Daniel Prince
Russell will run as a Republican
With the primary elections coming up on June 14, one person has announced his intention to run for the office of Union County Supervisor. Phillip G. Russell says he will run as a Republican for the office, which is currently held by Frank Hart, who has run as a Democrat the previous two elections.
Russell issued a statement saying, “I am a proud resident of Union County and would like to serve as your Union County Supervisor. If elected as your county supervisor, I would begin by improving and increasing communication to Union County citizens, thus providing a high level of transparency. I’d also like to focus on our existing population by ensuring essential county services have the resources they need to serve our citizens.” Russell also said he would support continued industrial and residential recruitment, saying he understands the importance of our need for additional housing and jobs in Union County. He said, “I have always believed that rooftops bring more retail options. Additional housing will add to our county’s attractiveness to potential industrial customers.”
Russell has more than 35 years of public service to the citizens of Union County and the State of South Carolina. He began serving as a volunteer firefighter with Union County in 1987 and continues to this day. He started his career working for 9 years as a City of Union employee working in engineering and mapping, and then spent 20 years with the SC State Fire senior management team. He was the manager of the SC Fire Academy at his retirement in June 2017. While there, he was responsible for a $7.5 million appropriated budget and $2.5 million generated revenue through industrial and municipal fire training. He was responsible for more than 300 full- and part-time state employees. He also served on the SC Emergency Response Team and helped during every state of emergency declaration during his tenure. In 2018, he went back to work with the City of Clinton to reform its municipal fire department after Clinton divided its Public Safety Department into separate fire and police. While there, he built a team from existing department membership and led the department in policy creation and training. He also obtained $500,000 in grants for a new fire engine. He assisted city management in obtaining a bond to upgrade two fire stations and one police department without raising taxes.
Russell lives with his wife of 35 years, Renee, at 125 Debbie Lane in Union. She is a retired teacher who continues to serve as a certified teaching substitute for the Union County School District. Their daughter, Megan, works at Milliken Chemical-Allen Plant as Environmental Control, and serves as an E-5 with the SC National Guard, assigned to Transportation Battalion in Hampton County.