Biography - Who Am I?

My name is Brian Cooke. I am a husband, a father, and a neighbor. I’m running as an independent candidate with the South Carolina Green Party for Charleston County Council District 8. When we watch the place we love change without our consent, staying on the sidelines stops feeling like an option.

Raising a child has made the stakes clear for me. That the decisions made today will shape the future our children inherit. My commitment to my family and my community calls me to serve.

My family and I live on Johns Island, where the beauty of our land meets the reality of rising costs, worsening traffic, and rapid development. Like so many families across District 8, we want a future that is stable, affordable, and rooted in the character of the Lowcountry we love.

But this wasn’t the beginning of my political journey or why I wanted to make a change.

I was like most people, just happy to go to work, live my life, and not worry about the world we live in. That was until the truth of our reality struck me personally.

I was like most people, just happy to go to work, live my life, and not worry about the world we live in. That was until the truth of our reality struck me personally.

My brother, Robert, like so many people in our community, had fallen through the cracks of our society. Lacking healthcare and resources, he suffered a catastrophic stroke that left him paralyzed on the left side of his body. My family and I saw first hand the cruelty of a system that cared more about the bottomline than the people that our government was supposed to serve.

He suffered in the final years of his life because of a system that put profit over people.

Today, I see around us the same problems that my brother faced. A system blind to our wants and deaf to our needs. A system that serves money and not the masses.

I do not have a prestigious job title nor pedigree. I have something far greater. I have a vision.

I will be a voice for the voiceless, and forever put the people first.

That’s why I’m running for Charleston County District 8.