What you can do to help

• Make a Contribution
• Attend a Coffee Gathering
• Display a Yard Sign
• Write a Letter Supporting Mike
• Help on Election Day

Integrity

Mike Sutton has seen what happens when personal financial interests and political ambition coincide. He is a proven reformer who will restore trust to our City Hall.

As a public servant, nobody influences Mike Sutton for personal gain. His goal is to put Beaufort first. Two years ago when local voters elected Mike to the City Council, he saw first-hand how public responsibilities come at great personal cost. Mike resigned from 303 Associates to devote his energy and full attention to serve the community in a different way. No conflicts of interest. No compromises of integrity. Ever.

He is proud of the work he has done in every job he has held and has shown the courage of his convictions about property owners’ rights, environmental preservation, municipal budget decisions, and capital expenditures.  He does what he believes is right irrespective of short-term political popularity.  That is integrity.

Energy

Nobody works harder for Beaufort than Mike Sutton. His hands-on approach to problem-solving is the first thing you notice about Mike.

Take this year’s Block-By-Block program for restoration in the Northwest Quadrant, for instance. For years, our City was ineffective in finding a way to work with low- to moderate-income residents in our Historic District.  Finding a process to upgrade housing that was deteriorating, barely habitable, and often unsafe was as much a challenge of coordination and expertise as it was one of dollars. 

But seeing a problem means nothing without the energy and courage to tackle it head-on.

Beaufort was fortunate to receive a $1 million grant from the South Carolina Department of Housing and matched it with $100,000 of city funds and the promise of a lot of sweat equity.  But there was no project management, no one to evaluate the work, no one to oversee contractors and materials suppliers, and no one to coordinate the Habitat for Humanity volunteers and Beaufort-area church members who made up Project Operation Good Neighbor. Worse yet, municipal red-tape seemed likely to doom the initiative. Reconciling Beaufort’s contemporary building code and sanitary standards with its Historic District preservation aims appeared insurmountable.

Mike Sutton saw the problem and began volunteering with Habitat on Saturday mornings in late February.  It quickly became clear that someone had to step in and manage the entire process. For the next four months, Mike visited area neighborhoods, building credibility with residents, crawling under houses to see what could be saved, and negotiating with local workers and contractors to get the maximum impact out of every dollar committed, then making sure they could make payrolls on-time.  By the time a small army of student volunteers from churches all over the country showed up in mid-June to paint and finish the work, dozens of roofs had been replaced, foundations rebuilt, unsafe houses demolished, and our neighborhood blocks were beginning to turn the corner.

This was a proud moment for Beaufort and represents the skills, energy, determination and character of Mike Sutton. On November 4, will you demand anything less in your next Mayor?

Leadership

Elected to Beaufort’s City Council in 2006, Mike Sutton has the leadership credentials our city needs.

Mike has demonstrated his leadership skills in one of the most proven arenas, military service.  During his twenty-years in the Coast Guard, he served as the senior instructor and Coast Guard liaison to the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Training Command at Pearl Harbor, where he developed and executed emergency response training programs for military commands throughout the Pacific. 

Later in his career, he served as the response supervisor for the Coast Guard’s National Strike Force, responding to maritime disasters around the world. 

To that Mike has added experience in law enforcement, environmental work, local business ownership, and construction management. As a first-term City Councilman, Mike Sutton has immersed himself in the details of municipal budgeting, bond finance, historic preservation, capital expenditures in government, city staffing issues, and zoning and permitting.

Mike Sutton leads by example, motivating those around him to meet and surpass their goals. His energy and attention to detail enables him to make informed decisions about complex issues. Mike does this through his constant involvement in the community, focusing on a can-do spirit, teamwork, and accomplishing the task at hand.