Thank you for stopping by my website!

Like many residents of Mount Pleasant, I was not born or raised here. However, I am not a resident by mere chance. I am here as a result of a conscientious choice made by my wife Kimarie and myself. We made that choice over ten years ago and our only regret is that we did not move here a lot sooner.

I was born in Chicago and spent my early years there. After completing law school, I moved to Albuquerque where I met and married Kimarie. Since Kimarie’s father was a career Air Force officer, she had lived and attended schools in many different states as well as in Germany. Most importantly, however, Kimarie was born and raised in Georgia. She always wanted to return home to the South. 

In 1999, although our careers were moving along nicely, Kimarie and I decided we were ready to move and re-locate to South Carolina. At that time, one of our children was in high school and another was just entering. Since I was an attorney and Kim was an RN, we could relocate and find employment almost any place. We began to look around. Bottom line, we made an exhaustive search and found Mount Pleasant. Mount Pleasant met and exceeded our needs. One merely has to consider that Mount Pleasant offers top performing schools, incredible natural beauty, good people, a super church home for our family (Seacoast Church) and, of course, the weather (except August. . .).

In the last ten years, two of our children have graduated from Wando High School. Our youngest, Kathy, is a sophomore at Wando. Our oldest daughter, Laura, recently graduated from the College of Charleston with a degree in Hispanic Studies and is now attending the Dental School at MUSC. Eric, our son, is in a year-long youth ministry internship (”All Access”) sponsored by Seacoast Church.

Since moving to Mount Pleasant, I have not stood around as a spectator occasionally complaining about the town or its leadership. To the contrary, I have served as a volunteer on many citizen committees appointed by the Mayor and the Town Council. I attended a year long program designed to prepare people to participate in government. I believe my experience has prepared me to now exercise leadership as a voting member of the Town Council. I know how the Mayor and Town Council functions, so I will hit the ground running from the first day.

I am not looking to make any drastic changes to Mount Pleasant – it is a great place to live. But things are changing, so we have to respond to keep Mount Pleasant the great place it is. We are not able to isolate ourselves from the economic turmoil the country is going through. We have to take action to keep Mount Pleasant moving forward. The good things we want to do for Mount Pleasant depend on having a sufficient tax base. Local revenue comes from property, sales, and businesses. Real growth will require new business and other economic development. With the right decisions by the Town Council, we can do this and still keep our great environment. 

PLATFORM:

       √ DEVELOP A SYSTEM OF BIKE / PEDESTRIAN TRAILS AND LINKS

       √ FOCUS ON TRAFFIC CONGESTION AND PROMOTE AFFORDABLE SOLUTIONS

       √ EXPAND RECREATIONAL WATER ACCESS FOR MOUNT PLEASANT RESIDENTS

       √ ENCOURAGE & PROMOTE BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

       √ WORK WITH THE CCSD TO ENSURE MOUNT PLEASANT SCHOOLS REMAIN FIRST-RATE

EXPERIENCE:

• Appointed by Mayor Harry Hallman to the Mount Pleasant Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee
• Confirmed by Mount Pleasant Town Council to serve on the Town of Mount Pleasant Board of Zoning Appeals
• Graduate of Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce “Leadership Charleston”
• Member Blue Ribbon Committee for School Accountability commissioned by the Mt. Pleasant Town Council

PERSONAL:

• Married to Kimarie Nickels a Registered Nurse at East Cooper Hospital
• Children–Eric, Laura and Kathy; Eric & Laura graduated Wando. Kathy is a sophomore at Wando
• Resident of Park West for 9 years; Served on Park West neighborhood HOA
• Attorney at Clawson & Staubes, LLC
• Member Seacoast Community Christian Church

If you see me at any time, please come up and tell me your thoughts about how you think we can make Mount Pleasant an even better place for all of us. Feel free to drop me an email as well.

Thanks again for stopping by and please come back often.

Chris