PHILLIP HABIB: 20-year-old Wofford junior elected to Soil & Water Commission

A 2014 Stratford graduate waged a successful, albeit last-minute, write-in campaign to secure a seat on the Soil and Water Commission.
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Phillip Habib, 20, of Goose Creek is a junior at Wofford College, but he will be coming back to Berkeley County every fourth Tuesday of the month to sit on the commission. Habib got 463 write-in votes during the general election Nov. 8. His next closest opponent, Charles Glover, received 148 votes.

In all, voters wrote in 5,228 names for the open spot on the ballot.

This was Habib’s first run for public office, but he’s worked with the county’s soil and water district before.

Habib’s campaign began about a week before the election when he was filling out his absentee ballot and noticed the commission seat had only a write-in option.

“Why is this happening?” Habib recalled thinking. He said he called the chairman of the Soil and Water commission and he was told that a commissioner declined to participate in this year’s election, leaving the spot on the ballot open.

“I decided why not me? Why not now? So I did it and here I am,” Habib said.

He launched a Facebook page and “it caught on like wildfire,” he said.

“People shared all of my posts,” Habib said. “I was actually very surprised at how many votes I got. I did not think I would get that many.”

Habib said his platform is based on balance: continue to grow industry but also preserve Berkeley County’s natural beauty.

“I’m excited to serve the people of Berkeley county and make sure we remain the beautiful county that we are,” he said.
Habib is in environmental studies at college — something he hopes will help him serve his new constituents well.

“I’ll be able to implement the things I’m learning in the classroom.”