Hartsville's newest council member recognizes challenges

HARTSVILLE — Wanda James, Hartsville’s newest city council member, said she wants to make a difference in the lives her fellow citizens.

The new representative from District 3 said she doesn’t plan to focus on the negatives over the next four years but on bringing people together to work to find solutions that move Hartsville forward.

James is a Hartsville native and a 1983 Hartsville High School graduate who moved away from the area for several years. After living in Richmond, Va., and New York, she moved back to Hartsville in 1995.

Several factors influenced her decision to return to her hometown. But the core reason, she said, was simple: “I love Hartsville.”

James is the family service and community partnership coordinator for the Darlington County Community Action Agency Head Start. In this role, she works on recruitment and enrollment of children for the Head Start program, which serves children ages 3 to 4. Head Start operates six centers in Darlington County.

James also owns and operates a business of her own, Jacob’s Ladder of the Carolinas, which provides after-school services for children.

As a single parent raising four sons, professional woman and business woman, James said she is accustomed to challenges.

She said she wants to use the next four years — and possibly beyond — to help Hartsville meet the challenges it faces in the years ahead.

At Hartsville High School, James became the school’s first black homecoming queen in 1983. She played basketball, softball and volleyball and was a cheerleader in school.

James, who ran unopposed for the seat most recently held by former councilman and former Mayor David McFarland, said she wants to focus on the future development of Hartsville.

“I want to help unify people as we work to solve some of the problems facing our community,” she said. “I’m hoping to make a difference.”

James attended her first council meeting Nov. 10, when she was sworn in just one week after her election. Then she got down to business with other council members, Hartsville’s new Mayor Mel Pennington and city staff during a day-long working retreat Nov. 20.

“It was a very eye-opening experience,” she said. “The retreat afforded me an opportunity to familiarize myself with many of the issues facing the city.”

It also gave her an opportunity to see and reflect on the growth Hartsville has experienced over the last 10 to 15 years, James said.

“These are things that we should be able to build on,” she said. And, she said, it gave her an opportunity to continue to establish a rapport and relationships with other members of council and the city staff.

Since deciding to run, James said she has already heard about other matters important to individual residents, such as trash pickup, keeping streets repaired, vacant lots and abandoned buildings.

“These issues are real for people,” she said. “I think people want to have a sense of trust in their leadership.”

Residents, James said, must also be willing to become a part of the solution to the community’s problems.

“People need to come out to the meetings and be a part of the process,” she said. “That may be our biggest challenge. It should involve everyone.”

— The (Hartsville) Messenger’s Jim Faile can be reached at (843) 332-6545.