Greenville County Council District 23 - Meet Your Candidates for the 2026 Democratic Primary

Meet the primary candidates for Greenville County Council Candidates District 23 in the Democratic primary on Tuesday, June 9: Angela Aiken, Alan Mitchell, and David C. Mitchell. Your vote is so important for the 2026 election! Please take a listen and share with your neighbors.

How the interviews worked:

All candidates received the same question at the time of their invitation to join us, and they were given 10 minutes for their interview. Candidates were allowed to bring along a companion, such as a campaign manager, family member, or friend, and to record our session themselves. There were no edits made to the interview.

Candidate links:

• Angela Aiken

• Alan Mitchell

• David C. Mitchell

Introduction to the District 23 Primary

Katy Smith:

On Tuesday, June 9th, South Carolina holds its statewide primary elections. I'm Katy Smith with Greater Good Greenville, and over the next several weeks, we are pleased to bring you interviews with most of the candidates in contested races that are in Greenville County.

Today, we feature candidates for the Democratic primary for Greenville County Council District 23, which generally covers central Greenville County, including Nicholtown, Downtown Greenville, and West Greenville. Whichever candidate wins in June will essentially be the new county council member as they have no opposition from another party's candidate in November.

The Role and Importance of Primary Elections

But first, a quick primer on why primaries are so important. The statewide primaries are when political parties choose their candidates to be on the ballot in the general election on November 3rd. This primary on June 9th will be for important offices like State House of Representatives, Governor, State Superintendent of Education, Congress, one of our U.S. Senate seats, and our Greenville County Council.

Some of these primary races will determine the winner in November because no one from a different party has filed to run, meaning that practically speaking, the June 9th primary is the election. In South Carolina, we don't register to vote by party and all primaries are open, meaning you're free to vote in either the Republican or Democratic primary ballot. 

Of course, there are other parties, but they don't have a primary in our state. We did an episode that explains how all this works and we'll link it in the show notes for you. If you want to see which district you live in and who will be on your ballot, you can check out the links on the episode page for a sample ballot from the South Carolina Election Commission. 

All of the details on how these interviews worked are at the end of the episode and in the show notes. But in short, know that each candidate had the same three questions and 10 timed minutes to respond. To find links to each candidate's campaign information, please check the show notes. 

Today, we feature candidates for the Democratic primary for Greenville County Council District 23: Angela Aiken, Alan Mitchell, and David C. Mitchell. First up, alphabetically, is Angela Aiken.

Meet Angela Aiken: Greenville County Council District 23 Candidate

Katy Smith:

I'm pleased to be joined by Angela Aiken, who is a candidate for Greenville County Council District 23 in the Democratic primary. Thanks so much for being here.

Angela Aiken:

Thank you for having me.

Katy Smith:

Well, tell us about yourself and why you're running for office.

Angela Aiken:

I'll be glad to. My name is Angela Aiken. I was born and raised here in Greenville. I've been here all my life and my family also. I am a mother of three, and I've always been a servant and a voice for my community. 

My mother was a very smart woman. As a child, I would see her watching the news and reading the Greenville newspaper faithfully to stay informed about the current events. Voting for her was something that we saw as a duty. She took it very serious. Her vote was her voice, and she made sure that all of her children knew what the power of voting was. So I was exposed at a very early age, just watching my mom.

On election days, she would get up. Everybody was of age because at 18 we had to go and register. So we would get up early that morning, get our baths, and pile up in cars. My family would go and we'd vote as a family. 

After we left from voting, we would always go out to eat breakfast, just sit around and talk about what was going on and how it felt. And the different things that different ones had to face while they were in the booth. At that time, it was the booth and paper ballot.

That was traditional for us and I looked forward to it every year. After raising my kids, I kept that same tradition. I had three rules in my house: you had to love God, you had to graduate and have a high school diploma, and you must register and be an active voter. 

The only way you could remain in my house after you turned 18 years old was that you had to work and you had to vote if you wasn't going off to college. Luckily, all my kids were able to have an opportunity to go off to college if that was something they wanted to do.

I'm running for county council because as long as I've been here, been a lifelong resident of Greenville, I watched as certain communities, including my own, get desecrated and neglected. My firstborn child was born blind without any eyeballs.

As you can imagine, his safety was my top priority and my top concern as a young mother. The homes I've lived in in Washington Heights, the roads are dangerous with blind curves and hills. I petitioned the county for years to get a speed bump and just a sign that said "blind child near my house" in the area. Forty-three years later, I still have not received a speed bump or a blind sign. 

To give you a little bit of history of my neighborhood in Washington Heights, it's one of the first neighborhoods where blacks could own homes in Greenville County. Our neighborhoods were built by the hands of community members and leaders from all over Greenville. 

Mayor Max Heller, William G. Sirrine, all these people, they didn't do anything but chip in $25, $50, or come to the events to give support, let us know that we were accepted and we were part of community and part of the government and that we mattered.

We have Happy Hearts Park, where we used to play as kids. I kind of get a little emotional about that. Because as kids at Washington Heights, Happy Hearts Park, we couldn't go to pools. So we had a creek. And the elders of the community operated the center. 

They watched over us while our parents worked. It was always a safe space where we could go from the community center to make it home. It was different points that they could call the neighbor and the neighbor would tell the next neighbor. It was like a group that watched over us, a group of angels that watched over us as we made a home safe. 

Now we're dealing with annexation. That park that I played in, now the city and Greenlink have become owners of it, and it's now annexed into the city. For generations, Greenville County has disregarded the needs of our community. I am the representative that will see you, hear you, and I will work with you to bridge community back to the government.

Katy Smith:

Thank you. What do you believe are the biggest issues facing constituents?

Angela Aiken:

The single biggest issue facing my constituents is that for years we've been represented by politicians and not by public servants. District 23 deserves a leader like me, a servant's heart who's going to show up, be present, and be the voice for the people. That representative is me, the next councilwoman. 

Did you know that in my district, we have one of the deadliest highways in the United States? Work has been done there, but not enough work. The kind of work that will keep people safe. I have a proposal for that. I can't fix everything, but those things that I can speak to, I'm willing to do that. 

I propose putting in pedestrian bridges, a four-way pedestrian bridge, so that people have a safe place across that big lane of highway so they can get to their destination safely. Walmart is there. People need food. You've got the plasma place where people sell plasma so they can have a means of eating. You've got homeless people there. For them to be able to cross and get to their destination, I would be that person.

Katy Smith:

Thank you. What would be your priorities if elected?

Angela Aiken:

It's simple. Connect with my constituents back to the government. Ensure them that they have an open pathway so that they can be involved in decisions surrounding their community and their voices are heard. I am not running to be a big bad leader and I am not running to be in the limelight. I am running to be a representative that is a connector between the people and the leadership of Greenville.

Katy Smith:

Thank you. We have a little bit more time. Is there anything else you'd like to share with listeners?

Angela Aiken:

Yes, I would like to share that we need you to get out and vote June the 9th. Vote for Angela Aiken for District 23 because I am that person that's going to bridge over all these troubles that we have. I'm willing to work with you. I see you. I hear you. I'm willing to come into your communities, and you are welcome to come into mine.

Katy Smith:

Well, thank you so much for joining us. And thank you so much for your willingness to serve.

Angela Aiken:

Thank you. Thank you for having me.

Meet Alan Mitchell: Greenville County Council District 23 Candidate

Katy Smith:

Next up is Alan Mitchell. I'm pleased to be here with Alan Mitchell, who is running for re-election for County Council District 23. Thanks so much for joining us.

Alan Mitchell:

Thank you so much for having me, Katy.

Katy Smith:

Tell us about yourself and why you're running for re-election.

Alan Mitchell:

I grew up in Greenville and I've already served on council for three years. This is my fourth year in my first term. All the time that I grew up here, I noticed that things were different for some people. 

It's one of those situations where you really need to be a part of Greenville in order to get a good feel for Greenville and what the constituents are going to need and what Greenville is going to need as a whole. I've been observing that. I've been living that, and because of that and my time on council already, I felt running for re-election was the thing to do.

Katy Smith:

Thank you. What do you believe are the biggest issues facing your constituents?

Alan Mitchell:

Well, we have a lot of issues facing our constituents. In District 23, which is a very large district that stretches from about Hayward Road all the way over to the Pickens County line, cutting right through the heart of Greenville County. 

It's one of those situations where you have a stratification of people that it's hard to label one thing and say, okay, let's deal with this one issue. I've had a lot of people calling me saying that they have housing issues. Sometimes it's an apartment complex, sometimes it's individual houses, and sometimes people just call because they need somebody to talk to. 

When it comes to issues facing the constituents, from my perspective and from my experience on council right now, everyone is trying to deal with their own security, whether that is home security, food security, or transportation security. It doesn't matter; they're trying to deal with their own security issues. 

Sometimes it's about going to work and trying to make sure that they can provide for their families. So on council, we try to set policy so that when these kinds of issues come up, the policy can be the guide for the issue and drive everything. Then we work with the individuals and organizations so that when those issues do come up, we can find a way to make them fit and find a way to get things solved.

Katy Smith:

Thank you. What would be your priorities if re-elected?

Alan Mitchell:

There are a lot of things out there. Some of my priorities are to continue what I've started already with the school district, for example. When I got on council, there was no real connection between council and the school district. But what we did impacted them, and what they were trying to do could impact us. 

I got with the trustee from District 23, and we sat down and figured out a way where we could get the council and the school district together. We started having informational meetings. We went over everything from the budget to transportation, how it impacted the roads that we're dealing with. 

I want to continue the work with the school district so that when we make a decision and it's going to impact them adversely or supportively, they need to be a part of that. I want to continue the fight for housing because when it comes to housing assistance, there's a lot that needs to be done. 

We have individuals who don't have a place to sleep. We have individuals who are looking for apartments. We have individuals who were looking for homes, and I've been one who's been able to fight to make sure that those things come to reality. Even when I was a neighborhood association president, I was fighting for housing assistance and for actual physical housing.

I worked on a project called the Alliance, and that project is finally, after many years, going to come to fruition and be reality. We'll have a groundbreaking soon. The Alliance is an example of not just additional housing. It's an example of what I thought to be a place that could be attractive on the outside with attractive amenities. 

On the inside, it's going to be not just a housing complex, but also we're going to have some commercial in there. It's at a good location. It's right at the fringe of my neighborhood, Nicholtown, and it's also on a main route, which is US 276.

After all of these years, because we started this back pre-COVID, it's finally coming into reality. That's a big deal for me. So I would like to continue to do things like that for housing, working with the state, the city, and county officials to make sure that we can get excellent housing for everyone. 

When you see this place when it's finally constructed, you're going to drive by and say, "Wow, that's a new apartment complex," rather than saying, "That looks like a public housing place," or "That looks like a low-income housing place." It's not going to look like that at all. It's going to be fantastic. 

Transportation is another big issue because everyone's talking about roads, but it's not just roads. When you look at the whole infrastructure piece with the roads and the bridges and all the things that interconnect with the state roads, the county roads, the city roads, and the private roads—yes, we have private roads too. It's one of those situations where we have to pull together to figure out what we can do with roads in Greenville. 

We have a bus system and that bus system needs support just like anything needs support. We are trying to figure out ways that we can support roads and transportation. We also have to be available for private situations, whether it's Uber or Lyft, because sometimes you need a dedicated place for them to pull off. If you don't build that into a project, then you can have a problem. Those are my main issues again: transportation, housing, and working with the school district.

Katy Smith:

Thank you. We appreciate so much you joining us, and we thank you for your willingness to continue to serve.

Alan Mitchell:

Thank you for having me. And if you have any other questions about anything, just let me know.

Meet David C. Mitchell: Greenville County Council District 23 Candidate

Katy Smith:

Next, we hear from David C. Mitchell. I'm pleased to be joined by David C. Mitchell, who is running for Greenville County Council District 23. David, thanks so much for being here.

David C. Mitchell:

Katy, I'm sure glad to be here today.

Katy Smith:

Thank you. Tell us about yourself and why you're running for office.

David C. Mitchell:

I'm a lifelong resident of Greenville County. I live in District 23, and I'm running for office because one of the great things about Greenville County Council is it gives you opportunity to serve the public. This is a wonderful opportunity for me as a candidate and as also a resident of Greenville County for many years to have that opportunity. 

I'm running because county council is broken. It has been broken for a long time. My perspective is that we've got vague solutions from county council for the last 23 years. Nothing viable has come out of county council. I want to make sure that we have an opportunity to move council forward, to move Greenville County forward, and to be able to add value. That value starts with District 23. 

I'm running because families across District 23 deserve stability in their lives. They deserve safety and opportunities. That means keeping Greenville affordable, investing in our neighborhoods, strengthening our youth programs, and ensuring our county services work as they should. I'm running to bring proactive, accountable leadership to Greenville County Council that would be rooted in experience, compassion, and real commitment to the people.

Katy Smith:

Thank you. What do you believe are the biggest issues facing constituents?

David C. Mitchell:

Of course, the biggest issues and part of my campaign will be my commitment to making sure District 23 has affordable, accessible, and attainable housing. I will focus on housing that keeps our legacy neighborhoods diverse by including long-term residents that have been pushed out by gentrification and unaffordable development. 

I will continue to build on our public transportation system, one that has been revitalized. As you know, I've served on the GTA Greenlink board for over 20 years, and we work to make sure we have a system that is viable, modern, and one that gets people to and from their locations. 

But that system needs work. We're currently working on what we call a transit development plan. Council can be a very important asset to that by committing a dedicated funding source to reliable transportation to get our transportation system down to a 30-minute operation within Greenville County. 

There's also the issue of tax reform. We have seniors and people on low income who are being taxed out of their homes, and that's leading toward some of the gentrification that's occurring. People have been displaced simply because they can't afford the taxes. 

We need to look at our tax policy. I know we have the Homestead Act, but we may need some modifications to that. We need some modifications to low-income housing so people will have an opportunity to be able to pay their taxes and not be taxed out of their homes.

Katy Smith:

Thank you. What would be your priorities if elected?

David C. Mitchell:

One is to provide progressive leadership. That's going to be one of my key things for our neighborhoods. I'll focus on the gentrification that's occurring, but also making sure we have alternatives to people being displaced. 

If we can focus on accessible, attainable, and affordable housing—when you drive through neighborhoods now, especially in District 23—when I think about the Nicholtown community, West Greenville, Greenline, Spartanburg Street community, and the Judson community, we've seen a tremendous amount of displacement. 

We have legacy families that live in those neighborhoods, and we are seeing $600,000 to $1 million homes being built. Many legacy residents cannot afford to maintain residency there. If they have property, their property values are going up, which means their tax base is going up, and it makes it difficult to maintain that resource. I want to make sure we focus on attainable, accessible, and affordable housing, along with our transportation system and the focus on our tax base.

Katy Smith:

Thank you. We have a little bit of time left. Is there anything else you'd like to share with listeners?

David C. Mitchell:

I think people would love to hear why I'm running. I'm running because I'm going to bring leadership to Greenville County Council—leadership that shows up, leadership that's going to respond to folk. I'm going to make sure that I'm accessible. 

County council members need to be accessible. Any elected official needs to be accessible to the public. If we're accessible to the constituents that elected us, then we have an opportunity to fill their needs. We can't solve every problem, but if you're accessible, you can hear the problems and take action. 

Showing up, being on time for resources in the county council, and making sure that we access county council needs to go to our constituents as the needs apply to them.

Katy Smith:

Great. Well, thank you so much for joining us, and thank you for your willingness to serve.

David C. Mitchell:

Thank you, Katy, for having me. I love Simple Civics. I listen to your podcast and am very excited for the opportunity to be here today. I look forward to winning. I need the vote of every constituent in District 23 and I encourage people to go out June 9th for the primary and vote for David C. Mitchell for Greenville County Council.

About the Candidate Interview Process

Katy Smith:

Thanks for listening to the candidates. Here is more detail on our process. All candidates received the same three questions at the time of their invitation to join us, shortly after the filing period closed, and they were given 10 timed minutes for their interview. 

Candidates were allowed to bring along a companion, such as a campaign manager, family member, or friend, and to record our session themselves. There were no edits made to the substance of the interviews. We've put links to the participating candidates' preferred internet presence on the episode page.