School teacher Ronda Adams-Palmer says she is running for the Union County Council District 3 seat to make Union County a place that anyone would be proud to call home.
Adams-Palmer announced Wednesday that she will seek the Republican nomination for the District 3 seat. This will be Adams-Palmer’s first bid for public office and she said she is running for council because of her desire to see her vision of Union County’s future become a reality.
“My primary reason for seeking this seat is I want to share my vision for Union County in hopes that we can grow a county that everyone would be proud to call home,” Adams-Palmer said. “I’m a single mother with two children who would love nothing more than to see them make their homes here with their families someday.”
That future, however, is threatened by what Adams-Palmer said is a complacent attitude that leaves the success the county has experienced in terms of economic development incomplete, depriving the community of the additional benefits it should be getting.
“I’m concerned about complacency within the county,” Adams-Palmer said Wednesday. “The competition gets the upper hand in any market when we grow complacent in our areas of responsibility. For example, neighboring counties can capitalize on their successes when they continue to meet and exceed the expectations of their taxpayers.
“We have industries in this county with more than 50 percent of their management teams commuting daily,” she said. “This is lost revenue for our county because these individuals are paying taxes in other counties. With the exception of maybe purchasing some gas or occasionally lunch expenses, they are investing their salaries in another county. Are we doing all that we can to attract these individuals to our county?”
Adams-Palmer also said that if elected, her first term on council would be her only term if she fails to meet the needs of the county.
“I want to be an ambassador for our county,” Adams-Palmer said. “If, in four years I have not promoted growth and achievement I will abdicate my position.”
A native of Union, Adams-Palmer is a 1989 graduate of Union High School who holds a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from USC Spartanburg, a Masters in Gifted Instruction from Converse College, and will obtain her Educational Specialist in Administration degree from Clemson University in May 2013.
For the past eight years, Adams-Palmer has taught math at Union County High School and prior to that was employed for 12 years at Merit Group in Spartanburg holding, at various times, the positions of service manager, inside sales manager, and procurement.
Adams-Palmer has been involved with a number of local civic organizations including First Steps; Junior Charity League; School Improvement Councils for Foster Park Elementary School and Union County High School; PTA president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer at Buffalo Elementary School; Dixie Girls; and Interact sponsor for the Union Rotary Club. She and her children Haley Allison, 16, and Austin Lane, 11, attend Tabernacle Baptist Church.
The District 3 seat is currently held by councilman Tommy Ford, a Democrat, who announced earlier this month that he will seek a third term.
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