Heesha Gamble, who's one of our
administrators.

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You're helping people get
plugged in with the right?

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Correct.
Yeah, and she is an absolute

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rock star.
I cannot say enough good words

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about her and she always manages
to get whatever I need done so

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like I don't know how she does
it.

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She's made a magic or something.
But you really appreciate that,

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but committees as well, right?
Yeah, I'm on every single

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committee except for one.
I got very popular this year, so

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which has been a great
experience.

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You know, really good to see how
the sausage is made.

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But really what we deal with is
just kind of managing growth.

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It's just a lot of stuff to do
with infrastructure, you know,

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roads, bridges, sewer.
You would not believe how

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political trash pickup gets.
You would have no idea, and I

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didn't either.
County County trash has made the

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news a couple times.
Yeah, yeah, that sort of stuff.

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You know, your Sheriff's
Department, we're over that and

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everything.
But that's that's typically what

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we do.
We don't really do like a lot of

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partisan issues, which a lot of
people don't really understand

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from the outside, but like I'd
say 80 to 90% of the stuff we do

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is not partisan at all.
And I.

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So.
So in theory, you would think

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that would make us a little more
cohesive.

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But you know, everybody has an
opinion.

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Yeah.
And.

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There's what like is it 16
people on the kind of.

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There's 12 people, 12 OK.
Gotcha.

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That's 12 different
perspectives, 12 different

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opinions there.
Yeah.

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So where does the overlap kind
of go with the City Council?

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What are?
Where are the differences there?

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So I mean, the city only deals
with their geographic area, all

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the little territories that
they've annexed.

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But we will do joint ventures.
Like yesterday I was at a ribbon

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cutting ceremony with the
children's Museum.

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We own as a county, we own part
of that.

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And then the city owns another
part of it.

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And they're they just put in a
new garden for the kids to play

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in.
So it's awesome.

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I encourage everybody to check
it out, but it's sort of stuff

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like that.
You know, I've had some people

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putting inquiries for like
soccer fields, that sort of

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stuff that they want to get the
city involved with us.

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It's all sorts of little
projects like that.

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Got you.
So if if Matt goes on wins the

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the City Council election, we
all be working together on

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various projects.
We could, it just kind of

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depends on what the project is
going to be.

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Got you.
Anything Parks and Rec related,

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I'll he'll probably give me a
holler or I'll give him a

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holler.
Gotcha some.

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Then other stuff like transit,
some, yeah, first responder

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services, there's overlap there
as well.

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They're definitely in the
housing.

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Or if there's some ordinances or
things that County Council will

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approve, the city will consent
to that.

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That's important and really
affects daily lives and.

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Maybe like some infrastructure
stuff.

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I know that like the the, not
the Triumph, the soccer team,

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yes, they're building a new
stadium out in the Malden area.

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Does that get approved by the
city at all or the county?

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All of that is just through the
city of Malden.

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They did.
They have a separate City

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Council or correct?
Yeah.

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So was just like Greenville City
is its own incorporated entity,

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the city of Malden is its own
with elected officials.

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Yeah, they have their own mayor,
don't they?

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Yeah, I'm with Simpsonville TR
Greer, but I get to deal with

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all the unincorporated stuff and
I'm very blessed because a

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third, roughly 1/3 of my
district is in the city.

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So every single time my
neighbors, because I live off

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North Main, every single time
one of my neighbors has a

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complaint about something, I
just say, well, I can't help

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you, but here's John to work
it's numbers.

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Working can help you.
I'll plug you.

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In I mean, you have to be a
great just podcast alone of just

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as a frequent question on the
campaign trail or even probably

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as elected representatives as
people not understanding the

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difference of county and city
function services or who people

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are voting for.
You know, someone saying, you

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know, I can't wait to vote for
you.

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I'm like, oh, great, where do
you live?

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And they say tailors and I'm.
Like, well, unfortunately, is

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this in the city where we're at
now?

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Yes.
OK, gotcha.

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Yeah, I wasn't aware.
Yeah, it is.

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Yeah.
It's a It's a strange boundary

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and it changes every year.
Yeah, but I mean, and then also,

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I mean, I looked it up a few
weeks ago, but I think that

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geographic land area of the city
is less than 4% of overall

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Greenville County.
But and so just because from a

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property tax standpoint, there
is like a lot of confusion, like

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I live in the city.
No, no you don't.

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If your address has Greenville
in it, are you in the city?

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No, no.
OK.

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Yeah, that that defined whole.
District, not, not necessarily.

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I'll say not necessarily.
So I guess you've probably been

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asked a lot with your door
knocking.

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What are some of the issues that
you're going to try to raise or

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some of the things you want to
work on?

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Can you share with us what some
of?

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Those, yeah, I mean, or what?
Almost every time the first word

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does someone else's has to do
with growth.

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Everything that goes along with
that.

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I think the county is having a
lot of the same conversations.

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And I think that is a very
important thing.

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People have various opinions on,
you know, how Greenville should

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grow, if it should grow at all.
There are definitely some

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opinions there, yeah.
I'm of the opinion that, you

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know, healthy things grow, but
you know, Greenville needs to

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grow.
It's small business community

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needs it to grow, but it's like
how it grows.

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That it is is important.
To grow in a business if you

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grow too fast and be detrimental
if you grow healthily.

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And just like with the
changeover in leadership, it is

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coming into the city
specifically keeping that in

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mind, while also not losing
sight of just the core functions

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of a city.
IT services public safety and

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keeping that, not getting
complacent.

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Are you from Greenville
originally?

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I was born in Atlanta, born and
raised in Atlanta, been in

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Greenville for 20 years, OK.
If you if you've seen a ton of

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growth.
Yeah, if you if you included my

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time at Furman, kind of hard to,
you know, live in my little

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Furman bubble for.
Four years I'm.

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Not sure if that counts but.
I would love to get both of your

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perspectives on how is
Greenville like, been better,

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like what?
What have been some of the

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greatest things you've seen
Greenville accomplished in the

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past couple years?
I mean, the downtown scenes

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drastically changed over the
past ten years or so.

231
00:10:58,840 --> 00:11:01,120
And just what are your favorite
things that you've seen from

232
00:11:01,120 --> 00:11:04,320
from Greenville lately?
Oh man, that's a tough question.

233
00:11:04,880 --> 00:11:11,280
And I'm not even sure if I could
accurately put the stuff that's

234
00:11:11,280 --> 00:11:14,080
happened like the last like 2
years or So.

235
00:11:15,000 --> 00:11:18,800
What I'll say is I'll punt even
farther back.

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00:11:18,800 --> 00:11:22,680
I'll say the baseball stadium
was a huge game changer for us

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00:11:23,520 --> 00:11:27,040
even further back then the well
and all the new projects going

238
00:11:27,040 --> 00:11:31,440
on with the well.
You know, I got to plug Truline

239
00:11:31,440 --> 00:11:32,840
because I'm an investor in
Truline.

240
00:11:33,720 --> 00:11:37,080
They're not up and running yet,
but they're on their steady way.

241
00:11:37,080 --> 00:11:38,880
You know, they've done the
ground breaking.

242
00:11:38,880 --> 00:11:41,440
And finally I see some
construction going on over

243
00:11:41,440 --> 00:11:44,680
there.
So but in Truline's going to be

244
00:11:45,400 --> 00:11:51,760
a music venue for the artists
that are about to break into the

245
00:11:51,760 --> 00:11:54,600
Billboard Top 100, so.
Up and coming, guys.

246
00:11:54,600 --> 00:11:57,520
Right.
Which is personally my favorite

247
00:11:57,760 --> 00:12:01,960
like band I like the guys are
like not too big.

248
00:12:01,960 --> 00:12:04,680
Yeah, not too mainstream, not.
Doing a ton of collabs with

249
00:12:04,680 --> 00:12:08,000
Sabrina Carpenter and whatnot.
But so.

250
00:12:08,000 --> 00:12:09,480
So I'm really excited about
that.

251
00:12:09,480 --> 00:12:14,920
And you know, Greenville, Yeah,
I grew up here, OK?

252
00:12:15,480 --> 00:12:19,040
I'm not a Yankee like Matt.
But Atlanta Yankee.

253
00:12:19,040 --> 00:12:24,160
Yeah, Atlanta Yankee.
But I remember Greenville was

254
00:12:24,240 --> 00:12:29,840
very much like an artsy town.
And then we've seen a lot of

255
00:12:29,840 --> 00:12:34,880
growth and some people from
Asheville that came and visited

256
00:12:34,880 --> 00:12:38,960
us during or after the hurricane
aftermath they've.

257
00:12:38,960 --> 00:12:40,920
Also like, oh, Greenville.
'S kind of like Asheville in a

258
00:12:40,920 --> 00:12:44,280
suit.
And I'm like, it's not I guess.

259
00:12:44,280 --> 00:12:47,040
Thanks, but.
There are some areas of some

260
00:12:47,040 --> 00:12:48,560
strong Asheville presence for
sure.

261
00:12:48,560 --> 00:12:51,800
For sure, but I think we've kind
of lost our identity along the

262
00:12:51,800 --> 00:12:56,480
way with this growth.
So I would like to get a little

263
00:12:56,480 --> 00:12:59,560
more arts focused just because
it's fun.

264
00:12:59,560 --> 00:13:01,400
It's stuff that brings us all
together.

265
00:13:03,120 --> 00:13:04,920
Yeah.
I mean, who doesn't like live

266
00:13:04,920 --> 00:13:05,440
music?
Yeah.

267
00:13:05,560 --> 00:13:07,600
Yeah, no, that's awesome stuff.
What about you, Matt?

268
00:13:10,040 --> 00:13:13,320
I mean, being here for I guess
through that 20 years, like I

269
00:13:13,320 --> 00:13:16,000
guess 2005, right before that
was when, you know, I think

270
00:13:16,240 --> 00:13:19,320
Falls Park, the Camperdown
bridge came down and that's kind

271
00:13:19,320 --> 00:13:21,880
of think what think the
catalyst, the realist set

272
00:13:21,880 --> 00:13:24,920
everything off.
And so being able to kind of see

273
00:13:24,920 --> 00:13:27,000
that along the way.
I think more from like a macro

274
00:13:27,000 --> 00:13:31,040
perspective, just the city's
leadership and their ability to

275
00:13:31,680 --> 00:13:35,280
not like I'm yes, they're great.
Numerous individual projects we

276
00:13:35,280 --> 00:13:37,720
can point to that, you know, are
great and really done great

277
00:13:37,720 --> 00:13:40,040
things for the city and county
in general.

278
00:13:40,040 --> 00:13:46,800
But the the city's ability to
like plan it, dream it and also

279
00:13:46,800 --> 00:13:49,000
just execute on it and like
deliver.

280
00:13:49,560 --> 00:13:53,040
I think that's really what has
set, I think the Greenville

281
00:13:53,040 --> 00:13:57,280
community at large apart and the
ability to work together with,

282
00:13:57,560 --> 00:14:00,560
you know, different areas of the
community, whether it be the

283
00:14:00,560 --> 00:14:02,720
private sector or nonprofits or
the county.

284
00:14:03,480 --> 00:14:05,840
I think in the coming years
that'll be even more important

285
00:14:06,840 --> 00:14:10,720
as like the growth is here, it's
still going to be here, it'll

286
00:14:10,720 --> 00:14:13,040
keep coming, but like we'll be
even more important in the

287
00:14:13,040 --> 00:14:14,280
coming years for the county and
the city.

288
00:14:14,320 --> 00:14:16,760
You can need to work together
from a housing standpoint, from

289
00:14:16,760 --> 00:14:20,640
a transit standpoint, and just
really keep that a focus.

290
00:14:20,640 --> 00:14:22,680
Yeah, that's like some of my
favorite ways I've seen

291
00:14:22,680 --> 00:14:25,040
Greenville grow.
Camperdown Plaza, that area and

292
00:14:25,040 --> 00:14:28,160
all the events they hold there,
like the salsa dancing and the

293
00:14:28,160 --> 00:14:32,080
Friday night, like a live band,
music stuff and then the swamp

294
00:14:32,080 --> 00:14:33,120
rabbit.
Swamp Rabbit coming right

295
00:14:33,120 --> 00:14:35,560
through our neighborhood.
Now we love the swamp rabbit.

296
00:14:35,560 --> 00:14:37,000
So I don't know, is that my?
Favorite.

297
00:14:37,000 --> 00:14:38,240
That's my favorite stretch of
the trail.

298
00:14:38,280 --> 00:14:40,360
Yeah.
Is that like city or council or

299
00:14:40,360 --> 00:14:43,160
city or County Council who kind
of orchestrates?

300
00:14:43,200 --> 00:14:48,000
That's it's both.
So we partner up with an

301
00:14:48,000 --> 00:14:52,560
organization known as UGATA, and
I can't remember what UGATA

302
00:14:52,560 --> 00:14:55,280
stands for.
It's Ugg upstate.

303
00:14:56,280 --> 00:14:58,040
Greenways and Trails Alliance.
There it goes.

304
00:14:58,160 --> 00:15:02,520
That's it.
But so, so we partner with them

305
00:15:02,520 --> 00:15:09,360
and they help secure us private
funds as well as federal funds

306
00:15:09,360 --> 00:15:12,200
for the swamp rabbit and stuff
like that.

307
00:15:12,440 --> 00:15:14,560
So.
And I think that's you guys a

308
00:15:14,560 --> 00:15:19,040
great example of, yeah, that was
started by, you know, someone in

309
00:15:19,040 --> 00:15:22,200
the private sector and who just
has a heart for that sort of

310
00:15:22,200 --> 00:15:24,360
thing.
Started a nonprofit, built

311
00:15:24,360 --> 00:15:26,960
A-Team around it, started that
collaboration with the county,

312
00:15:26,960 --> 00:15:30,240
County rec and the city, where
it goes through and where it's

313
00:15:30,240 --> 00:15:34,520
like they're a huge unsung hero
in terms of that trail.

314
00:15:34,560 --> 00:15:36,600
They don't get a lot of press,
but they do a lot of nice.

315
00:15:37,720 --> 00:15:39,880
Before we get back to the
episode, we do want to shout out

316
00:15:39,880 --> 00:15:42,040
a few stellar businesses here in
the area.

317
00:15:42,280 --> 00:15:45,120
They support us and we want to
show them support as well.

318
00:15:45,120 --> 00:15:49,520
Those businesses are Josh Harris
at JW Financial Guidance at your

319
00:15:49,520 --> 00:15:54,640
beck and call, Calvary Closets,
Red Dog Canine training and the

320
00:15:54,640 --> 00:15:58,320
Lexington Business Insider.
We appreciate you guys so much.

321
00:15:58,640 --> 00:16:01,360
Thank you all for listening.
Well, let's dive into a little

322
00:16:01,360 --> 00:16:03,520
bit of your both of your
personal stories a bit.

323
00:16:03,560 --> 00:16:06,680
The listeners can get to know
Matt, get to know Frank Matt,

324
00:16:06,680 --> 00:16:09,960
why politics, why now?
What got you into it?

325
00:16:11,320 --> 00:16:13,800
For most of my career in
Greenville, I've been involved

326
00:16:13,800 --> 00:16:17,400
in the city in different
capacities, whether it's in the

327
00:16:17,680 --> 00:16:19,560
various nonprofits or through my
church.

328
00:16:19,560 --> 00:16:23,280
For for the past seven years
been I've been on a city

329
00:16:23,280 --> 00:16:25,320
appointed C to the downtown
airport Commission.

330
00:16:26,360 --> 00:16:30,240
So kind of being familiar like
with how the city works.

331
00:16:30,240 --> 00:16:32,800
Like in grad school, I interned
in City Hall and really gained

332
00:16:32,800 --> 00:16:34,080
an appreciation.
For being on.

333
00:16:34,080 --> 00:16:38,040
Board for the for the staff,
how, how just smart they are and

334
00:16:38,120 --> 00:16:42,400
good at their jobs.
And really probably not long

335
00:16:42,400 --> 00:16:45,600
after the 2023 municipal
election, me and some other

336
00:16:45,600 --> 00:16:48,360
folks in town were just talking
about, OK, there's going to be a

337
00:16:48,360 --> 00:16:50,640
lot of turn turnover in the our
city's leadership.

338
00:16:51,240 --> 00:16:55,880
And framing it as as that
leadership turns over, who's

339
00:16:55,880 --> 00:16:58,280
going to continue to advocate
for the things that have made

340
00:16:58,280 --> 00:17:00,960
Greenville successful.
While also, you know, keeping in

341
00:17:00,960 --> 00:17:04,520
mind the city does have its
challenges in part due to its

342
00:17:04,520 --> 00:17:08,720
success and the future
leadership having the ability to

343
00:17:09,599 --> 00:17:11,440
and, you know, have an impact on
those challenges.

344
00:17:11,480 --> 00:17:13,040
So.
You're thinking about it for a

345
00:17:13,040 --> 00:17:16,760
while, then 2023, I mean.
But that wasn't necessarily like

346
00:17:16,760 --> 00:17:17,839
when I started thinking about
running.

347
00:17:17,839 --> 00:17:20,280
Yeah, it was.
It was more so just like, you

348
00:17:20,280 --> 00:17:23,480
know, how can we collectively,
me and my friends in the city,

349
00:17:23,480 --> 00:17:25,960
like, how can we start a
conversation around around this?

350
00:17:26,119 --> 00:17:29,880
And I talked to a couple leaders
in the city and I said, hey,

351
00:17:29,880 --> 00:17:32,240
like this is happening.
Who's talking about it?

352
00:17:32,240 --> 00:17:34,560
Who's who's going to, you know,
Stone?

353
00:17:34,560 --> 00:17:36,360
Stone said, hey, you'd be great
for this.

354
00:17:36,400 --> 00:17:40,600
Would you consider running so?
So I had a couple, you had a

355
00:17:40,600 --> 00:17:44,120
couple conversations.
And all of a sudden, here I am.

356
00:17:45,280 --> 00:17:48,600
But yeah, but it's been
enjoyable.

357
00:17:48,600 --> 00:17:50,160
It's been fun to have those
conversations.

358
00:17:50,160 --> 00:17:52,160
And, you know, I think
Greenville's in a good spot, but

359
00:17:52,160 --> 00:17:54,480
I think it's, you know, how do
we continue it?

360
00:17:54,480 --> 00:17:58,480
Forward you.
Know I frame it as leadership

361
00:17:58,480 --> 00:18:02,200
probably in the late 80s and 90s
we're asking, you know, how can

362
00:18:02,280 --> 00:18:04,840
back when people did did not
want to move to Greenville.

363
00:18:06,160 --> 00:18:09,320
The leaders then in City Hall
and outside City Hall, we're

364
00:18:09,320 --> 00:18:11,440
saying how can we make
Greenville a place where our

365
00:18:11,440 --> 00:18:15,200
kids want to come back to.
And I think that question still

366
00:18:15,200 --> 00:18:16,880
applies.
Obviously they were successful.

367
00:18:17,000 --> 00:18:21,760
People are moving back here.
But how can we make the city

368
00:18:21,760 --> 00:18:24,320
specifically a place where
people for our kids want to be

369
00:18:24,320 --> 00:18:28,040
back to, but also where people
want to stay so that Greenville

370
00:18:28,040 --> 00:18:31,800
doesn't doesn't become one of
those cities out there now that

371
00:18:31,800 --> 00:18:34,120
people are are moving from in
order to come to Greenville?

372
00:18:34,120 --> 00:18:35,640
Yeah.
Gotta track them.

373
00:18:35,840 --> 00:18:37,960
Yeah.
So you, you ran, was it 2024, I

374
00:18:37,960 --> 00:18:40,480
believe, Yeah.
So when did your, when the idea

375
00:18:40,480 --> 00:18:41,520
of running kind of come into
play?

376
00:18:41,520 --> 00:18:43,560
You were probably Are you the
youngest member on County

377
00:18:43,560 --> 00:18:45,080
Council?
I am now.

378
00:18:45,560 --> 00:18:47,680
I have taken that title from
Joey Russo.

379
00:18:48,320 --> 00:18:54,560
Shove it, Joey.
But yeah, so I actually had 0

380
00:18:54,560 --> 00:18:57,880
aspirations to run for the seat
that I'm in.

381
00:18:58,520 --> 00:19:05,000
So I got out of the Army 2023 in
November and I went to a

382
00:19:05,040 --> 00:19:08,000
Christmas party, met some
people, didn't really think

383
00:19:08,000 --> 00:19:10,680
anything of it.
And then I think it was like

384
00:19:10,680 --> 00:19:17,000
January rolled around and I'm on
the way to like go do a medical

385
00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:21,000
sales College in Denver.
So I was actually really stoked

386
00:19:21,000 --> 00:19:23,640
about that.
Then I get a phone call and

387
00:19:23,640 --> 00:19:26,440
they're like, hey, our current
Councilman is stepping down and

388
00:19:26,440 --> 00:19:29,920
we think that you would be great
to fill that seat.

389
00:19:29,920 --> 00:19:36,920
And I was just like, no.
And then, well, I just told him

390
00:19:36,920 --> 00:19:38,120
like, all right, I'll think
about it.

391
00:19:39,600 --> 00:19:44,040
And so I just prayed about it
and I just saw God open all

392
00:19:44,040 --> 00:19:47,640
these doors and I've disobeyed
him before and he's made me pay.

393
00:19:47,640 --> 00:19:49,680
And I was just like, all right,
well, I'm not going to disobey

394
00:19:49,680 --> 00:19:52,280
you this time.
And so I threw my hat in the

395
00:19:52,280 --> 00:19:57,800
ring and unfortunately I won.
But it's, it's been, it's

396
00:19:57,800 --> 00:19:59,280
actually been a really great
experience.

397
00:19:59,280 --> 00:20:01,680
It's been 80% of what I
expected.

398
00:20:01,680 --> 00:20:03,920
Now there are certainly
discrepancies in there that

399
00:20:03,920 --> 00:20:07,760
didn't like trash I was talking
about earlier, but.

400
00:20:08,920 --> 00:20:11,280
Yeah.
And I'll tell you there, there's

401
00:20:11,280 --> 00:20:16,520
an old saying in DC it's like,
if you want a friend in DC, get

402
00:20:16,520 --> 00:20:19,120
a dog.
I think that just transcends

403
00:20:19,120 --> 00:20:23,240
politics.
I don't think it's just DC There

404
00:20:23,240 --> 00:20:26,520
are all sorts of people that are
not always looking out for your

405
00:20:26,520 --> 00:20:27,800
best interests.
Yeah.

406
00:20:28,040 --> 00:20:29,280
I mean, you're just a dirty
business.

407
00:20:29,280 --> 00:20:30,680
Yeah, Yeah.
You just, you just got to be

408
00:20:30,680 --> 00:20:36,200
cognizant of that, but and just
kind of be honest with yourself

409
00:20:36,200 --> 00:20:40,560
about like, these guys want
something from you.

410
00:20:40,560 --> 00:20:42,080
Yeah.
Like, they want something.

411
00:20:42,080 --> 00:20:46,040
This isn't here to like, you
know, go drink beers later on or

412
00:20:46,040 --> 00:20:47,800
anything.
It's a serious job, person.

413
00:20:48,040 --> 00:20:51,800
Yeah, there's a lot on the.
Line and Yeah, and this job is

414
00:20:51,800 --> 00:20:57,000
incredibly stressful and, you
know, heavy as a head that wears

415
00:20:57,000 --> 00:21:00,720
a crown and you just really have
to think and do all your

416
00:21:00,720 --> 00:21:02,920
research you can to like make
those good decisions.

417
00:21:03,080 --> 00:21:04,640
Nice.
Yeah, it's a lot of weight on

418
00:21:04,640 --> 00:21:06,840
your shoulders for sure.
I'm sure a lot of people will.

419
00:21:07,000 --> 00:21:09,280
Hopefully everyone knows this,
but I'm sure some people don't

420
00:21:09,280 --> 00:21:12,040
that when you're in a county or
City Council position, you also

421
00:21:12,040 --> 00:21:14,280
have a full time job on the side
unless you're retired.

422
00:21:14,640 --> 00:21:17,480
So how do you balance your
careers plus your political

423
00:21:17,480 --> 00:21:18,800
service?
And what advice would you give

424
00:21:18,800 --> 00:21:20,640
to Matt about to step into that?
Yeah.

425
00:21:20,640 --> 00:21:22,120
And also as your plan for that
we'll get.

426
00:21:22,400 --> 00:21:25,520
To Yeah, so I got super lucky
recently.

427
00:21:25,520 --> 00:21:30,720
The company I've been working
for just went under so now I am

428
00:21:30,720 --> 00:21:34,600
only a county counselor.
So now I have a lot more time if

429
00:21:34,600 --> 00:21:36,400
I can fix the problems with my
e-mail.

430
00:21:37,200 --> 00:21:42,800
But but really what my strategy
was, I was just doing 2 jobs at

431
00:21:42,800 --> 00:21:47,720
the same time.
You know, you might be on a

432
00:21:47,720 --> 00:21:50,880
phone call with a client or
something like that and in the

433
00:21:50,880 --> 00:21:54,880
middle of it you're getting a
call from the chairman or

434
00:21:54,880 --> 00:21:56,640
something like that.
Or I guess in your case, it

435
00:21:56,640 --> 00:21:59,720
would be the mayor.
Yeah.

436
00:21:59,720 --> 00:22:01,960
And, and you're just having to
like text them like, hey, like

437
00:22:02,040 --> 00:22:05,120
I, I'm on this call, I will call
you back in like 5 minutes,

438
00:22:05,120 --> 00:22:07,440
blah, blah, blah.
Or like, or you're on a call

439
00:22:07,440 --> 00:22:10,160
with a client and then you're
just sending an e-mail to a

440
00:22:10,160 --> 00:22:13,120
constituent and like, forward it
on over to whoever's got to do

441
00:22:13,120 --> 00:22:18,000
that.
But I'll tell you, there was a

442
00:22:18,000 --> 00:22:23,520
person that ran against me and
they said they, they kind of

443
00:22:23,520 --> 00:22:25,240
asked the same question that you
did.

444
00:22:25,400 --> 00:22:27,520
And it was how how do you manage
this?

445
00:22:27,880 --> 00:22:29,720
And he just said, well, I'm just
going to treat it like a part

446
00:22:29,720 --> 00:22:32,360
time job and County Council.
Or your part time job?

447
00:22:32,360 --> 00:22:36,080
Yeah.
And, and I was like, how could

448
00:22:36,080 --> 00:22:39,040
you say that?
I was just taken aback.

449
00:22:39,040 --> 00:22:42,720
And I just said, I'm treating
this as a full time job in which

450
00:22:42,720 --> 00:22:45,720
it is, it's an 80 hour week part
time job.

451
00:22:47,000 --> 00:22:52,000
But that's that's the joke that
we all say on council, but it's

452
00:22:52,000 --> 00:22:55,200
not impossible.
That's that's really the thing.

453
00:22:55,200 --> 00:22:59,360
It's like it's not impossible to
manage it, but it's going to get

454
00:22:59,360 --> 00:23:02,800
stressful.
So hope you like golf for

455
00:23:03,120 --> 00:23:07,640
shooting or whatever, whatever
you're going to do to relieve

456
00:23:07,640 --> 00:23:10,240
some stress so.
You come back from a background

457
00:23:10,240 --> 00:23:12,280
on development, correct?
Yeah.

458
00:23:12,280 --> 00:23:15,240
And then not unlike Frank, I was
in the, I guess, first part of

459
00:23:15,240 --> 00:23:17,760
my career in the military, so.
What branch?

460
00:23:18,080 --> 00:23:22,800
Army.
So yeah, the you were infantry.

461
00:23:22,800 --> 00:23:24,680
Correct.
Yeah, he was my taxi service.

462
00:23:24,840 --> 00:23:26,760
Yeah, or.
Well, you didn't want me to be

463
00:23:26,920 --> 00:23:28,160
your taxi.
I was medevac.

464
00:23:28,160 --> 00:23:31,200
So if I was this, if I was.
This taxi service.

465
00:23:31,200 --> 00:23:37,360
It was a bad day for everybody.
But like very early on, like in

466
00:23:37,360 --> 00:23:40,240
my campaign process, the mayor
told me, you know, if you're

467
00:23:40,240 --> 00:23:42,960
doing it right, it's a, the
campaign is a full time job.

468
00:23:43,080 --> 00:23:48,640
And that is very true.
And I had lunch not long after

469
00:23:48,640 --> 00:23:51,240
that with a friend of mine who
ran for political office last

470
00:23:51,240 --> 00:23:53,320
year.
And you just said it's the

471
00:23:53,320 --> 00:23:54,560
campaign.
It is.

472
00:23:55,240 --> 00:23:57,560
You're constantly feel like you
have to do something, whether

473
00:23:57,560 --> 00:23:59,560
it's like it never turns off.
You can always want.

474
00:23:59,560 --> 00:24:01,560
To play like whether it's, you
know, knocking on doors or a

475
00:24:01,560 --> 00:24:04,360
neighborhood meeting or
preparing for us for that talk

476
00:24:04,480 --> 00:24:07,480
or, you know, then it's like, Oh
yeah, social media.

477
00:24:07,480 --> 00:24:11,240
And like there's just so many
things that, you know, go into

478
00:24:11,240 --> 00:24:15,400
it kind of just, you know,
spinning a lot of plates at one

479
00:24:15,400 --> 00:24:16,720
time.
And then, Oh yeah, I have my

480
00:24:16,720 --> 00:24:19,960
full time job and, you know, my
wife works full time and we have

481
00:24:19,960 --> 00:24:23,320
3 little kids.
And so there's more than it's

482
00:24:23,320 --> 00:24:27,160
been more than one evening
where, you know, I'm giving my 2

483
00:24:27,160 --> 00:24:29,840
year old a bath and then cooking
some easy Mac.

484
00:24:29,840 --> 00:24:31,920
And then my wife comes home, I
run out to a neighborhood

485
00:24:31,920 --> 00:24:34,640
meeting and there's just kind
of, you know, a lot going on.

486
00:24:34,640 --> 00:24:38,440
But it's, I mean, that's part of
what makes it fun though, you

487
00:24:38,440 --> 00:24:41,480
know, and it's all, they're all
very important things.

488
00:24:42,200 --> 00:24:47,080
They're all very, you know, good
things that I lost been taught

489
00:24:47,080 --> 00:24:48,680
my kids.
Our community is really

490
00:24:48,680 --> 00:24:49,960
important.
Love my wife.

491
00:24:50,320 --> 00:24:54,200
And so just, you know, ensuring
that nothing is neglected along

492
00:24:54,200 --> 00:24:56,440
the way is the important part.
What's a typical day look like

493
00:24:56,440 --> 00:24:59,440
for you on the campaign True I.
Mean no day is the same.

494
00:24:59,440 --> 00:25:01,320
I mean, you might agree with
that.

495
00:25:02,600 --> 00:25:05,720
And just any given day, I think
different parts along the

496
00:25:06,280 --> 00:25:10,240
campaign process, you know, just
probably 3, a couple months at a

497
00:25:10,240 --> 00:25:13,040
time you're, you have more focus
on one thing than another.

498
00:25:13,360 --> 00:25:16,440
And then as you get closer to
Election Day, I've, you know, I

499
00:25:16,440 --> 00:25:18,800
have some good advice early on
to kind of how to think about

500
00:25:18,800 --> 00:25:21,680
that and how to structure in my
head and plan accordingly.

501
00:25:21,960 --> 00:25:27,760
What's Election Day like?
It's exciting, it's exciting.

502
00:25:27,760 --> 00:25:29,840
All the energy in the world.
It's exciting when you get

503
00:25:29,840 --> 00:25:33,280
really good news from the people
that you know in the precincts.

504
00:25:33,280 --> 00:25:34,040
How do you find?
Out.

505
00:25:34,880 --> 00:25:41,200
So they do.
It's not like it's not called an

506
00:25:41,200 --> 00:25:44,760
exit poll, but it's like at the
time polls.

507
00:25:44,760 --> 00:25:50,120
And so if you know any of the
people that are running the

508
00:25:50,120 --> 00:25:55,200
polling stations, they can get
you like what the numbers are at

509
00:25:55,200 --> 00:25:58,280
like a certain time for that
specific location got you so you

510
00:25:58,320 --> 00:26:00,240
can.
Kind of get an idea of or where

511
00:26:00,240 --> 00:26:01,960
it's heading and whatnot.
Yeah, yeah.

512
00:26:02,120 --> 00:26:03,320
And then when do you get the
call?

513
00:26:03,320 --> 00:26:04,960
Hey, you won.
We need you.

514
00:26:05,240 --> 00:26:06,760
Like who?
Who?

515
00:26:07,240 --> 00:26:07,560
Who?
You.

516
00:26:07,600 --> 00:26:10,040
You.
Stayed glued to your seat and

517
00:26:10,040 --> 00:26:12,920
you just watched YFF 4 all night
long.

518
00:26:12,920 --> 00:26:13,960
You.
Find out like the.

519
00:26:14,040 --> 00:26:20,080
Rest of this so I I remember I
got interviewed for winning the

520
00:26:20,080 --> 00:26:25,000
primary and then the next day
when it was all said and done

521
00:26:25,000 --> 00:26:28,600
the reporter called me back and
said, hey, we're not going to

522
00:26:28,600 --> 00:26:31,640
run that because you were 17
vote shy of.

523
00:26:33,080 --> 00:26:36,200
So you thought you'd want it?
Well, I was kind of uncertain.

524
00:26:36,200 --> 00:26:39,080
I was just like, I don't know if
this is the right margin or not

525
00:26:39,080 --> 00:26:41,640
because I think I was like.
But they were interviewing you

526
00:26:41,640 --> 00:26:44,120
as if you want it correct.
Yeah, yeah.

527
00:26:44,480 --> 00:26:46,360
So so I think.
It'd be the first to air.

528
00:26:46,440 --> 00:26:48,200
Right.
But they called me back and they

529
00:26:48,200 --> 00:26:50,760
were like, yeah, guess what,
nerd, You didn't win it.

530
00:26:50,760 --> 00:26:53,520
So so you got a campaign for
another two weeks and I was

531
00:26:53,520 --> 00:26:55,440
just.
Like, great.

532
00:26:55,960 --> 00:26:57,280
Great.
Because I was.

533
00:26:57,640 --> 00:27:02,160
I mean, you're going to be tired
like you're going to be so over

534
00:27:02,160 --> 00:27:04,240
it by the time Election Day
comes.

535
00:27:06,000 --> 00:27:10,920
Yeah, just I remember there was,
I was door knocking the day

536
00:27:10,920 --> 00:27:16,200
before Election Day and I was
just going through the numbers.

537
00:27:16,200 --> 00:27:20,240
I was like, I've hit 3000 doors.
Like it's like, I don't really

538
00:27:20,560 --> 00:27:24,000
feel like doing it today.
And and then I just kind of

539
00:27:24,000 --> 00:27:27,360
said, but you're not a quitter.
You're not a what you're going

540
00:27:27,360 --> 00:27:29,080
to go out and you're going to
knock these 100 words.

541
00:27:29,280 --> 00:27:30,000
So I did it.
You're.

542
00:27:30,000 --> 00:27:31,680
Going to get those 17 extra
votes.

543
00:27:31,880 --> 00:27:33,120
Yeah, well, I didn't get those,
but.

544
00:27:33,720 --> 00:27:36,480
We got we got them a second go
in the later half of it.

545
00:27:36,920 --> 00:27:39,880
So I guess once you win, like
who calls you to say, hey, like

546
00:27:39,880 --> 00:27:42,160
we need you on?
Do you just show up to the next

547
00:27:42,160 --> 00:27:44,200
kind of council meeting and
you're the guy, or does someone

548
00:27:44,200 --> 00:27:45,520
kind of orchestrate?
That no.

549
00:27:45,520 --> 00:27:51,400
So, you know, we had our primary
and so I even had a Democrat

550
00:27:51,400 --> 00:27:55,960
challenger.
So I still have more campaign to

551
00:27:55,960 --> 00:27:58,440
do like after the.
So you won the primary, You're

552
00:27:58,440 --> 00:27:59,800
like, it's not over.
Correct.

553
00:27:59,800 --> 00:28:01,720
Yeah, so.
Another piece to it.

554
00:28:01,800 --> 00:28:03,720
Yeah, you won in order to have
the privilege of having a

555
00:28:03,720 --> 00:28:04,600
campaign.
Right.

556
00:28:04,600 --> 00:28:08,600
But you know, once, I think, I
think once you win the November

557
00:28:08,600 --> 00:28:12,840
election, if I remember
correctly, the county light

558
00:28:12,840 --> 00:28:15,240
reaches out to you and they're
like, congratulations, come here

559
00:28:15,240 --> 00:28:17,440
for your orientation.
And then we went down to

560
00:28:17,440 --> 00:28:20,760
Columbia and did an orientation
there, went back to Greenville,

561
00:28:20,760 --> 00:28:25,080
did another little Roundhouse.
But that's just kind of how it

562
00:28:25,080 --> 00:28:26,280
works.
And then you swear in.

563
00:28:26,280 --> 00:28:30,000
And then every single person's
problems.

564
00:28:30,000 --> 00:28:34,360
Now your problem.
So, Matt, they say in politics

565
00:28:34,360 --> 00:28:37,120
you have to have thick skin.
Do you feel like you have the

566
00:28:37,120 --> 00:28:39,280
thick skin necessary for a
political position?

567
00:28:40,200 --> 00:28:45,920
The, I mean, Frank talked about
the I guess partisan dynamic

568
00:28:46,040 --> 00:28:48,720
earlier.
I mean, what what makes in South

569
00:28:48,720 --> 00:28:51,920
Carolina specifically what makes
I guess Greenville city

570
00:28:51,920 --> 00:28:56,120
different than a lot of others
is like every city and town in

571
00:28:56,120 --> 00:28:58,840
the state has non partisan
elections other than six.

572
00:28:59,160 --> 00:29:02,760
So Greenville is very unique
that candidates do affiliate

573
00:29:02,760 --> 00:29:06,680
with a party.
And I think Greenville's done a

574
00:29:06,680 --> 00:29:11,120
good job of like not letting the
partisanship drag it down.

575
00:29:11,640 --> 00:29:15,080
They make a concerted effort to,
regardless of parties, like kind

576
00:29:15,080 --> 00:29:17,720
of find consensus, OK, what's
what's good for the community,

577
00:29:17,720 --> 00:29:18,960
what's good for people that live
here?

578
00:29:18,960 --> 00:29:21,280
And like, let's try to, you
know, there, there are partisan

579
00:29:21,280 --> 00:29:24,240
line votes, but there is
disagreement.

580
00:29:24,240 --> 00:29:26,520
But like, I think usually it's a
healthy disagreement.

581
00:29:27,800 --> 00:29:32,040
And but in terms of like thick
skin, it's like, yeah, there

582
00:29:32,040 --> 00:29:35,920
will always be those people on
social media that, you know,

583
00:29:36,160 --> 00:29:40,000
will reach out that it's kind of
like doesn't matter what what

584
00:29:40,000 --> 00:29:41,600
you.
Say what?

585
00:29:41,600 --> 00:29:43,480
What you.
Say or however, if you respond,

586
00:29:43,480 --> 00:29:48,000
I mean, so there's that, but I
mean people who are actually

587
00:29:48,000 --> 00:29:52,560
running against at this level.
I I I feel like it's also, it

588
00:29:52,560 --> 00:29:55,360
changes things at the city and
county level if it's, you know,

589
00:29:55,680 --> 00:29:59,440
those people, you know, after
the race is over, you're going

590
00:29:59,440 --> 00:30:01,840
to walk by them in the grocery
store and see them around town.

591
00:30:02,960 --> 00:30:05,920
Yeah.
And so it's more of like a, you

592
00:30:05,920 --> 00:30:09,240
know, much more cordial process.
I think at the end of the day,

593
00:30:09,240 --> 00:30:12,480
it is politics.
So it, you know, can get

594
00:30:13,240 --> 00:30:16,000
exciting sometimes but but I
think.

595
00:30:16,160 --> 00:30:18,280
The temperature can.
I feel like most people, most

596
00:30:18,280 --> 00:30:21,840
people don't set out looking to
do it that way.

597
00:30:21,840 --> 00:30:24,560
And that's part of the reason I
ran is I think the city,

598
00:30:24,560 --> 00:30:28,360
specific city and county have
been a good job of, of doing

599
00:30:28,360 --> 00:30:30,160
that, of kind of rising above
the politics.

600
00:30:30,320 --> 00:30:35,040
And given the state of politics
all over the country or region,

601
00:30:35,240 --> 00:30:38,360
I think that's an important
thing to carry forward as our

602
00:30:38,680 --> 00:30:40,920
leadership turns over in the
city is to really continue to

603
00:30:40,920 --> 00:30:44,160
focus on the good of the
community, go to the people that

604
00:30:44,160 --> 00:30:46,040
live here.
And yes, there will be

605
00:30:46,040 --> 00:30:50,040
disagreements, but it's like,
let's work through that and try

606
00:30:50,040 --> 00:30:53,040
to make a good decision.
Decision is good for the, you

607
00:30:53,040 --> 00:30:54,120
know, majority of people.
Yeah.

608
00:30:54,120 --> 00:30:55,960
And I would think too, when
you're in a community level like

609
00:30:55,960 --> 00:30:58,040
these are, everyone here is part
of the same community.

610
00:30:58,040 --> 00:30:59,480
We all want Greenville to become
better.

611
00:30:59,480 --> 00:31:02,880
I would think there's less like
toxicity at both extremes of the

612
00:31:02,880 --> 00:31:05,360
spectrum and there is more like
trying to find that common

613
00:31:05,360 --> 00:31:07,200
ground.
I would think you find that

614
00:31:07,200 --> 00:31:08,000
easier.
I don't know.

615
00:31:08,000 --> 00:31:09,720
I haven't put myself in the
political right.

616
00:31:09,960 --> 00:31:11,960
I haven't been there.
I'm not elected yet, so I can't,

617
00:31:12,480 --> 00:31:15,080
I can't speak to that.
But in terms of like the

618
00:31:15,280 --> 00:31:18,960
campaign process, specifically
that I'm that I'm in the middle

619
00:31:18,960 --> 00:31:23,800
of now the gather are those
times that some stuff will hurt,

620
00:31:23,920 --> 00:31:27,280
but you got to feel like part of
it.

621
00:31:27,600 --> 00:31:29,840
A friend of mine who's, you
know, involved in my campaign.

622
00:31:30,240 --> 00:31:32,440
It's kind of like talking with
him kind of like a guy.

623
00:31:32,440 --> 00:31:36,240
What do we let just roll off our
back and like what's worth kind

624
00:31:36,240 --> 00:31:40,480
of OK, you know, what kind of he
was speaking up for, you know,

625
00:31:40,800 --> 00:31:41,720
and all that.
But what's?

626
00:31:42,320 --> 00:31:44,040
Been your favorite part of
serving on the Council this

627
00:31:44,040 --> 00:31:47,960
first year?
Honestly, I have the best

628
00:31:47,960 --> 00:31:51,440
constituents.
I, I think it's pretty easy for

629
00:31:51,440 --> 00:31:58,240
me to say that they're all
generally very, very, very kind.

630
00:31:58,240 --> 00:32:01,080
And you know, they're not,
they're very understanding.

631
00:32:01,080 --> 00:32:05,040
You know, when they're comes a
time where like, hey, I actually

632
00:32:05,040 --> 00:32:07,560
can't help you here.
And you know, they don't

633
00:32:07,560 --> 00:32:09,560
chastise me for it.
They're like, OK, well, thank

634
00:32:09,560 --> 00:32:11,360
you so much for like helping and
blah, blah, blah.

635
00:32:11,360 --> 00:32:13,200
Nice.
Yeah, you don't always get that.

636
00:32:13,360 --> 00:32:15,360
Yeah, no, yeah, you really
don't.

637
00:32:15,360 --> 00:32:19,760
But they're my constituents have
just been very appreciative of

638
00:32:19,760 --> 00:32:25,120
just like everything.
Like, no one has really mouthed

639
00:32:25,120 --> 00:32:31,440
off to me since the election.
And you know, kind of to Matt's

640
00:32:31,440 --> 00:32:35,520
point, like random people on the
Internet, you'll find that a lot

641
00:32:35,520 --> 00:32:40,760
of them don't live in Greenville
or even live in your districts

642
00:32:40,840 --> 00:32:44,640
or maybe even the state, which
is just crazy.

643
00:32:45,120 --> 00:32:48,760
I had like some guy at USC
Upstate that was just like

644
00:32:48,760 --> 00:32:50,680
riding me for like the longest
time.

645
00:32:50,680 --> 00:32:54,440
I'm like, brother, you live in
Spartanburg, go harass my uncle.

646
00:32:54,800 --> 00:32:57,040
I'll give you his number.
Yeah, like none of this effects

647
00:32:57,080 --> 00:32:58,680
you.
Nothing that we do here effects

648
00:32:58,680 --> 00:32:59,320
you every.
Spartan.

649
00:32:59,960 --> 00:33:01,880
That's hilarious.
People just getting angry and

650
00:33:02,080 --> 00:33:03,600
they target you.
Or they target.

651
00:33:03,640 --> 00:33:05,400
Yeah, they might.
They'll target a Matt.

652
00:33:05,520 --> 00:33:07,320
Exactly.
They, you know, they just find

653
00:33:07,320 --> 00:33:08,800
somebody with an R next to their
name.

654
00:33:08,800 --> 00:33:12,120
They're like, I'm going to be
I'm going to do my civic duty of

655
00:33:12,120 --> 00:33:13,480
telling him he's a piece of
crap.

656
00:33:13,520 --> 00:33:15,960
Yeah, it's just like, OK, look,
whatever.

657
00:33:16,560 --> 00:33:19,120
So it's like whatever my drill
started said wait, mean are

658
00:33:19,120 --> 00:33:20,960
things to me so.
There you go.

659
00:33:21,120 --> 00:33:23,760
And then for you, Matt, what are
you most looking forward to if

660
00:33:23,760 --> 00:33:26,040
you win the election of your
first year serving as on City

661
00:33:26,040 --> 00:33:29,360
Council?
I, I mean, I think Greenville's

662
00:33:29,480 --> 00:33:32,120
kind of at that crossroads now.
It's like, OK, how do we want to

663
00:33:32,120 --> 00:33:35,480
continue to grow?
And I think being a part of

664
00:33:35,480 --> 00:33:38,360
those decisions, like how do we,
how do we want to dream big, but

665
00:33:38,360 --> 00:33:40,600
also how do we address some of
the solutions?

666
00:33:40,720 --> 00:33:46,160
And I think if we're able to
look back on 20/25/2026, you

667
00:33:46,160 --> 00:33:49,000
know, 20 years from now and be
like, yeah, we got some stuff

668
00:33:49,000 --> 00:33:51,960
wrong, but also like made a lot
of the right decisions with the

669
00:33:51,960 --> 00:33:57,600
information we had.
And, you know, I think I think

670
00:33:57,600 --> 00:34:00,000
working in the private sector,
having the ability to hear

671
00:34:00,000 --> 00:34:02,400
what's coming out of City Hall
and kind of be like, yeah, like

672
00:34:03,880 --> 00:34:05,800
these things are going really
well.

673
00:34:05,800 --> 00:34:09,480
But also kind of like, I don't
know if these things are really

674
00:34:09,480 --> 00:34:11,760
hitting the mark, like they are
intended to.

675
00:34:11,760 --> 00:34:13,880
And like having that unique
perspective on things and like

676
00:34:13,880 --> 00:34:17,280
knowing OK, where, whether it's,
you know, transit or housing or

677
00:34:17,280 --> 00:34:19,719
like, just like the buzzwords
that are really important in the

678
00:34:19,760 --> 00:34:24,080
in the dialogue right now of,
you know, excited to be able to

679
00:34:24,080 --> 00:34:27,639
have that ability to increased
collaboration with the county

680
00:34:27,639 --> 00:34:31,920
that is, is so important to fund
these things.

681
00:34:33,159 --> 00:34:36,800
Like, I don't believe that
things get fixed by government

682
00:34:36,800 --> 00:34:40,520
just throwing more money at it,
but also money is a critical

683
00:34:40,520 --> 00:34:45,239
tool in order to do it.
So it's collaborating with

684
00:34:45,239 --> 00:34:49,639
colleagues, not only the county,
but also state or even, you

685
00:34:49,639 --> 00:34:53,320
know, federal or, or state
representatives and, and

686
00:34:53,320 --> 00:34:55,719
senators to, to really affect
that change at the ground level.

687
00:34:55,719 --> 00:34:58,840
And so I think that'll be even
really more important as

688
00:34:59,920 --> 00:35:01,640
Greenville City continues to
grow.

689
00:35:02,600 --> 00:35:05,880
And if I'm able to be a small
part of that and make progress

690
00:35:05,880 --> 00:35:08,520
for people in Greenville, then
I'm excited to do that.

691
00:35:09,040 --> 00:35:11,960
We'll end it up here, but for
each of you, what advice would

692
00:35:11,960 --> 00:35:15,120
you give to listeners that are
wishing to get more involved in

693
00:35:15,120 --> 00:35:19,040
community engagement here?
Don't no kidding, kidding.

694
00:35:22,840 --> 00:35:27,760
Just, I don't know, just just I
just kind of was going around

695
00:35:27,760 --> 00:35:30,880
meeting people.
There's all sorts of clubs.

696
00:35:30,880 --> 00:35:33,440
Just give it a Google.
Just like I want to join this

697
00:35:33,440 --> 00:35:35,800
political club or I want to join
the civic.

698
00:35:35,800 --> 00:35:38,120
Group, I'll throw a pitch out
for Young Greenville, a

699
00:35:38,120 --> 00:35:39,280
Republican club.
Yeah, there.

700
00:35:39,720 --> 00:35:41,280
You go.
We love those guys.

701
00:35:41,280 --> 00:35:43,000
Young Greenville, young
Republicans.

702
00:35:44,280 --> 00:35:46,560
First Monday's a good one, too.
First, Monday's a great one.

703
00:35:47,160 --> 00:35:49,040
Lindsey Graham's there next to
this coming up 1.

704
00:35:49,200 --> 00:35:51,320
Oh yeah, yeah.
So you might see me at that one.

705
00:35:52,800 --> 00:35:54,200
That's not endorsement by the
way.

706
00:35:54,200 --> 00:36:01,760
I have a hand one out, but yeah,
just Google, get on Facebook

707
00:36:01,760 --> 00:36:03,280
there.
There's always groups on

708
00:36:03,280 --> 00:36:11,680
Facebook really if if you want
to be impactful, I think joining

709
00:36:11,680 --> 00:36:14,920
just like a community group,
like a nonpartisan group like

710
00:36:14,920 --> 00:36:17,240
something like the Rotary Club
or.

711
00:36:18,320 --> 00:36:20,160
Meals on Wheels.
Meals on Wheels, that's.

712
00:36:20,160 --> 00:36:23,080
A great life.
We've loved just taking a break

713
00:36:23,080 --> 00:36:25,440
from the work day, going and
meeting each other there and

714
00:36:25,440 --> 00:36:27,680
doing a route together.
That's been really enjoyable for

715
00:36:27,680 --> 00:36:28,520
us to do.
Yeah.

716
00:36:28,720 --> 00:36:31,200
So yeah, just.
Find a group like that that

717
00:36:31,200 --> 00:36:34,520
serves other people and you know
you'll, you'll get it.

718
00:36:34,960 --> 00:36:37,360
One, you'll get a ton of
connections out of it, but two,

719
00:36:37,600 --> 00:36:39,640
you're going to feel really
great about doing it.

720
00:36:40,720 --> 00:36:45,280
I can't think of a single person
that did not feel elevated after

721
00:36:45,480 --> 00:36:48,800
doing something for Habitat for
Humanity or Meals on Wheels or

722
00:36:48,800 --> 00:36:52,960
anything like that.
I think probably two things when

723
00:36:52,960 --> 00:36:56,040
I was in grad school, kind of
like really starting off on my

724
00:36:56,440 --> 00:36:58,760
transition from military and
building a civilian career,

725
00:36:59,360 --> 00:37:02,680
someone, someone in the leading
the grad school program said,

726
00:37:02,880 --> 00:37:05,640
you know, take advantage
shamelessly, take advantage of

727
00:37:05,640 --> 00:37:08,840
your kind of student status, you
know, and whether you're a

728
00:37:08,840 --> 00:37:11,680
student or not.
I think Greenville specifically

729
00:37:11,680 --> 00:37:16,960
is something special about it is
people feel free, most

730
00:37:16,960 --> 00:37:18,520
successful with everyone is
successful.

731
00:37:18,520 --> 00:37:22,800
So at that time I felt like I
could reach out to anyone in the

732
00:37:22,800 --> 00:37:27,000
city, whether as an elected
official or business leader and

733
00:37:27,000 --> 00:37:29,440
probably have coffee with them.
And within two weeks, I think

734
00:37:29,440 --> 00:37:31,800
that that's awesome.
I think that is very still

735
00:37:31,800 --> 00:37:35,320
common in the city.
So like, don't be afraid to get

736
00:37:35,320 --> 00:37:38,040
to know people, build
relationships and don't be

737
00:37:38,680 --> 00:37:42,640
intimidated to do it.
So I had to say one, take

738
00:37:42,640 --> 00:37:44,760
initiative and and kind of build
those.

739
00:37:44,760 --> 00:37:46,600
Relationships reach out to you.
Yeah.

740
00:37:46,680 --> 00:37:51,200
And and two, I would say get
involved in stuff you're

741
00:37:51,200 --> 00:37:55,040
passionate about and where you
think you can like that aligns

742
00:37:55,040 --> 00:37:57,640
with your passions and your
skill set and abilities, not

743
00:37:57,640 --> 00:37:59,400
just because it might be a
resume builder.

744
00:38:01,120 --> 00:38:04,640
I think that resonates with
others.

745
00:38:04,920 --> 00:38:09,360
And if it's just kind of like
doing a check a box to put on a

746
00:38:09,360 --> 00:38:11,400
resume, people can see through
that sometimes.

747
00:38:12,480 --> 00:38:14,960
But in order for get involved, I
say, what are you passionate

748
00:38:14,960 --> 00:38:16,960
about?
Where your skill sets?

749
00:38:17,560 --> 00:38:20,200
Look at the county and city
board boards and commissions.

750
00:38:21,120 --> 00:38:24,880
There's always a need on those
nonprofits.

751
00:38:25,320 --> 00:38:31,560
So your church, I mean, so there
are plenty of opportunities and

752
00:38:32,160 --> 00:38:34,240
I think me and Frank are pretty
easy to get a hold of.

753
00:38:34,240 --> 00:38:37,040
And I think other people in the
county and city are as well.

754
00:38:37,040 --> 00:38:39,600
And it's like, you know myself
into my website.

755
00:38:39,600 --> 00:38:42,320
If you got questions about, you
know, what I've been involved in

756
00:38:42,320 --> 00:38:47,280
or stuff, I recommend you know
I'm I'm always happy to meet

757
00:38:47,360 --> 00:38:49,680
meet for coffee anytime.
Yeah, that's awesome.

758
00:38:50,040 --> 00:38:52,280
Well, gentlemen, thank you so
much for for joining me today.

759
00:38:52,280 --> 00:38:54,880
We're excited to Share your
story with everybody.

760
00:38:54,880 --> 00:38:56,640
And when?
When is the voting?

761
00:38:56,800 --> 00:39:01,280
Deadline just for November 4th.
All right, is Election Day early

762
00:39:01,280 --> 00:39:04,120
voting starts October 20th at
McAllister Square.

763
00:39:04,200 --> 00:39:06,120
Cool.
Well, thank you guys so much for

764
00:39:06,120 --> 00:39:06,760
joining me.
Yeah.

765
00:39:06,800 --> 00:39:07,480
Thank you a lot.