Alex Saitta (Pickens County Council District 3, South Carolina, candidate 2024)

Alex Saitta

Republican Party

Candidate, Pickens County Council District 3

Elections and appointments

Last election

June 11, 2024

Education

High school

Farmingdale High School

Bachelor's

New York University, 1984

Contact

Campaign website

Alex Saitta (Republican Party) ran for election to the Pickens County Council District 3 in South Carolina. Saitta was on the ballot in the general election on November 5, 2024.^[source]

Saitta completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Alex Saitta provided the following biographical information via Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey on July 13, 2024:

• High school: Farmingdale High School (New York)
• Bachelor's: New York University, 1984
• Prior offices held:
  • Pickens County Councilman -- Pickens Seat (2021-2024)
• Incumbent officeholder: Yes
• Campaign website

Elections

General election

General election for Pickens County Council District 3

Alex Saitta ran in the general election for Pickens County Council District 3 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate
		Alex Saitta (R)

---

	Incumbency information for this election was not available.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Pickens County Council District 3

Justin Durham and Alex Saitta ran in the Republican primary for Pickens County Council District 3 on June 11, 2024.

		Candidate
		Justin Durham
		Alex Saitta

---

	Incumbency information for this election was not available.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Saitta in this election.

Campaign themes

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Alex Saitta completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Saitta's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Fiscal Conservative and Business Owner

Council Watchdog – questions and tells you the rest of the story Protect small town, traditions, wildlife and scenic beauty. Representing Pickens First Communicates, Informs, Educates, Your Voice.

Standing Up for Residents and Employees.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Too Much Growth: Cities like Clemson and Easley have lost focus and it shows. My concern is the interests and the quality of life of those who live here now, not the here-today-gone-tomorrow developers, revenue hungry government leaders or those who may or may not move here in the future. We must preserve our small towns, rural areas and protect the beauty and wildlife of the northern part of the county. Additionally, we don’t have the infra-structure to support all this building.
• Fiscal Conservative: Like you, government must set spending priorities. Not everything can be a number one priority, there are mandates, needs and wants – you have to know the difference. In September 2021 the council voted 5 to 1 (I voted “No”) on a historic 10 mil tax increase. The huge tax hike was the first choice, and other more efficient/ less expensive options were simply overlooked. With inflation running high, the government needs to manage its money and keep it hands out of your pockets. Last year I proposed a 2.5 mil tax cut in order to offset some of that large tax hike, and it failed to pass.
• EMS Station: The county has not built an EMS station in 12 years and call volume is up 25% since then. Another station needs to be built in Easley. This will lower the pressure on the other units like Pickens and Holly Springs that often have to play back-up to Easley. This will improve response time in our area and other parts of the county too.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Communication:
I do my best to reach out to citizens by knocking doors; sending out mailers; posting on social media and writing letters to the editor. There is lots of pressure to just go along. I’m independent minded and a healthy skeptic of government, who does his research and presents thought out alternatives to the public.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

I’m independent minded, and that is valuable as there is lots of pressure to just go along. I’m a healthy skeptic of government, who does his research and presents thought out alternatives.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

A councilman must balance the needs of citizens and county government, with the means of the taxpayer. The county council tasks the county administrator to create a plan for the county government to meet the needs of citizens. The council and the county administrator meet two or three times and the administrator states the needs/ wants of the government. By design, the councilmen are elected by the public to insure they have an ear to the taxpayer’s ability to pay for those things as well as having an understanding of what the people need from the government.

When I’m trying to find the right balance between the needs of the citizens/ government with the means of the taxpayer, I have these basic financial principles in mind:
1) Set spending priorities – not everything is a number one priority,
2) Live within your means: if revenue is here, don’t spend this up here, but spend this here, maybe less,
3) Avoid borrowing more money as paying interest get you nothing, not a service or a product for the citizens,
4) In good times save money for a rainy day,

5) Raise tax rates only as a last resort.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

Moon landing.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Paper Route when I was 14 years old.

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

Communication is a principle I believe in, so I do my best to reach out to citizens by knocking doors; sending out mailers; posting on Facebook and Nextdoor; taking the time to fully explain issues; write letters to the editor; answer and return calls and emails; sign up for public input at state delegation, school board or city council meetings, all in order to keep the public informed on what matters to them.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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Candidate

Pickens County Council District 3

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