McDaniel resigns from council to take HUD post
Garrett McDaniel
Hours after receiving a job offer Thursday from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Laurens County Councilman Garrett McDaniel announced that he would be resigning from county council.
McDaniel, who represents District 3 on council, was hired as director of executive scheduling and operations at HUD, where he will help with newly appointed HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge.
“It’s definitely going to be a challenge but working with campaigns and as a campaign manager a couple of times already has given me the experience I need,” said McDaniel. “I definitely enjoy working behind the scenes in that respect.”
A special election to fill the seat in District 3 has been scheduled for Sept. 21. McDaniel’s letter of resignation becomes effective on Monday, May 10. Democratic and Republican primaries are to be held on Tuesday, July 20. Candidate filing is scheduled for Friday, May 28 through Friday, June 10 at noon.
McDaniel served as deputy political director in South Carolina for former Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg during the 2020 campaign. Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, is now the U.S. Secretary of Transportation.
“This wasn’t necessarily a goal by any means,” McDaniel said of landing a job inside the Beltway. “But it’s a wonderful opportunity, and I hate to pass it up.”
McDaniel also said leaving the county council seat once occupied by his father, Ed McDaniel, was a difficult decision. Ed McDaniel passed away in 2015 and his son succeeded him.
“I love Laurens, and I’ve seen it grow and begin to prosper a little more over the past five or six years,” he said. “I want to continue to help with that growth. There are a few things I’d like to see happen here and wanted to see them through, but we’ve started them already and hopefully, those things will come to fruition.”
McDaniel will work remotely at first in his new position due to COVID-19 restrictions on federal offices, but he will be going to Washington, D.C. for training beginning this weekend.
He also said he is looking forward to helping Fudge and HUD execute goals for the agency set forth by the administration of President Joe Biden.
“I’m definitely looking forward to working on the jobs plan being pushed through by President Biden,” he said. “HUD will be at the forefront of that along with working on homeless housing and elderly housing and other initiatives.”
