City Council Candidate Shawn Pinkston feels call to serve

 In September of 2001, when Attorney Shawn Pinkston was in his first year of law school in St. Louis, he and millions of other Americans were glued to their television sets as the tragic and devastating events began to unfold at the World Trade Center in New York City. Watching the first plane hit the North Tower, Pinkston felt an unmistakable call to action.

“I made the decision then and there, my first year in law school, to volunteer for the U.S. Military,” recalled Pinkston, a Daniel Island resident and candidate for Charleston City Council. “I applied to the branches and the Army offered me a commission and I accepted.”

Pinkston went on to serve in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Office while stationed at Fort Stewart, Georgia. In 2007, he deployed with the Third Infantry Division to Iraq as part of a troop surge ordered by then-President George W. Bush. While there he established and led the Military Justice Office. He also served as Chief of Legal Assistance and was the lead prosecutor for one of the busiest jurisdictions in the U.S. Army, he stated. Pinkston’s actions earned him multiple awards, including a Meritorious Service Medal, two Army Commendation Medals, and an Iraq Campaign Medal.

It is an inherent desire to give back, a trait he learned from his father, that Pinkston said led him earlier this year to declare his candidacy for Charleston City Council as a representative of District 1.

“For me, being able to wear our country’s uniform has been a pinnacle of my adult life,” added Pinkston. “I have a passion for service. I have a demonstrated passion for giving back to our community. And I want to take that to City Hall.”

After finishing his active duty for the U.S. Army in August of 2008, Pinkston moved to Atlanta, where he began work as an attorney for Hall Booth Smith. In 2010, Pinkston and his family moved to Daniel Island so he could begin work for the firm’s new Charleston office (his legal practice focuses primarily on representing health care professionals). In 2013, he entered the race for the U.S. Congressional seat currently held by Mark Sanford. Although he didn’t win, the experience was worthwhile, said Pinkston.

“The way that I feel about service, I thought it was a good opportunity,” he said. “I’ve met a lot of great people - became good friends with almost all of the candidates, and I stay in touch with the candidates. You know you’ve done something right when people you were running against call you a friend afterwards.”

Pinkston is running for City Council against incumbent Gary White, also a Daniel Island resident. The district includes all of Daniel Island, the majority of the Cainhoy Peninsula, and portions of Ansonborough, Gadsden’s Wharf and the French Quarter in downtown Charleston. If elected, this would be Pinkston’s first official political office, but it would not be his first time serving in the political arena. A native of Kentucky, he moved to Washington D.C. after graduating from Berea College to take a position as communications director for U.S. Congressman Ron Lewis. Three years later, he returned to Kentucky to serve in the same capacity for the President of the State Senate.

Why run for Charleston City Council? Pinkston said his decision was based on his desire to see that the needs of his community, and that of the other areas represented in District 1, were being properly addressed.

“The lightbulb moment was seeing some of the things that were promised to Daniel Island that we haven’t received,” said Pinkston. “…The delayed restrooms at Freedom Park is a prime example. The lack of a community center is a prime example. The fact that the Daniel Island Neighborhood Association (DINA) is trimming trees when the City is supposed to do that…I talked to a lot of folks in the community and it seemed to be that there was a desire or a yearning for leadership at City Hall, and that’s why I decided to run.”

Pinkston contends that his community involvement is another key reason he is qualified for the City Council post. He is a member of the Rotary Club of Daniel Island and the Charleston Exchange Club, he is a youth soccer coach, and he takes part in numerous community events - such as DINA meetings, Daniel Island Business Association meetings, the Charleston Charity Duck Race, and the 9/11 Heroes Run on Daniel Island.

“We need someone who will fight for our priorities and someone who is active and engaged in the community,” he said.

As a single father of two young children, Pinkston is especially interested in seeing the island’s parks and recreation offerings enhanced. A new indoor Daniel Island community center, identified as a top need at a City-sponsored public charette last May, is something he would like to see come to fruition sooner rather than later.

“The community center was promised to us in 1995. It was reaffirmed in 1998, and it was reaffirmed in 2000. The Mayor signed the amendments, City Council passed the amendments. It wasn’t built for whatever reason. Now we’re trying to go back and find funding for it, to find space for it, to find a design for it…and we’re years behind. You have to anticipate those problems and you have to work with those involved to properly address them. That’s leadership.”

Another area Pinkston has promised to target if elected is island traffic, a problem he expects will only worsen as apartment complexes and other projects currently under construction are completed and occupied.

“When these apartments come online, it’s going to bring more people to the island. When the condos on the other side of 526 (are finished), it will bring more people. We have a new business building going up that’s going to bring more people. And nothing has changed. That was an issue raised two years ago and there still has been no plan.”

A plan to enhance traffic safety is underway to improve the intersection at Daniel Island Drive and Seven Farms Drive, thanks to money set aside by Berkeley County and additional funding from the City of Charleston. Pinkston is hopeful future efforts will have similar success and not get bogged down in bureaucracy.

“Rather than saying things can’t happen, or looking for reasons why things don’t happen, you have to find ways to make them happen,” he said. “You work with your fellow members of City Council, you work with your community leaders, you find consensus and you have to have a relentless focus on accomplishing the goals that you set forth…and not take ‘no’ for an answer.”

If elected, Pinkston would also like to focus on responsible growth, as well as concerns over the Clements Ferry Road traffic conditions. He plans to continuously seek ways to be proactive rather than reactive when it comes to city government.

“I think that’s the mentality you have to have on City Council. Fight for the projects that are important, bring them up every opportunity you have, talk to your fellow Council members, talk to the Mayor, talk to the department heads, and talk to your state leaders. You pick up the phone and you doggedly pursue it.”

Pinkston has set a goal of knocking on 1000 doors before election day on November 3 to spread his campaign message. So far, he estimates he’s visited about 700 front porches, and says he has the blisters on his feet to prove it.

“I think people appreciate when they see someone out in the community, someone who wants to do a good job.”

In the end, Pinkston said it all comes back to service. At the 9/11 Heroes Run last month, he took special note of a quote put forth by the Travis Manion Foundation, a beneficiary of the event. “If not me, then who?”

“That was a common question throughout the Army (when I served),” recalled Pinkston. “That’s part of my make-up. If I’m not willing to do it, if I’m not willing to run, if I’m not willing to put myself out there, to effect positive change, then who will?”

For additional information on Pinkston’s campaign, visit his website at www.shawnpinkston.com.