Amy Stern

Amy moved to Berkeley County in high school, where she attended Lord Berkeley Academy — and she has made Berkeley home ever since.

She started out speaking for those who couldn’t

After high school, Amy began her career caring for those in need. While serving as an animal cruelty investigator with the John Ancrum SPCA, Amy married her husband, Travis. Amy and Travis raised two sons in Berkeley County.

Amy started her public service career at the John Ancrum SPCA. After three years there, she went to work as a Sheriff’s deputy with Berkeley County — the second half of an education you cannot get anywhere but on the ground, in the neighborhoods, at three in the morning.

You learn a county by answering its calls — not by reading a report about it.

Then Amy began meeting a payroll

In 1997, at 27 years old, Amy and her husband Travis purchased a small pawn store, Gene’s Pawn, in North Charleston. They opened a second store in Moncks Corner and a third in Goose Creek. Under the couple’s leadership, one storefront turned into three successful, diverse retail and loan operations across the Lowcountry.

Meeting a payroll quickly teaches the value of a dollar. Amy knows the hardship and the reward of managing daily business and employee problems while complying with regulations and paying taxes.

If you are a small business owner — or you depend on one — you want Amy advocating for your interests on Council and to other government officials.

Running a small business in Berkeley County teaches you the same lesson over and over: costs are real, promises are cheap, and the people who actually pay the bill deserve a straight answer. Amy brings that to the council table.

What she is working on

Amy’s focus on council is straightforward:

• The Nexton Parkway widening
• Controlling growth while protecting property rights
• Improving the animal shelter and protecting animals

Regarding animal welfare, Amy has a record of protection — not just a wish list of ideas. She led the way to the county’s partnership with the Charleston Animal Society to take over management of the shelter, on the principle that you let the professionals do what they do best. She led the fight for a new adoption center. She is now leading the way to an updated animal ordinance.