The Jan. 4 inauguration ceremony for the new administration was held at the Tybee Post Theater. West recently sat down with Connect Savannah to preview his upcoming four-year term.
First, a quick primer on Tybee politics...
West, 59, replaced Shirley Sessions (2020-2023) as mayor. He was sworn into office on January 2, 2024. Four "new" council members (Tony Ploughe, Bill Garbett, Nick Sears and Kathryn Williams) have taken office alongside the new mayor. Garbett won a special election to earn the council seat vacated by West when he decided to run for mayor.
The two "holdover" council members (each with two years left on four-year terms) are Michael 'Spec' Hosti and Monty Parks. Williams, Garbett and Ploughe served on Tybee City Council previously.
Days before his inauguration, West was candid when asked about his priorities, how he'll work with a new city council, the search for a full-time city manager, his views on leadership tactics and much more. He also had strong views on the hot-button issue of Orange Crush, the college spring-break event advertised for a return to Tybee in April of 2024 after it attracted more than 110,000 visitors over a three-day period last year.
NOTE: This interview has been edited and condensed.
Connect Savannah: What is the status of interim Tybee city manager Michelle Owens? Will you look to hire a permanent city manager soon after taking office?
Brian West: She's still our acting city manager. One of the first things we're going to have to decide is whether to go ahead and appoint her with the full-time position. She's doing a good job and appears to be able to handle the job. I would think she would want to stay.
She is already doing the job, Michelle is. And there are consequences to bringing in someone that doesn't know our system. There's a lot to consider.
Connect Savannah: How do you view the role of leading city council while also leading citizens?
Brian West: Leadership is a person that has a conviction about something and shares that. If people agree with that conviction, then they elect that person. Now I have to translate that conviction into action. Being in a group that is going to be working together to run this company for the next four years is going to be a different relationship than one you would have with the general public or even with the city staff.
Connect Savannah: What kind of leader do you want to be? Who are some of your leadership influences?
Brian West: One of the things leaders do is look at trends to see what's going on before looking to use these trends to their advantage. We will look around the state to see what is working. Leading can be done all kinds of ways, but a lot of it for me is watching or learning before acting.
I've had a lot of great leaders that have impressed me over the years. The minister in our church when I was young – Dr. John T. Tippett Jr. – he was a gregarious, outspoken and positive fellow. I liked that. But my dad is very quiet and meek. He doesn't say much, so when he does say something, people listen. I like that too. I guess you have to figure out what fits your personality.
You have to learn how the other person or how the groups of people want to be led, too. Because they have their own styles. What I need to do is learn what's going on in order to motivate [council members] to act.
Connect Savannah: How do you balance the need for oversight without doing too much in the way of change?
Brian West: The majority of people on this island don't want to see bans of things, generally. They tried to ban open containers on the beach and the whole place blew up. They tried to make it where bands can't play in the restaurants after a certain time and this place blew up. Banning smoking [on the beach] was probably the right thing to do, because we don't have all this trash on the beach to pick up now. But I didn’t vote for the ban on smoking because I thought it was unfair to the citizens here. The ones who do want to smoke and the ones who actually dispose of them properly.
People know that I am not someone who wants to change Tybee, but at the same time, you can't be stagnant. Some things have to change.
Connect Savannah: What did you learn from Mayor Sessions? Did she give you any advice?
Brian West: I have a lot of respect for Shirley and [for her predecessor] Jason [Buelterman]. Shirley really left me in a great place to be in. We've talked, and I'm a good observer. I’ve seen how she does things and the poise she kept. I think she's done a lot of great things here.
Connect Savannah: What can you say about Tybee's response to promotional material for Orange Crush 2024?
Brian West: Orange Crush is supposed to be spring break for college kids and that's not what it is. My message this year on that event is simple. It’s not going to happen. They are not going to make it down here. We're not big enough – we only have one way in and one way out – and we're going to have hundreds of cops on the island. It's not going to be the event they think it’s going to be.
Our police monitor social media all the time for everything. And the day [the Orange Crush promotional graphics] came out on social media, they told the police chief. We're not going to let this happen. It doesn't fit here anymore.
The people that want to come aren’t going to be able to get down here. The events they paid for aren’t going to happen. People are buying passes to pool parties at rented houses and the police are going to show up and shut it down before it even starts.
This is the dumbest place to have it. If you're paying to come to something here, you should try to get your money back because it's not going to happen.
