Greg Buscemi is hoping to be the next Mayor of Wrightsville Beach. He’s a practicing lawyer, loves the beach, and says the current Board of Aldermen is not doing enough to communicate with its citizens.
He tells WHQR that while he’s new to politics, he would not make any significant policy changes without public input. He also believes Wrightsville Beach needs to face the future.
Retreat. It’s a radical strategy for coastal communities. It means pulling back from the current footprint to allow the ocean to do what it will do. And Greg Buscemi thinks people in Wrightsville Beach should consider it – even though retreat isn’t popular in coastal towns.
So why does he think he can get elected when he includes that issue in his platform?
"Well, the people I’m campaigning to are the voters. And on the Island, not many voters are the ones that own the properties along the oceanfront. There are a lot of those homes that are owned by corporations that are owned by individuals out of the town, out of the state, that are being used as for-profit assets pretty much benefitting from their spot on the shoreline… Sure, there’s the additional saving the beach, allowing tourists to come and having the room to do the activities, but most of that is to prevent the insurance claims from those homes on the oceanfront."
He has other ideas for shoreline management – a tiered approach to taxes – much like a municipal service district – with oceanfront property owners paying more.
He also wants to replace the warning sign at the jetty, blown off in Hurricane Florence, so people won’t risk their lives walking on it.