In November 2023, Reggie Burgess made history by winning North Charleston, South Carolina’s mayoral election to become the city’s first-ever African-American leader.
His landslide victory caps a 34-year career ascent up the ranks of the North Charleston Police Department.
Deep Local Roots Driving Public Service Mission
A North Charleston native, Burgess has intimate familiarity with the area he’ll govern based on lifelong community ties. After serving residents for decades as a police officer, his passion for enhancing quality of life persists into this new role. Burgess views the mayorship as an elevated platform to address public safety and other pressing issues more holistically.
Having patrolled North Charleston streets early in his policing tenure, Burgess built critical neighborhood relationships and grasps challenges facing citizens. Three decades of witnessing troubling root causes compelled him to collaboratively remedy socioeconomic drivers of crime plaguing certain demographics.
Drawing Bipartisan Support Through Proven Leadership
While Burgess’ law enforcement background shapes his reform agenda, his recent effectiveness as police chief equally informs administrative capabilities.
Under Burgess’ command, department morale and community perceptions improved despite an inherited trust deficit from high-profile incidents. His bipartisan appeal even earned the backing of term-limited Mayor Summey despite opposing political affiliations.
Summey declined endorsing any succession contenders until revealing Burgess headed his list weeks before Burgess resigned to launch his mayoral bid. Governor McMaster also publicly celebrated Burgess’ ascendance as leader fitting to carry progress forward. Their confidence speaks volumes about Burgess’ unifying competency.
Making North Charleston More Livable For All
Alongside addressing crime and economic mobility, Burgess aims to bridge access gaps hurting housing affordability and basic living standards. His platform maintains the interdependency linking public safety with other policy spheres impacting daily life.
While the path towards equality spans generations, Burgess starts from a vision shaped by seeing system imbalances play out on streets he roamed growing up.
Now the former police chief arrives at the mayor’s office owning lived insight into tackling deep-rooted ills requiring collaborative remedies – and he’s assembled local partners aligned toward that mission too. Together a community contingent heads united against ingrained woes, led by their native son who walked similar steps.
