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Berkeley County Council swears in members, elects vice chair and committee leaders
Summary
At an organizational meeting, Berkeley County Council completed oath ceremonies for newly elected members, elected Dan Owens as vice chair, approved standing committee chairs and meeting dates, and appointed representatives to regional bodies and a county parliamentarian.
Berkeley County Council held an organizational meeting and oath-of-office ceremony in which newly elected members were sworn in and the council selected its leadership and committee assignments.
Councilman Dan Owens and Councilman Philip Obi were sworn in by Sheriff Lewis; Councilman Jared Brooks was sworn in by his parents, Marcy and David Brooks. Councilman Jared Brooks thanked colleagues and family after his oath, saying, "I'm so glad that my family can be here. They came from several hours away," and offered brief remarks about public service.
The council then moved to organizational business. The meeting record shows the clerk confirmed the session had been properly noticed under the Freedom of Information Act. The body elected Councilman Dan Owens as vice chair by voice vote. The council approved the name and scope of standing committees and adopted the 2025 regular committee and council meeting dates (dates not specified in the record).
Council members also approved a slate of standing committee chairpersons. The list announced during the meeting named Caldwell Pinkney Jr. as chair of Auxiliary Services (District 7); Amy Stern as chair of Finance (District 5); Philip Obi as chair of Land Use (District 3); Dan Owens as chair of Public Utilities (District 1); Jared Brooks as chair of Administrative Services (District 2); Marshall West as chair of Justice and Public Safety (District 6); Tommy Newell as chair of Operations (District 4); and Steve Davis as chair of Community Service (District 8). The motion to approve the chairpersons passed by voice vote.
The council approved the appointment of John O. Williams as county parliamentarian. It also approved appointments and reappointments of Berkeley County representatives to regional bodies: the Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments (BCDCOG), the Charleston Regional Development Alliance (CRDA) board, and the Charleston Area Transportation Study (CHATS) committee. The motions as recorded named Supervisor Johnny Cribb and others to those panels; the transcript records the motions and that each carried by voice vote but does not provide roll-call tallies.
Finally, the council reviewed and adopted its organizational and parliamentary rules and then adjourned.
The meeting record includes repeated voice votes recorded as "Aye" with no further roll-call detail; specific vote tallies were not provided in the transcript.
