CHS County Council swears in new council members

CHARLESTON COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD) –  Charleston County Council held a ceremony downtown Tuesday evening to swear in this year’s council, and during the ceremony, there was a big change in leadership.

Teddie Pryor Sr. will no longer serve as Charleston County Council chairman. It is a position he has held for eight years.

Although he has stepped down as chairman, Pryor will continue to serve as a Charleston County council member.

The other council members say they are looking forward to getting to work in the new year, but also understand there are many significant challenges facing the county that lie ahead.

“We got a lot to do in 2023,” Pryor said, “and so we’re going to get busy.”

Charleston County leaders are eager to start serving their community.

“I think we have the most incredible people that are out there,” Jenny Honeycutt, vice chairwoman for the council, said, “and I am so pleased to be able to serve them.”

Honeycutt was elected in 2018, and Tuesday, she assumed a new role as vice chair of the council.

“I look forward to serving in this role,” Honeycutt said. “We have a great leadership team and a wonderful county staff to work with.”

Honeycutt will be working alongside newly-elected chair Herbert Sass.

“It’s a big role,” Sass said. “We’ve had some good chairman and we’ve had some great councils, and we have a lot of work to do.”

That work, they say largely centers around how to navigate economic challenges posed by inflation.

“Our county staff is impacted by that,” Honeycutt said, “and we’ve got to be able to be competitive, and so we need to look at what we’re paying our staff and our team to do the work that they do for the public.”

They’re also looking to tackle major infrastructure issues.

“We definitely got to do something with affordable housing,” Pryor said. “We definitely got to do something with I-526.”

Current members say they look forward to what newly-elected members Larry Kobrovsky and Joe Boykin will bring to the table.

“I’m looking forward to working with them,” Sass said, “and the existing councilmembers. I think we’re going to make a really good team.”

No matter the challenge, members made clear their focus is on working for, and with, the community.

“I hope that anytime anybody has a question about what we do on County Council that they’ll reach out to us,” Honeycutt said.

“I would just tell them to be patient,” Pryor said. “Work with us and don’t talk about us, talk to us.”

“We’re going to work hard for you,” Sass said, “We’re going to do our best job.”

Charleston County Council’s next council meeting will be Tuesday, January 17, at 6:30 p.m.