August 15, 2023 • 22 mins
Imagine living in a town where every corner holds a piece of history, where every brick tells a story, and where the future holds beauty and growth. Allow us to introduce you to Dickie Miler - a passionate real estate businessman, a candidate running for the Mayor of Summerville, and a man who holds the town’s heritage close to his heart. Let's journey through his rich family history in real estate and public service and learn about his unique relationship-building qualities that have shaped his leadership roles at church, the YMCA, and within the community.
As you listen, you'll get a glimpse into Dickie’s vision for Summerville's future - a vision that marries the town's charm with growth and development. Hear about his plans to sidewalk the district, move power lines underground, and introduce an array of shops, boutiques, and eateries. A second town square, you ask? Yes, that's part of his blueprint too! Dickie's commitment to preserving Summerville's ambiance while fostering connectivity and walkability is bound to inspire. His dream to create a paradise for future generations while upholding the spirit of community is truly worth hearing about. Tune in and be a part of this fascinating conversation!
Thank you for listening! Please contact me if I can ever be of service:
Roni Haskell
www.thatSCrealestatechick.com
843.297.1935
roni.haskell@kw.com
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
I'm joined today by Dickie Myler, who's running for
the Mayor of Somerville, andthis is for the Love of Real
Estate podcast.
Dickie, thanks for joining.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Oh, Ronnie, thank you for having me.
It's great being here Well it'san honor.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
So we know each other socially and through business.
You're a real estate agent.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
In fact, you own a whole brokerage here in
Somerville.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
I had the pleasure to be doing this for a long time,
ronnie, but we started my otherproperties in 1992.
So if you do the math, it's 31years doing that.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
You got me beat.
I'm 21 years into the business.
We both love this community andyou have gotten quite a name
for yourself.
You've also pulled some of yourfamily into your business and
your love for real estate aswell, right, yes?
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Well, ronnie, it's a bittersweet thing, it's a love
hate thing.
Actually, debbie and I workedtogether, along with my daughter
and son-in-law and my sisterand my brother and several years
ago, had my uncle and my fatherthere too.
So at the end of the day,regardless of what happened, we
can honestly say I love you.
(01:12):
Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow,but the first sometimes would
fly, I don't mind telling you.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
Well, I commend you and your family because it
really shows the family unitthat you guys have created for
yourself.
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
My father got involved in real estate in 1972
and I think we all kind of tooka page off of his love for real
estate.
But it wasn't really the loveof the real estate, it was the
love of Somerville and you cansee that in great real estate
agents today.
Like yourself and others, theylove the community.
Speaker 1 (01:43):
We love the community .
Speaker 2 (01:44):
We love introducing other people to the community.
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
This morning I spoke with a mutual friend of ours,
but she is a strong sponsor forDickie Myler for Mayor, so I
asked her what is it about,myler, that you are really?
Why do you stand behind him?
And a few things that she saidabout that was you have a unique
(02:11):
quality as a relationshipbuilder.
You make people feel like theyare the only one in the room
when you're talking with people.
You love this town.
You have a differentperspective.
You are a Christ follower.
Experience and qualities inleadership, such as your church,
st Paul's, and for years at theYMCA, and just a real leader
(02:34):
that looks at problems and isable to help make decisions that
is best for all partiesinvolved.
I spoke very highly of you.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
Wow, I'm surprised my wife said all that to you.
The truth, what in your mind?
I know Well.
Let me just say this I'mflattered by any kind of words
of encouragement and affirmation, but reality is, when you love
something, it's easy to do whatyou do.
I don't care if it's a personalrelationship or the love of the
Lord, your community ornonprofit, and somehow.
(03:08):
I think we learned that from myparents.
My mother was raised a Mormon,by the way, but she always had a
huge sense of family and givingand she taught that all of us
as young kids.
And of course, dad, being bornand raised here, his love of
others would just kind of soobvious.
(03:29):
In fact, ronnie went he was atthe peak of his real estate
career.
All of his customers he wouldbring home to meet mother.
It would.
They'd break bread together,and so every customer became
friends and we saw that it wasmodeled and so we said that's
what life's all about, and sotherefore we have always seen my
(03:52):
business, whether it's what Ido as a profession in real
estate or serving others, I seeit as a ministry, whether it's a
housing ministry or socialministry or given ministry, and
therefore it's effortless.
I hate to say that but itreally is, and I know you feel
the same thing.
You can't out give the giver.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
Yeah, that is so true , we are in a relationship
business and it's a reallyfortunate thing.
It just happens to me that ourskill set is it may be in real
estate, right, but we are arelationship focused, and so
that is evident.
If anybody that meets you, theythere's a strong connection,
there's a strong connection.
(04:30):
So, um, I commend you for that.
Uh, you do have, as youmentioned, a long history,
family history here inSomerville, and you've, um,
raised your four daughters inthis town.
You got me beat by one.
I was afraid if I had a fourthI might have another girl, so I
stopped.
But you went for it.
You had four girls and they are, um, they are all raised and
(04:52):
very successful in their ownright.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
Well, thank you for sharing that.
But but Ronnie Debbie's OBGYNand I love this guy, dr Victor
Weinstein, he told me.
He said Dickie, you can haveseven kids, but they're all
going to be girls.
So we, so we weren't trying tohave another son.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
You know what I mean.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
So we just had children and boy.
By the way, the girls are, um,they're a gift, they're a joy,
and they have stretched me as aguy.
Um, I can play Barbie with thebest of them, you know.
I can do hair, Um, and I see adifferent side of life, as
supposed to have just a bunch ofguys.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
Um, a little softer, A little softer side and
emotions.
You know we have to besensitive to that.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
Yes, no, I don't weep , and I don't weep and moan like
you all the time.
But I do have a little sensitiveside to me, but you know what
I'm talking about, um the familyheritage here.
My great great grandfather wasnamed Edward Hutchinson, who was
the first intendant ofSomerville, and that was just a
fancy word for mayor.
But it wasn't until 1900 thatthey changed the term to mayor,
(05:59):
and my great grandfather, danMyler, was the first mayor of
Somerville.
So we've had a history ofalways being involved.
In fact, uh, hutchinson squares, namely after my great great
grandfather, edward Hutchinson.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
What a legacy.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (06:14):
Now you get the honor to to run on a platform, Um, so
that you too can hopefullyserve as mayor of this town.
Yes, your platform, as Iunderstand it, is preserve,
protect and promote that iscorrect.
Tell me what that means to you.
Why is that your platform?
Speaker 2 (06:31):
The platform um has the three P's, which is preserve
, protect and promote, uh,underscored with the three T's,
which is trust, transparency andteamwork.
And the way I see this teambuilding like in real estate,
like in anything, uh, you haveto build a trust relationship
with those you work with or for,and once that happens, then
(06:52):
some kind of synergy happenswhere really a common goal is
met and great things can happen.
And what I believe that thissummer of this little town we
have called summer of the flowertown of the pines is it is, in
my opinion, the greatest town inSouth Carolina.
It's the Jew to the littlecountry, it's an oasis that
everybody feels.
(07:12):
They love it.
It's a sense of place, um, andit has a community pride that,
um, you don't see, it, see, in alot of towns anymore.
I'm not talking bad about anyother town, cause we have dear
friends and family, and a lot ofthem, but summer of it is a
special place.
Therefore, I want to protect andpreserve that feel, that
ambiance, and you do that bymaking sure that the people
(07:36):
still feel the connectedness andalso the town has a sense, a
look that still speaks town,even though we're 55,000 plus,
as you well know, we're theeighth largest city in South
Carolina, so we're not Mayberry,but that may very feel as
special.
And therefore that's theplatform is to preserve and
(07:56):
protect that some of thebuildings, some of the height
restrictions, some of the otherareas that we have.
But also I want to promote thistown by increasing the downtown
walkability of the historicdistrict.
We need more shops, we needmore wine bars, we need more
boutiques, we need a, we need aseveral more restaurants.
(08:17):
So my plan as I promote thistown is to go right across the
railroad tracks into the nextblock and make that the second
town square, and we've got abeautiful vision of that that I
think the town will love andalso something that our
grandchildren will want to comeand stay.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
Yeah, I think that's the key component is building
families but then retaining thechildren into this town.
Well, that's interesting thatyou're talking about the
downtown kind of growing outward, because there's great
potential for that.
I think that the roads, theinfrastructure here within the
(08:57):
town of Somerville and then thegreater area of Dorchester,
berkeley, county, becauseSomerville, even though it's
comprised, you know, you'rerunning for a seat on the town
level, but really it's veryimpactful for the whole
community at large of Somerville, which does span across really
into three counties, but twovastly between Dorchester and
(09:18):
Berkeley, which I understandBerkeley is the second fastest
growing county, only next toHorry County right now.
But so you've got thisexpansive growth.
Technology, manufacturing,hospitality are all feeding into
that growth and with it peoplewant that sense of community.
That's what I sell all the timeand you do too in your
(09:39):
brokerage of real estate.
But people who want to come here, they hear about it, they tell
their friends about it andthere's been a huge migration
into this area.
But with it comesresponsibility for growth.
Now, thankfully we've gotBerlin G Meyers that is underway
.
That's gonna alleviate a lot ofburden off of Main Street
(10:01):
coming through the heart of town.
But there's gotta be continuedand I feel like some of this has
been from my perspective.
My opinion is that it's beendelayed and we've gotta catch up
with where the growth is today.
Speaker 2 (10:15):
Absolutely.
It's kind of funny that youmentioned infrastructure,
because that really is my mainplatform is what can we do to
relieve this horrific traffic inthis town?
You know congestion of trafficis not just congestion.
There are several factors thatit plays a major impact on a
(10:36):
community's health and welfare.
It drains the economy forpeople who are stuck in traffic
late to work, so theproductivity is less.
It hinders the emergencyvehicles to getting from point A
to point B.
There's a snarl, in fact.
There's studies.
It's even a mental healthproblem that affects a lot of
people.
You've seen more road rage andthose kind of things, but I want
to eliminate the word.
(10:57):
I love Somerville, but I wannaeliminate the word but, and of
course, the but is alwaysfollowed by.
There's so much traffic and wehave a marvelous plan in fact.
In fact, I've got a team thatwe call ourselves the traffic
czars and Roddy, I'm telling youright now there are things we
can do about seven things thatare gonna relieve a lot of
traffic.
The Berlin G yes, huge help.
(11:18):
The next in Parkway, throughMaple Street yes, big help.
But lots more has to be doneand we're gonna do it.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
Yeah, well, you were talking about connectivity and
the walkability of town.
Those of us that are runners,those people that have recently
I had an incoming buyer whowanted to buy in town but there
was no sidewalk, you know andpeople that have young families
they want to be able to safelywalk from point A to point B.
(11:46):
They wanna get to the parksthat are so beautiful here now,
and so they want to haveaccessibility to easily get into
the shops and the boutiques andthe dining and the wine store,
all of this that is now hostedin town and will continue to
grow.
We've gotta be able to getpeople here, and sometimes that
(12:07):
means outside of cars, right?
So if they can bring their golfcarts, if they can bring their
bikes and get around town, ifyou can get from downtown
Somerville easily and safely,with a widened walkway out to
next in, you know, just startingto really connect, allowing
next in residents to be able tocome and to town and shop and
dine here, which is now feedinginto the town, would be great as
(12:31):
well.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
Well, you speak so wisely about that?
Because, even though we havebeautiful parks, they're not
connected at all.
Speaker 1 (12:39):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (12:40):
And walkability is a major problem.
So part of our platform is tosidewalk on chi� fork with the
entire district, to connect itall the way from downtown all
the way through next, and partof that will be the new passive
part that we hope and pray to doon Gadsden property.
Also, anybody who's done anykind of quality studies realizes
(13:02):
that sidewalks, bicycle paths,those are quality of life issues
.
It draws people into it, itmakes a family have a sense and
those are things we want to doNow.
Many administrations in townhave known that but have failed
to do it.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
It takes passion and energy and drive and total
commitment to do it, and I amyes, and being able to cooperate
and collaborate with otherpeople, because there's a lot
that goes into being ablegetting power lines underground,
which is a passion of mine, tobeautify the city, but also
(13:36):
getting the sidewalks widenedand nice and level, and being
able to have all of that we justtalked with our town engineer
and, by the way, they haveappropriated the funds to put
all the wiring underground intown, not in the residential
district yet.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
But that is step number two, Because think about
this Every time there's a badstorm we spend thousands of
dollars trimming the trees andbutchering our pre-canopy so
that's the plan.
Is put that underground?
Expensive, yes.
Long term it's a benefit.
Speaker 1 (14:11):
Well it is, and we preserve in our town or field,
it is Well more parking.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
Yes, I got a great plan for that.
And listen, I know this is verycontroversial, but why not?
All right?
Part of my platform is that wehave to have another downtown
parking garage and I plan to dothat on the YMCA parking lot.
It's already a parking lot I'vealready talked a lot of the
stakeholders to be perfect.
Plus, it opens up the nextquadrant of downtown shopping
(14:38):
which is right across the RiverTrack and we've got a great plan
for that.
We want to put the new countylibrary on that track.
We want to move the museumwhich is buried somewhere on
that track.
We want to build a children'sinterpretive museum.
Put it on that track.
Put a couple of wine bars inthere, brewery, some shops
anchored by the old train depotrestaurant.
(15:00):
It's going to be beautiful.
In the middle is going to be abig fountain with pass and
greenery and canopy space.
Just think about a second townsquare.
It's going to make Somervillereally so dynamic, but not lose
its appeal.
And all those buildings, theLord willing, will have the same
kind of look as the Timrodtlibrary.
You'll still feel, wow, it'snew but it's not.
(15:22):
So those are things we're gonnado to make this town beautiful,
accessible and, yes, to do thatwe have to work together and I
really believe that one of mygifts and Lord, I'm not bragging
, I'm just saying one of mygifts is to build teamwork, to
work with others, to understandthat we make things happen.
(15:42):
Therefore, I have greatconnections with Dream, downtown
Dream, with the Chamber ofCommerce, great friends on
County Council and then with newpeople coming in to Town
Council, by the way, and a newadministration.
I really believe the best daysare so much in front of us.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
It's exciting.
It is exciting.
Speaker 2 (16:02):
I look forward.
I want you to be excited.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
Well, it is.
It is exciting.
I mean, I live here, I'mraising my family here, I do
business here.
This office that I hope to openis here, and it's all here with
a purpose and an intent veryintentional.
I travel all over, like you doevery day, right, but this is my
home base.
This is where my love andpassion is is right here in the
(16:26):
heart of Town.
So what do you envision Town ofSomerville looking like in 25
years, when your grandkids aresitting here doing business and
operations?
What do you want this town tolook like?
Speaker 2 (16:41):
I want them to wake up every day and say, wow, we
live in heaven, a place ofparadise, a sliver of heaven in
paradise.
And you know, what makes ithappen is commitment, passion
and drive and the desire toleave a legacy behind us that
honors them, but us as well.
(17:02):
And let me just say this oncesomething is lost, it's gone,
and that's why I'm so passionateabout this 500-growth main
street, about preserving thatfacade over there at the old
hospital that has so muchhistory.
The Town of Somerville dripswith history, culturally wise,
from the black community, fromthe Native American community,
(17:24):
from the old brick kilns we hadhere.
I mean, once that's gone, youcan never get it back.
So I want to preserve that kindof history and feel so
everybody would think thatthey've got the most beautiful
small town in the state and itwill look something like it is
today.
Speaker 1 (17:40):
Yeah, that's right.
Speaking of preserving somehistory, I was at your home the
other day.
And I was sitting there and Isaid what is that building?
And you have a little piece ofhistory right in your backyard.
Tell me about that.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
When we bought the property 23 years ago, I didn't
know it was there.
Speaker 1 (17:57):
It was so grown over, it was so overgrown over.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
But what we found out it is an old servants quarter
that was part of the old wearingplantation.
That was a gift by King Georgeback in the late 1700s.
Now they have dated this andwho was they?
The Preservation Society fromthe States has come down and
they have dated this to 1837.
And it's a two-story servantscabin and so we're in it.
(18:25):
It's just amazing thatsomething is still standing and
there's a lot of interest inthat.
In fact, I met with Dr Ed Westjust last week and he's bringing
another archeological dig teamcoming in there just to find out
more about the history ofSomerville.
But there's a story that wedon't have enough time to talk
about.
But that is part of who we were.
(18:46):
But it was part of a lovingfamily who embraced all that
were there.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
It's really cool.
Well, we cannot erase history.
We learn from it, right?
Speaker 2 (18:55):
Amen.
Speaker 1 (18:57):
And part of that is preserving and keeping intact
those memories, and so I thinkthe overgrowth helped preserve
it to the point that it is today, but I look forward to it.
Speaker 2 (19:08):
Don't talk bad about my housekeeping and yard work
now, Roddy, but let me say thisabout history History is a
wonderful vehicle to unitepeople, not divide.
Now people try to twist it tosay it's some kind of bad thing.
No-transcript how we got here,why we're here, why we think,
what are the factors thatinfluence that?
That's all beautiful stuff andit's our DNA, who we are, and it
(19:32):
helps us in all of our life'sjourney become better people and
better citizens to know wherewe came from.
So I love history and I wantsomeone to always embrace its
proud history.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
The history of this town is what it is.
There's been a lot of good thathappened in this town.
It really has.
There's a huge responsibilityon not just the mayor, because
it's the whole town council,it's the whole county council,
it's the cooperation of all ofthose parties integrated to make
(20:05):
this every year.
Every year, every person that'selected official in this town
has a responsibility to servethis community and help it grow,
and so I'm putting the pressureon you, dickie.
Speaker 2 (20:21):
Well, let me say something.
Thank you, I appreciate that Letme say this also about
collaboration Is that, becauseof the profession that you and I
are in, I've had the privilegeto sell real estate in all the
Tri-Cannery area, and so I'vemet a lot of the stakeholders
not just landowners, but peoplewho work in the communities, the
(20:43):
legislatures, the mayors, allthese kind of people and so I've
already got a great workingrelationship, and they know that
Somerville has to have a mainseat at that table because we
are a major stakeholder in thegrowth of the Tri-Cannery area,
and so I'm excited about thatPressure.
Speaker 1 (21:04):
Well, it's the collaboration, it really is.
Speaker 2 (21:06):
It's building the relationships, it's having the
vision.
Speaker 1 (21:08):
It's sticking to the platform not just saying that
I'm this is what I want tohappen.
It's making a difference and Ilook forward to if, in fact, you
are elected I look forward toseeing what you do with the
visions that you've had, thepeople that are standing behind
you, like the individual I spokewith this morning, and just
getting things done in this town.
Speaker 2 (21:31):
Well, I really appreciate that, and the Lord,
willing in his favor, shinesupon me.
That will happen.
In the meantime, though, we runan excellent campaign, because
those that run it against me arefantastic.
People have the highest respectfor everybody.
Anybody wants to serve the townin any capacity I have the
highest respect for, becausetheir love for the town is great
as well, but together we'regoing to do great things, so I'm
(21:53):
looking forward to that.
Speaker 1 (21:54):
Dickie, if people want to find out more about you
and your platforms, how can theydo that?
Speaker 2 (21:59):
Very easy.
All you have to go iswwwmylarformaircom.
They'll tell you all about it.
Speaker 1 (22:06):
Good, please do, dickie.
Thanks for joining me thismorning.
Speaker 2 (22:09):
I appreciate you.
Well, ronnie.
Thank you for having me.
Great seeing you.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
You bet For those watching on YouTube.
Make sure to click the bell soyou can be notified when more
podcasts drop.
See you next time.
I'm joined today by Dickie Myler, who's running for
the Mayor of Somerville, andthis is for the Love of Real
Estate podcast.
Dickie, thanks for joining.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Oh, Ronnie, thank you for having me.
It's great being here Well it'san honor.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
So we know each other socially and through business.
You're a real estate agent.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
In fact, you own a whole brokerage here in
Somerville.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
I had the pleasure to be doing this for a long time,
ronnie, but we started my otherproperties in 1992.
So if you do the math, it's 31years doing that.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
You got me beat.
I'm 21 years into the business.
We both love this community andyou have gotten quite a name
for yourself.
You've also pulled some of yourfamily into your business and
your love for real estate aswell, right, yes?
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Well, ronnie, it's a bittersweet thing, it's a love
hate thing.
Actually, debbie and I workedtogether, along with my daughter
and son-in-law and my sisterand my brother and several years
ago, had my uncle and my fatherthere too.
So at the end of the day,regardless of what happened, we
can honestly say I love you.
(01:12):
Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow,but the first sometimes would
fly, I don't mind telling you.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
Well, I commend you and your family because it
really shows the family unitthat you guys have created for
yourself.
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
My father got involved in real estate in 1972
and I think we all kind of tooka page off of his love for real
estate.
But it wasn't really the loveof the real estate, it was the
love of Somerville and you cansee that in great real estate
agents today.
Like yourself and others, theylove the community.
Speaker 1 (01:43):
We love the community .
Speaker 2 (01:44):
We love introducing other people to the community.
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
This morning I spoke with a mutual friend of ours,
but she is a strong sponsor forDickie Myler for Mayor, so I
asked her what is it about,myler, that you are really?
Why do you stand behind him?
And a few things that she saidabout that was you have a unique
(02:11):
quality as a relationshipbuilder.
You make people feel like theyare the only one in the room
when you're talking with people.
You love this town.
You have a differentperspective.
You are a Christ follower.
Experience and qualities inleadership, such as your church,
st Paul's, and for years at theYMCA, and just a real leader
(02:34):
that looks at problems and isable to help make decisions that
is best for all partiesinvolved.
I spoke very highly of you.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
Wow, I'm surprised my wife said all that to you.
The truth, what in your mind?
I know Well.
Let me just say this I'mflattered by any kind of words
of encouragement and affirmation, but reality is, when you love
something, it's easy to do whatyou do.
I don't care if it's a personalrelationship or the love of the
Lord, your community ornonprofit, and somehow.
(03:08):
I think we learned that from myparents.
My mother was raised a Mormon,by the way, but she always had a
huge sense of family and givingand she taught that all of us
as young kids.
And of course, dad, being bornand raised here, his love of
others would just kind of soobvious.
(03:29):
In fact, ronnie went he was atthe peak of his real estate
career.
All of his customers he wouldbring home to meet mother.
It would.
They'd break bread together,and so every customer became
friends and we saw that it wasmodeled and so we said that's
what life's all about, and sotherefore we have always seen my
(03:52):
business, whether it's what Ido as a profession in real
estate or serving others, I seeit as a ministry, whether it's a
housing ministry or socialministry or given ministry, and
therefore it's effortless.
I hate to say that but itreally is, and I know you feel
the same thing.
You can't out give the giver.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
Yeah, that is so true , we are in a relationship
business and it's a reallyfortunate thing.
It just happens to me that ourskill set is it may be in real
estate, right, but we are arelationship focused, and so
that is evident.
If anybody that meets you, theythere's a strong connection,
there's a strong connection.
(04:30):
So, um, I commend you for that.
Uh, you do have, as youmentioned, a long history,
family history here inSomerville, and you've, um,
raised your four daughters inthis town.
You got me beat by one.
I was afraid if I had a fourthI might have another girl, so I
stopped.
But you went for it.
You had four girls and they are, um, they are all raised and
(04:52):
very successful in their ownright.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
Well, thank you for sharing that.
But but Ronnie Debbie's OBGYNand I love this guy, dr Victor
Weinstein, he told me.
He said Dickie, you can haveseven kids, but they're all
going to be girls.
So we, so we weren't trying tohave another son.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
You know what I mean.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
So we just had children and boy.
By the way, the girls are, um,they're a gift, they're a joy,
and they have stretched me as aguy.
Um, I can play Barbie with thebest of them, you know.
I can do hair, Um, and I see adifferent side of life, as
supposed to have just a bunch ofguys.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
Um, a little softer, A little softer side and
emotions.
You know we have to besensitive to that.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
Yes, no, I don't weep , and I don't weep and moan like
you all the time.
But I do have a little sensitiveside to me, but you know what
I'm talking about, um the familyheritage here.
My great great grandfather wasnamed Edward Hutchinson, who was
the first intendant ofSomerville, and that was just a
fancy word for mayor.
But it wasn't until 1900 thatthey changed the term to mayor,
(05:59):
and my great grandfather, danMyler, was the first mayor of
Somerville.
So we've had a history ofalways being involved.
In fact, uh, hutchinson squares, namely after my great great
grandfather, edward Hutchinson.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
What a legacy.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (06:14):
Now you get the honor to to run on a platform, Um, so
that you too can hopefullyserve as mayor of this town.
Yes, your platform, as Iunderstand it, is preserve,
protect and promote that iscorrect.
Tell me what that means to you.
Why is that your platform?
Speaker 2 (06:31):
The platform um has the three P's, which is preserve
, protect and promote, uh,underscored with the three T's,
which is trust, transparency andteamwork.
And the way I see this teambuilding like in real estate,
like in anything, uh, you haveto build a trust relationship
with those you work with or for,and once that happens, then
(06:52):
some kind of synergy happenswhere really a common goal is
met and great things can happen.
And what I believe that thissummer of this little town we
have called summer of the flowertown of the pines is it is, in
my opinion, the greatest town inSouth Carolina.
It's the Jew to the littlecountry, it's an oasis that
everybody feels.
(07:12):
They love it.
It's a sense of place, um, andit has a community pride that,
um, you don't see, it, see, in alot of towns anymore.
I'm not talking bad about anyother town, cause we have dear
friends and family, and a lot ofthem, but summer of it is a
special place.
Therefore, I want to protect andpreserve that feel, that
ambiance, and you do that bymaking sure that the people
(07:36):
still feel the connectedness andalso the town has a sense, a
look that still speaks town,even though we're 55,000 plus,
as you well know, we're theeighth largest city in South
Carolina, so we're not Mayberry,but that may very feel as
special.
And therefore that's theplatform is to preserve and
(07:56):
protect that some of thebuildings, some of the height
restrictions, some of the otherareas that we have.
But also I want to promote thistown by increasing the downtown
walkability of the historicdistrict.
We need more shops, we needmore wine bars, we need more
boutiques, we need a, we need aseveral more restaurants.
(08:17):
So my plan as I promote thistown is to go right across the
railroad tracks into the nextblock and make that the second
town square, and we've got abeautiful vision of that that I
think the town will love andalso something that our
grandchildren will want to comeand stay.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
Yeah, I think that's the key component is building
families but then retaining thechildren into this town.
Well, that's interesting thatyou're talking about the
downtown kind of growing outward, because there's great
potential for that.
I think that the roads, theinfrastructure here within the
(08:57):
town of Somerville and then thegreater area of Dorchester,
berkeley, county, becauseSomerville, even though it's
comprised, you know, you'rerunning for a seat on the town
level, but really it's veryimpactful for the whole
community at large of Somerville, which does span across really
into three counties, but twovastly between Dorchester and
(09:18):
Berkeley, which I understandBerkeley is the second fastest
growing county, only next toHorry County right now.
But so you've got thisexpansive growth.
Technology, manufacturing,hospitality are all feeding into
that growth and with it peoplewant that sense of community.
That's what I sell all the timeand you do too in your
(09:39):
brokerage of real estate.
But people who want to come here, they hear about it, they tell
their friends about it andthere's been a huge migration
into this area.
But with it comesresponsibility for growth.
Now, thankfully we've gotBerlin G Meyers that is underway
.
That's gonna alleviate a lot ofburden off of Main Street
(10:01):
coming through the heart of town.
But there's gotta be continuedand I feel like some of this has
been from my perspective.
My opinion is that it's beendelayed and we've gotta catch up
with where the growth is today.
Speaker 2 (10:15):
Absolutely.
It's kind of funny that youmentioned infrastructure,
because that really is my mainplatform is what can we do to
relieve this horrific traffic inthis town?
You know congestion of trafficis not just congestion.
There are several factors thatit plays a major impact on a
(10:36):
community's health and welfare.
It drains the economy forpeople who are stuck in traffic
late to work, so theproductivity is less.
It hinders the emergencyvehicles to getting from point A
to point B.
There's a snarl, in fact.
There's studies.
It's even a mental healthproblem that affects a lot of
people.
You've seen more road rage andthose kind of things, but I want
to eliminate the word.
(10:57):
I love Somerville, but I wannaeliminate the word but, and of
course, the but is alwaysfollowed by.
There's so much traffic and wehave a marvelous plan in fact.
In fact, I've got a team thatwe call ourselves the traffic
czars and Roddy, I'm telling youright now there are things we
can do about seven things thatare gonna relieve a lot of
traffic.
The Berlin G yes, huge help.
(11:18):
The next in Parkway, throughMaple Street yes, big help.
But lots more has to be doneand we're gonna do it.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
Yeah, well, you were talking about connectivity and
the walkability of town.
Those of us that are runners,those people that have recently
I had an incoming buyer whowanted to buy in town but there
was no sidewalk, you know andpeople that have young families
they want to be able to safelywalk from point A to point B.
(11:46):
They wanna get to the parksthat are so beautiful here now,
and so they want to haveaccessibility to easily get into
the shops and the boutiques andthe dining and the wine store,
all of this that is now hostedin town and will continue to
grow.
We've gotta be able to getpeople here, and sometimes that
(12:07):
means outside of cars, right?
So if they can bring their golfcarts, if they can bring their
bikes and get around town, ifyou can get from downtown
Somerville easily and safely,with a widened walkway out to
next in, you know, just startingto really connect, allowing
next in residents to be able tocome and to town and shop and
dine here, which is now feedinginto the town, would be great as
(12:31):
well.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
Well, you speak so wisely about that?
Because, even though we havebeautiful parks, they're not
connected at all.
Speaker 1 (12:39):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (12:40):
And walkability is a major problem.
So part of our platform is tosidewalk on chi� fork with the
entire district, to connect itall the way from downtown all
the way through next, and partof that will be the new passive
part that we hope and pray to doon Gadsden property.
Also, anybody who's done anykind of quality studies realizes
(13:02):
that sidewalks, bicycle paths,those are quality of life issues
.
It draws people into it, itmakes a family have a sense and
those are things we want to doNow.
Many administrations in townhave known that but have failed
to do it.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
It takes passion and energy and drive and total
commitment to do it, and I amyes, and being able to cooperate
and collaborate with otherpeople, because there's a lot
that goes into being ablegetting power lines underground,
which is a passion of mine, tobeautify the city, but also
(13:36):
getting the sidewalks widenedand nice and level, and being
able to have all of that we justtalked with our town engineer
and, by the way, they haveappropriated the funds to put
all the wiring underground intown, not in the residential
district yet.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
But that is step number two, Because think about
this Every time there's a badstorm we spend thousands of
dollars trimming the trees andbutchering our pre-canopy so
that's the plan.
Is put that underground?
Expensive, yes.
Long term it's a benefit.
Speaker 1 (14:11):
Well it is, and we preserve in our town or field,
it is Well more parking.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
Yes, I got a great plan for that.
And listen, I know this is verycontroversial, but why not?
All right?
Part of my platform is that wehave to have another downtown
parking garage and I plan to dothat on the YMCA parking lot.
It's already a parking lot I'vealready talked a lot of the
stakeholders to be perfect.
Plus, it opens up the nextquadrant of downtown shopping
(14:38):
which is right across the RiverTrack and we've got a great plan
for that.
We want to put the new countylibrary on that track.
We want to move the museumwhich is buried somewhere on
that track.
We want to build a children'sinterpretive museum.
Put it on that track.
Put a couple of wine bars inthere, brewery, some shops
anchored by the old train depotrestaurant.
(15:00):
It's going to be beautiful.
In the middle is going to be abig fountain with pass and
greenery and canopy space.
Just think about a second townsquare.
It's going to make Somervillereally so dynamic, but not lose
its appeal.
And all those buildings, theLord willing, will have the same
kind of look as the Timrodtlibrary.
You'll still feel, wow, it'snew but it's not.
(15:22):
So those are things we're gonnado to make this town beautiful,
accessible and, yes, to do thatwe have to work together and I
really believe that one of mygifts and Lord, I'm not bragging
, I'm just saying one of mygifts is to build teamwork, to
work with others, to understandthat we make things happen.
(15:42):
Therefore, I have greatconnections with Dream, downtown
Dream, with the Chamber ofCommerce, great friends on
County Council and then with newpeople coming in to Town
Council, by the way, and a newadministration.
I really believe the best daysare so much in front of us.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
It's exciting.
It is exciting.
Speaker 2 (16:02):
I look forward.
I want you to be excited.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
Well, it is.
It is exciting.
I mean, I live here, I'mraising my family here, I do
business here.
This office that I hope to openis here, and it's all here with
a purpose and an intent veryintentional.
I travel all over, like you doevery day, right, but this is my
home base.
This is where my love andpassion is is right here in the
(16:26):
heart of Town.
So what do you envision Town ofSomerville looking like in 25
years, when your grandkids aresitting here doing business and
operations?
What do you want this town tolook like?
Speaker 2 (16:41):
I want them to wake up every day and say, wow, we
live in heaven, a place ofparadise, a sliver of heaven in
paradise.
And you know, what makes ithappen is commitment, passion
and drive and the desire toleave a legacy behind us that
honors them, but us as well.
(17:02):
And let me just say this oncesomething is lost, it's gone,
and that's why I'm so passionateabout this 500-growth main
street, about preserving thatfacade over there at the old
hospital that has so muchhistory.
The Town of Somerville dripswith history, culturally wise,
from the black community, fromthe Native American community,
(17:24):
from the old brick kilns we hadhere.
I mean, once that's gone, youcan never get it back.
So I want to preserve that kindof history and feel so
everybody would think thatthey've got the most beautiful
small town in the state and itwill look something like it is
today.
Speaker 1 (17:40):
Yeah, that's right.
Speaking of preserving somehistory, I was at your home the
other day.
And I was sitting there and Isaid what is that building?
And you have a little piece ofhistory right in your backyard.
Tell me about that.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
When we bought the property 23 years ago, I didn't
know it was there.
Speaker 1 (17:57):
It was so grown over, it was so overgrown over.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
But what we found out it is an old servants quarter
that was part of the old wearingplantation.
That was a gift by King Georgeback in the late 1700s.
Now they have dated this andwho was they?
The Preservation Society fromthe States has come down and
they have dated this to 1837.
And it's a two-story servantscabin and so we're in it.
(18:25):
It's just amazing thatsomething is still standing and
there's a lot of interest inthat.
In fact, I met with Dr Ed Westjust last week and he's bringing
another archeological dig teamcoming in there just to find out
more about the history ofSomerville.
But there's a story that wedon't have enough time to talk
about.
But that is part of who we were.
(18:46):
But it was part of a lovingfamily who embraced all that
were there.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
It's really cool.
Well, we cannot erase history.
We learn from it, right?
Speaker 2 (18:55):
Amen.
Speaker 1 (18:57):
And part of that is preserving and keeping intact
those memories, and so I thinkthe overgrowth helped preserve
it to the point that it is today, but I look forward to it.
Speaker 2 (19:08):
Don't talk bad about my housekeeping and yard work
now, Roddy, but let me say thisabout history History is a
wonderful vehicle to unitepeople, not divide.
Now people try to twist it tosay it's some kind of bad thing.
No-transcript how we got here,why we're here, why we think,
what are the factors thatinfluence that?
That's all beautiful stuff andit's our DNA, who we are, and it
(19:32):
helps us in all of our life'sjourney become better people and
better citizens to know wherewe came from.
So I love history and I wantsomeone to always embrace its
proud history.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
The history of this town is what it is.
There's been a lot of good thathappened in this town.
It really has.
There's a huge responsibilityon not just the mayor, because
it's the whole town council,it's the whole county council,
it's the cooperation of all ofthose parties integrated to make
(20:05):
this every year.
Every year, every person that'selected official in this town
has a responsibility to servethis community and help it grow,
and so I'm putting the pressureon you, dickie.
Speaker 2 (20:21):
Well, let me say something.
Thank you, I appreciate that Letme say this also about
collaboration Is that, becauseof the profession that you and I
are in, I've had the privilegeto sell real estate in all the
Tri-Cannery area, and so I'vemet a lot of the stakeholders
not just landowners, but peoplewho work in the communities, the
(20:43):
legislatures, the mayors, allthese kind of people and so I've
already got a great workingrelationship, and they know that
Somerville has to have a mainseat at that table because we
are a major stakeholder in thegrowth of the Tri-Cannery area,
and so I'm excited about thatPressure.
Speaker 1 (21:04):
Well, it's the collaboration, it really is.
Speaker 2 (21:06):
It's building the relationships, it's having the
vision.
Speaker 1 (21:08):
It's sticking to the platform not just saying that
I'm this is what I want tohappen.
It's making a difference and Ilook forward to if, in fact, you
are elected I look forward toseeing what you do with the
visions that you've had, thepeople that are standing behind
you, like the individual I spokewith this morning, and just
getting things done in this town.
Speaker 2 (21:31):
Well, I really appreciate that, and the Lord,
willing in his favor, shinesupon me.
That will happen.
In the meantime, though, we runan excellent campaign, because
those that run it against me arefantastic.
People have the highest respectfor everybody.
Anybody wants to serve the townin any capacity I have the
highest respect for, becausetheir love for the town is great
as well, but together we'regoing to do great things, so I'm
(21:53):
looking forward to that.
Speaker 1 (21:54):
Dickie, if people want to find out more about you
and your platforms, how can theydo that?
Speaker 2 (21:59):
Very easy.
All you have to go iswwwmylarformaircom.
They'll tell you all about it.
Speaker 1 (22:06):
Good, please do, dickie.
Thanks for joining me thismorning.
Speaker 2 (22:09):
I appreciate you.
Well, ronnie.
Thank you for having me.
Great seeing you.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
You bet For those watching on YouTube.
Make sure to click the bell soyou can be notified when more
podcasts drop.
See you next time.
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