Coming Back Home to Give Back

By Desiree Parker Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Sean Driscoll is a from-here who wants to bring his broad range of experience outside the community back to the city.

“The city is very well-run, and we’ve been fortunate to have good leadership,” Driscoll says. “Now, I want to give something back, and help shape the direction of the city for the future.”

Driscoll graduated from Lafayette High School in 1985. After picking up a degree in history from Washington and Lee University, he worked in sales and management for two Fortune 500 companies. His career led him to live in cities like Chicago, Atlanta, Richmond and Norfolk, but he and his wife and two school-age children decided to move back to the area when the opportunity presented itself.

He’d like to pull the best ideas from all the cities he’s lived in and apply them to Williamsburg, he says. What he brings to the table when it comes to running for council are “vision, next-generation management experience, and an ability to be a consensus builder and pull people together.”

Currently the Vice President for Investments with Towne Bank, Driscoll also has a busy calendar outside his job. He works with numerous nonprofits, and sits on the board for Big Brothers Big Sisters and VolunteerWilliamsburg.org; he also is part of the development committee for Child Development Resources and is part of the local Rotary Club, and is active in his church.

In 2006, Driscoll was appointed to the planning commission. “I’ve really enjoyed that, and it’s given me a whole different perspective on the city,” he says. He’s learned a lot about land use, and some of the applications he’s made decisions on have helped shape his ideas on what the city needs in the future.

The planning commission unanimously recommended changing the three-person rule, allowing four unrelated people to live together within the B-3 zoning district with a special use permit. Council later decided to go with their own version of the zoning change. The commission has also recently voted to allow all hotels and motels in the city to house students if necessary (though the city council rejected the idea).

“I’d like to find out what the real need is for student housing,” he says. “How do we address that?”

The Wawa Project, an informal name for the college’s plan to build student housing on land behind the Wawa on Richmond Road, is something that Driscoll really likes. “It’s just what we’ve been looking for,” he says, because it offers student housing, it utilizes property better, and will maintain a high standard of quality when it comes to building design. “I’d like to see us do more of that,” Driscoll says.

Driscoll also believes in supporting the two biggest economic drivers in the city, Colonial Williamsburg and William and Mary. “These two places bring people here to visit and to live… we need to help these two institutions grow and prosper,” he says. He’d like to see the Mason School of Business expand in stature, and he thinks that the public/private partnership developed when the business school began is a great blueprint for the future of development.

In the near term, the tight budget is issue number one for the city, says Driscoll. His priorities as a council member to deal with the challenge would be to maintain essential services (including schools); maintain the character, quality, and aesthetic appeal of the city; to broaden the tax base by developing arts and culture businesses, and to look at underutilized properties.

Driscoll has a Twitter account, a Facebook page and a Web site to reach out to residents.

On his site, Driscoll says, “I am excited about the opportunity of serving on City Council. I look forward to representing and working with the entire community. I will work to preserve the character and quality of life of our unique city. I will be fiscally responsible with budgeting and city finances. I will bring to city council a strong business sense and vision for tomorrow.”