Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Ed Astle and I want to serve every resident of North Charleston as your elected District One City Council member. North Charleston has been my home since 1979. For 21 years my life was dedicated to serving our country in the United States Navy, from which I retired in August 1992 as a Chief Petty Officer.
This is my first effort to seek elected public office. However, I have served the community as a commissioner on the Charleston County Housing Authority for four years. My sense of community and civic responsibility led me to serve as Vice President of the Forest Hills Homeowners' Association for five years. I retired from the civilian work force in February 2006. Now it is time for me to serve the people of North Charleston as a council member with no other obligations beyond my family and you the people I want to represent. I will be a full-time councilman who will maintain a positive and open- minded dialogue with the people of North Charleston.
There are many things in the city that concern me. My biggest concern in District One is the Dorchester Road Corridor. Residential and commercial growth needs to be controlled and limited until the infrastructure can support additional development. This is a problem that requires working with other regional governments and developers. The city of North Charleston and the adjacent government entities must work together to enhance the use of mass transit to reduce the vehicular demand on our over-burdened roads. There is a place for mass transit far beyond our current system. One way to reduce traffic is the willingness of citizens to use mass transit rather than thousands of cars headed in the same direction on Dorchester Road with only a driver and sometimes only one passenger. These are but two of my concerns. Other issues about which I am concerned are violent crime, help for the poor, disabled and elderly, fire protection, emergency services and maintaining property values.
I believe citizens want improvement and there are solutions that can be found. Let me serve you. I can make a difference working full-time to help everyone have a more enjoyable life in North Charleston. If you are wiling to be part of the solution and would like to discuss these or any other issues, please contact me at northcharleston@edastle.us or 760-1856. The election is non partisan. I am registered with the election board.