Friday, 1:25 p.m. Batesburg’s Billy Derrick is Lexington County Council’s lone Democrat. But parties and such aren’t the main thing with him: "I’ve never had any axes to grind or agendas to serve other than to serve the people in my district the best I can."
Beyond his own district, he says the county needs a long-range plan, which the council is about to start work on. Up to now, "We’ve governed through crisis."
And beyond the county, he is a supporter of regional cooperation. For instance, he said "the bus system needs to be addressed," as does the proposed homeless shelter. "We’ve always tried to work with Columbia and Richland County," and as a result, "we’ve caught a lot of grief" from some who would rather leaders not work across the lines on such things as the convention center.
Of course, "Regional cooperation needs to be a two-way street." He appreciates Columbia Mayor Bob Coble helping put a hockey team in Lexington County — and he doesn’t blame the mayor or city leaders a bit for having tried (and failed) to keep SCANA downtown. He said it was "completely natural," and in fact, "I would have been kind of disappointed had they not made a fuss."
And on the transit issue, he thinks it should be recognized that no one in his part of the county will have the chance to ride the bus — routes don’t go that far under anybody’s scenario. For that reason, he suggests maybe the RTA should be funded and run by a Special Purpose District.
On the other hand, "Homeless come from everywhere," so all parts of the counties need to take part in seeking a solution. As to how that effort is going, "I think the process is still in process."
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