Joe Riley, Mayor of the City of Charleston

LowcountryBizSC:
What is your education and background?

Joe Riley:
I was born and raised in Charleston.  I attended Bishop England High School before earning an undergraduate degree at the Citadel, and a law degree at the University of South Carolina.

My biggest influences growing up were my parents.  I admired both of my parents not only for their personal qualities, but also for their commitment to civic involvement.

LowcountryBizSC:
Why did you decide to attend the Citadel and subsequently to pursue a law degree?

Joe Riley:
I was not pushed into going to the Citadel; it was my choice to go there and I am glad that I did.
I was always interested in public service and thought that a law degree would serve me well in this area.   I liked the idea of studying the law and becoming a lawyer.  A legal education is great preparation for life in that it teaches you a process to analyze and solve problems.  That is a good description of what I do every day as Mayor.

LowcountryBizSC:
When and why did you decide to get in to politics?

Joe Riley:
I studied history in my undergraduate studies at the Citadel and I enjoyed following government and politics.  Not long after I graduated from law school, I was encouraged to run for office, and at age 25, I was elected to the South Carolina General Assembly.

In 1994, I ran unsuccessfully for Governor.  I enjoyed the unique challenges of statewide politics and thought that it was a natural progression for me to serve the state as Governor.   I also ran because my friends and colleagues encouraged me to do so.  I thought that was what I was supposed to do, that it was my duty.

My opportunity for public service, the right fit for me, has been as Mayor of City of Charleston.  I never planned to run for Mayor, but again, was encouraged to do so by people around me.  It has been my great honor and privilege to have served this community continuously as Mayor since 1975.  I am proud to have helped move this great city forward at an important time in its history.  Charleston today is a more livable and successful city than it was in 1975.

LowcountryBizSC:
Talk about a few of the early challenges that you faced in 1975.

Joe Riley:
The main reason I ran for office was to build bridges between the African American and the white communities.  1975 is a long time ago not only in years, but also where this city was, and where America was, for that matter, with race relations.  The remnants of Deep South segregation meant that African Americans were not represented in local government.  I knew that we needed to reach out and engage all parts of the community, not simply because it was the just thing to do, but it was essential for Charleston’s future.  That is something that we worked on very hard in the early part of my time as Mayor.

Another issue was downtown crime.  We managed to appropriate more funding for the police and we worked diligently with the Chief of Police to increase the size and effectiveness of our police department.  Today, Charleston is one of the safest cities in the country.

Another early challenge was a lack of affordable housing.  We committed to improving neighborhoods that had seen serious decline.

And it’s hard for people to believe this, but as with countless other cities in America, our downtown was dying.  Today, for a city our size – Charleston might just have the best downtown in the country.  King Street and adjacent streets offer an unparalleled pedestrian and retail experience.

LowcountryBizSC:
What are the challenges and opportunities in 2011?

Joe Riley:
The biggest challenge we have today, especially in light of the economic environment that has prevailed over the past several years, is job creation.  The City has moved solidly behind fostering job creation in the knowledge economy both in growing existing businesses and also creating new ones.  Knowledge-based companies are the fastest growing sector of our professional and technical economy, and we are committed to making Charleston a national leader in supporting high wage job creation. We have expanded our co-working/incubation business environment at our downtown, Digital Corridor.  Through our relationship with the South Carolina Research Authority (SCRA), we are also working hard to promote new business formation in the bio-tech and life sciences at our Innovation Center.  Both of these sectors hold enormous potential for this region.

We are working  with the South Carolina State Ports Authority to open up our downtown waterfront and build a terminal for cruise ships.

We are constantly working to find solutions to the traffic that is created by Highway 17 traversing the downtown area, to balance the needs for traffic flow with our desire to become one of the most bike and pedestrian friendly cities in the country.

LowcountryBizSC:
Where do you see Charleston in ten years?

Joe Riley:
I see Charleston becoming a robust player in the knowledge economy, creating new businesses that offer high paying jobs.  Combine that with the direct impact of Boeing’s presence in North Charleston, plus all the spin off businesses that will be created, and the future for Charleston looks incredibly bright.

LowcountryBizSC:
What is your assessment of state politics today?

Joe Riley:
I work at the local, municipal, and regional level and I try to stay out of partisan state matters.  I will say this.  The overarching theme for South Carolina should be to focus on achieving excellence in everything we do, especially in education.  We should never settle for second best.  We need to invest in education in order to accomplish excellence.

LowcountryBizSC:
Many cities and municipalities have been hit hard by the economic downturn in terms of their financing.  How has Charleston fared?

Joe Riley:
We are in a strong position financially, with a solid balance sheet.  We are the only city in South Carolina with a AAA credit rating.  Like everyone over the past couple of years, we had to tighten our belt.  By making careful, targeted, and substantial cuts, we managed to keep our city moving forward while maintaining the quality of our services at a high level.  Last year, we implemented a furlough program for employees – two days for public safety officials, five days for rank and file city employees, seven days for department heads and nine days for me, the Mayor.  It was hard, but this year, we were able to re-establish salaries with no furloughs.

LowcountryBizSC:
What are your personal plans for the future?

Joe Riley:
I am running for re-election this November.  If I am given the honor of serving this great city for another four years, my plan would be to retire after that term is up.  The good Lord willing, if I’m still around, I would like to move back into the private sector.  Mostly, I look forward to spending more time with my grandchildren.

LowcountryBizSC:
What are some of your hobbies outside of work?

Joe Riley:
I work pretty hard at this job, so I have not had the time to pursue a lot of hobbies outside of work.  I jog early in the morning, do a little fishing in the summer, and occasionally play golf (poorly).  I also like to read.  When I am not at work, I mostly spend time with family.  I have two sons and two grandchildren.

LowcountryBizSC:
What do you like to read?

Joe Riley:
Mostly I read non-fiction, but I also enjoy a good story from time to time.  I am currently reading Founding Brothers, about the early formation of this country.  After that, I plan reading a memoir a friend gave to me called, The Invisible Wall.  I always like to know which book I will be reading next; it keeps me motivated to finish the one I am on!   I read before I go to bed and must confess that some nights, I am so tired that I don’t read for very long.

LowcountryBizSC:
Talk a little about the events that you have planned in and around the 150 year anniversary of the Civil War.

Joe Riley:
We put together a committee that has thoughtfully planned out four years of events all with a goal of informing our citizens about the Civil War. We have been careful not to create a celebration of the war, but an observance.  These events are inclusive of all people. So far, the series of services and speeches that have taken place have met with great reviews.  I don’t think there is a city in the country that has done a better job of striking the right tone for these Civil War events.

LowcountryBizSC:
Talk a little about this year’s Spoleto Festival and in particular, about the Piccolo Spoleto Festival that is put on by the City of Charleston.

Joe Riley:
In 1958, an Italian-American by the name of Gian Carlo Menotti started an international arts festival in Italy called the Festival of Two Worlds.  In 1977, the concept for that festival was expanded to Charleston and Spoleto Festival USA was born.  Piccolo Spoleto is sort of like a fringe festival that runs at the same time as the larger Spoleto Festival with more of a focus on artists from the Southeast.

The goal of Piccolo Spoleto is to touch everyone in the community – children, seniors and everyone in between.  There is a great synergy between the two festivals.  We were careful from the beginning that Piccolo events meshed with the larger festival events, so that today, most people who come to the festival participate in both.  Piccolo alone has over 700 events over 17 days in our parks, churches, libraries, auditoriums.  You will see everything from ballet, concerts, plays, visual arts and crafts.  If you live in Charleston, or if you come to Charleston to visit, you can’t miss it. There’s nothing like it in the world.

LowcountryBizSC:
How is the Piccolo Spoleto Festival funded and how has it fared in the down economy?

Joe Riley:
Piccolo Spoleto is funded through three sources: city council appropriations from our visitor related revenues, private donations, and ticket sales.  The combination of these three allows us to operate with a balanced budget.  Piccolo Spoleto has a very positive economic benefit to the city.

It has been more difficult to raise private donations over the past couple of years, but ticket sales have been strong throughout the downturn.  When it came down to where people wanted to spend their precious dollars of discretionary income, they went to quality.  They found that coming to Charleston and spending time at the Spoleto and Piccolo Spoleto Festivals offered great value.