Why I'm Running
I'm proud to officially file for South Carolina House District 99 in Berkeley County.
This is home. It is where I have built my life, raised my family, and invested in our community — and it is a place worth protecting.
I want to take a moment to thank outgoing State Representative Mark Smith for his commitment to this district. Our community is stronger because of his service, and I am running to carry that legacy forward.
- Shawn Pinkston
1
Growth Without a Plan Is Just Sprawl
District 99 is one of the fastest-growing areas in South Carolina, and the pressure is showing. New developments are being approved while the roads, schools, and infrastructure needed to support them lag years behind. Residents aren't against growth — they want responsible growth, where infrastructure matches development. Right now, it doesn't.
The natural landscape is under pressure too. The marshes, the waterways, the open land — these aren't just beautiful backdrops.
They are what define the Lowcountry. Development proposals in this corridor include filling 187 acres of wetlands and building on habitat for two endangered species.
Once that land is gone, it's gone. I will fight for development that grows our community without destroying what made it worth moving to in the first place.
2
Congestion Is a Quality of Life Crisis
I attended the recent Community Growth Meeting for residents of the Clements Ferry Corridor. The frustration in that room was real and it was earned. I share every bit of it.
My family lives off Clements Ferry Road. We drive these streets every day. We have sat on the shoulder of 526 while cars and trucks rush past. We have spent countless hours stuck near the interchange. We have faced near head-on collisions trying to make a simple left turn. We worry every morning when our child drives to school on this road.
State planners have already rated this corridor F for traffic — meaning gridlock — with projections of 60,000 cars a day on essentially one road in and one road out. The answer we keep getting from SCDOT is that improvements will come "when warranted."
That is not an answer. It is an abdication.
We deserve to know why traffic lights haven't been installed as this area has exploded with growth. We deserve a real, funded plan for 526 — not a vague promise for some future date. Our local leaders are doing what they can. The gap is at the state level, and that is where I intend to fight.
Berkeley County is a donor county. A significant portion of what we pay in gas taxes leaves and gets spent somewhere else in South Carolina. That has to change. As your State House Representative, I will push to bring those dollars back home and make sure the improvements this community needs are approved, funded, and built on our timeline — not Columbia's.
3
Affordability Is Squeezing Families
The cost of living is bearing down on families in ways that don't always make the headlines. Yes, home prices have risen sharply. But it's also the tank of gas, the grocery run, the utility bill — the accumulation of costs that leave working families with less margin every month.
State government can't control everything, but it can stop making things worse. That means resisting unnecessary fees and taxes, returning surplus revenue to taxpayers rather than growing government, and making sure that state policy isn't adding to the burden families are already carrying. A district that's becoming unaffordable for the people who built it isn't a success story. It's a warning.
4
What This Campaign Is About
Growth that respects this community. Roads that are safe and funded. A cost of living that doesn't force out the families who make this place what it is. And a Lowcountry that our children will still recognize when they're grown.
This campaign is about people, not politics. Results, not rhetoric. I hear you, I live it too, and I will fight for you in Columbia.
I ask for your support and your vote in the June 9th Republican Primary.
