Orangeburg mayor facing challenger; issues include downtown, infrastructure

He is being challenged in the upcoming city election by an opponent who says more can be done.

Voters will head to the polls on Sept. 14 to select the city’s mayor.

Michael C. Butler, the city’s first African-American mayor, is seeking his third four-year term as mayor.

He faces opposition from Paige Waymer, a biomedical research scientist and histotechnologist who has served on Orangeburg County’s Planning Commission for the past two years.

Setting priorities

Butler is a 1983 Claflin University graduate with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education. He earned a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from Walden University before completing further studies at the University of South Carolina and S.C. State University.

He has served as pastor of Victory Tabernacle Church in Orangeburg for 38 years.

Butler cited the revitalization of the city’s Railroad Corner and the relocation of Orangeburg City Hall to the former First Citizens Bank on Russell Street as his priorities as mayor.

“I begin with the economy because a healthy workforce translates into income for all sectors in our community. I believe it is necessary to address affordable health care and health disparities, particularly during a pandemic,” he said.

Butler continued, “I also believe we cannot lose sight of the need to work together with county leaders, businesses and corporations and nearby municipalities to enhance the overall quality of life for all people.”

The mayor said supporting the city’s “education enterprise” is also key because the “children are our future and we count on the higher education academy for research and development.”

Butler said a feasibility study for Railroad Corner’s development has been started, with an architectural firm already hired to continue planning its re-creation.

“Once we start that, that’s going to be the gateway to downtown. We are studying to go all the way to the (Edisto Memorial) Gardens. We have some buildings under contract to get site control of buildings downtown. … Our main goal is to get walking traffic downtown again so the businesses can bloom and people can start purchasing and coming down there,” Butler said.

The mayor said he has been working on the development of Railroad Corner for two years.

“We purchased all the property except two parcels. … It’ll be a little mini Five Points, along with the library. The most recent closing that we had that I’m very excited about is that service station … on the corner of Treadwell Street and Russell. We just closed on that,” Butler said.

He said there are also plans for a pedestrian bridge in the area to accommodate foot traffic from the universities.

“Congressman Clyburn has earmarked funds for that, the Department of Commerce. Then with the penny tax money, we set aside $3 million. We hadn’t used all the money yet because we didn’t get all the property up there, but we used it to purchase as much property as we could,” Butler said.

Butler said the relocation of Orangeburg City Hall to the former First Citizens Bank will also have advantages for the city.

“We’re working with a company to start the renovation of the old city hall. We have the (Stevenson Auditorium) there, then where the city manager and finances are, that’s going to be a nice reception hall. If you want to have something, you can have a reception in the lobby area,” Butler said.

Waymer is a 2001 graduate of Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School. She earned a double bachelor’s degree in biology and chemistry with a minor in mathematics from Johnson C. Smith University.

She went on to earn a master’s degree from Claflin University in biotechnology with a concentration in forensic science and serves as chairperson of the university’s Biotechnology Advisory Board.

She said her priorities include addressing education and crime in the city.

“Education and cleaning up the crime around here would be first because in order to move forward, that’s what we need,” Waymer said.

“What we do know about Orangeburg is that it’s an agricultural, retirement and an education city. In order to make the city prosper, we have to play on those three keys, which are important to the economics of the city,” she said.

Expanding Early College programs for students, for example, would be crucial in revamping education in the city.

“That will allow them to spend maybe one year in school, or to be able to complete programs before they actually leave high school, which means they can be certified and ready to work once they complete graduation,” or go on to college, she said. “So it’s just trying to bridge that gap.”

“Also, look to create more avenues for people who have records that could be expunged to help them out in the workforce,” she said.

Waymer said tapping into the potential of the city’s “mixed community,” to include its Latin, Asian, West Indian and Indian communities, would also help promote its growth.

“If we could pull all of those people together and maybe start working together, then we can progress in the city and make it a whole lot better,” she said.

As far as Railroad Corner’s development, Waymer said, “We have to be realistic and look at the pros and cons. If we could fix it up and make it better … and move other businesses in there, that’d be great. If we have to scrap it and start all over again, that’s fine as long as when we scrap it and we make it better, we’re still able to attract those small businesses that were there.”

She continued, “We can restore those buildings if it’d be economically positive, but if we can’t do it and there’s not an upside to it, don’t take away the opportunity for the people that were already there to also have an opportunity to come back because the businesses were thriving.”

Butler said the city must continue to develop innovative ways to reduce crime.

“Unfortunately, there has been a wave of violent acts in the area in recent months. The public safety department is doing a credible job in trying to keep the community safe, but there are those who will commit acts of violence despite the best effort to prevent them,” he said.

Butler continued, “Unfortunately, we’ve had several shootings here in our city, but we have talked and DPS (Department of Public Safety) has beefed up the patrol.”

The mayor said his concerns about police use of force, however, were addressed with the Orangeburg DPS’s review of its policies.

“Some time back, we studied the use of force policy. … We had excessive use of force. We revised that. … I feel that was a start in addressing it. I think we need more training because our officers need to implement this in their patrol,” Butler said.

Waymer said idle youth have contributed to the city’s crime problem but that the issue, nonetheless, has to be understood.

“It’s a lot of not understanding. A lot of young people around here are committing crimes because they don’t have avenues in which to express (themselves), or they don’t feel like they’re supported. There’s no way for them to progress,” she said.

Waymer continued, “In order for policing around here to be better, we have to understand that we need people from our communities policing us. There needs to be programs that support police as well.” She said continuing education and training for officers is key.

“Also, I think cops should be able to get out and canvas the neighborhoods, not only just sit in their cars. They need to be out talking to the people and knowing what’s going on,” she said.

Waymer said some officers’ use of force has been a concern of hers.

“If policing is done right and they’re actually involved in the community, we won’t have these issues. … There needs to be some real revamping of how we’re getting these people in here to get these positions to be around and working in these communities. That’s my immediate concern,” she said. “There needs to be thorough background checks as well for these people who are coming in.”

Downtown development

Waymer said, “I think that we need to have a long sit down about the amount of churches that we do have in the area. I see downtown as a park and walk area. We need to be able to attract more businesses for what we want to actually happen.”

She continued, “Downtown should be the spot for young professionals and even some of the kids, to bring in some businesses here for them and to make the city thrive. There shouldn’t be a reason why we don’t set up certain parking lot areas and facelift the buildings around here.”

Waymer said other events could be themed around downtown to promote more activity beyond the Farmer’s Market held in the downtown pavilion.

“Look to attract breweries or bars because we do have a downtown area that hosts two HBCUs and that hosts a lot of businesses. So I think that we can make downtown Orangeburg an oasis. It just had to be put in the correct way,” she said. “You have to come in with a plan to see how it can actually expand because just getting out and walking around, you see a lot of businesses around here that you didn’t even know existed here.”

Waymer continued, “We want to create tax cuts and incentives for those businesses that come downtown.”

Butler said, “We’re offering incentives to attract businesses. I think that some of the incentives are the façade grant and the tax credits that we’re offering. I think if we can implement that in, that we can get some anchor stores down there, something that can draw people. Downtown used to be very vibrant. So we’re looking forward to getting that.”

Butler continued, “Also, we’re looking at creating living space down there. So once we get the living space, get people down there and have the incentives with tax credits, and then we offer the façade grant, I think that we’ll be able to move forward in that vein.”

“A comprehensive plan has been developed to revitalize downtown Orangeburg from Railroad Corner to Edisto Gardens. DPU has also committed to helping attract new businesses,” the mayor said. He said businesses want “enough population density to support their business.”

Waymer said businesses are needing support and “having places around here that are attractive.”

“We have to understand if we want these businesses to succeed around here, we have to make things attractive for them as well. We have to be able to put them in a position to be able to win, grow, prosper and make things better,” she said.

Infrastructure

Improving water and sewer infrastructure is also among the candidates’ priorities for the city.

Butler said the city has been meeting with state leaders, including Sens. Brad Hutto and Vernon Stephens and Reps. Jerry Govan and Gilda Cobb-Hunter to “help us get infrastructure money down here” to make enhancements.

“We have a drainage problem here in Orangeburg. So we’re working to help with the drainage problem that’s here in our city, along with DOT (Department of Transportation), because a lot of those roads don’t belong to the city. They belong to DOT,” Butler said.

“We have some things that we’re trying to do,” mayor said, noting that the city’s Department of Public Utilities also has infrastructure projects designed to address drainage issues.

Waymer said, “The infrastructure is a must because the roads need to be better, the sewage needs to be better, the buildings need to be better. Everything needs a whole face lift. Orangeburg needs a facelift in itself in totality. I’m not saying we can do it all in a year or two years, but there needs to be a plan in place for growth for this to happen within a certain amount of time.”

“We need to sit down and talk to business leaders around here to see what they’re willing to do to put in. If we’re going to invite businesses to come in here, we also need to come to the table with a plan with them, as well,” she said.

Butler, whose hometown is Atlanta, Georgia, worked for the Department of Social Services for over 11 years and as an educator for 17 years. He has served as treasurer for the Lower Savannah Council of Governments and is a member of the Claflin University Board of Visitors and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc.

He is also a member of the S.C. Democratic Party and the local NAACP chapter and serves as a board member of the S.C. Municipal Association.

He’s running for re-election because “I love Orangeburg.

“I came here (at) 17 years old. I went to Claflin and graduated, and I got a job. I made friends here. I spent more of my life here than I did anywhere.”

“I’ve seen things grow, and I’ve seen it come down. When it came down, it was just in the back of my mind, ‘What can I do?’ I didn’t have an idea about being a mayor because I’m a pastor. I just wanted to kind of stay in that vein, but then I said, ‘Well, I can contribute something,’” Butler said.

He continued, “I have that drive. I’m excited about it. I’m excited about the third term, and I appreciate the people in the city. I just pray that the voters speak on Sept. 14. I want them to speak loudly,” Butler said.

Waymer said, “I want to show people that there’s other things out there that we actually can do around here. We actually have the resources to do it.”

She said she cares about the city and its growth.

“My mother and my uncles, my family’s here. Why wouldn’t I care about what’s happening here? I never planned on coming back here as early as I have, but I planned on coming back here. I saw that there was a need for me to be back here now. … Why wouldn’t I want to come back here to make home better?” she said.