Hines, Bruce launch campaigns for mayor
Mayor Gloria Hines. Photo by Bobby Bryant
Council member Carolyn Bruce. Photo by Samantha Lyles
By Bobby Bryant and Samantha Lyles, Staff Writers, editor@newsandpress.net
Saying that Darlington’s potential is boundless, Mayor Gloria Hines officially announced March 12 that she will seek a second term.
Two days later, City Council member and mayor pro tem Carolyn Bruce announced that she is also running for mayor, and she promised to use her “leadership and professionalism” to move the city forward.
Flanked by dozens of supporters during a brief speech on the grounds of the Darlington County Courthouse, Hines asked the city to make history by re-electing Darlington’s first black and first female mayor.
“I have worked hard to harness the extraordinary opportunities available to our city,” Hines said. “During my service as your mayor, Darlington Wal-Mart and other local businesses have economically promoted and provided many jobs in the city. Many downtown merchants are restoring their storefronts.”
She also cited new sidewalks being built on South Main Street and the city’s moves to address stormwater problems.
“My business going forward is for all of us – and I say ALL of us – to work together to guide our city into its next chapter,” Hines said. “I am asking you to help put the shine back on the Pearl of the Pee Dee.”
“I need your vote,” she added. “Re-elect me, Gloria Cheeseboro Hines, as Darlington’s mayor. More success (and) progress is to come.”
Hines was elected in 2015 and took office at the beginning of 2016. Her victory was a narrow one involving two rounds of voting, a tie in a runoff and two mandatory recounts. In the end, Hines defeated her opponent, the late Jim Stone, by 10 votes.
During Bruce’s news conference, also at the Courthouse, the councilwoman was flanked by supporters.
Bruce said: “We are at a time in our city where there is racial divide, name-calling, negative outside influences and finger-pointing. I stand before you today to offer my leadership and dedication to bridge the gap for a better Darlington.”
“To lead this city,” Bruce said, “the next mayor will have to work to gain the confidence of every part of our city.” She said a leader should “measure and balance the needs of every neighborhood and every person.”
Bruce promised a clean campaign against Hines and any other candidates.
“I will not stand before you to talk about my opponents in any way, form or fashion,” she said. “However, I do stand before you to offer my leadership and professionalism, to solicit your vote and your support on the campaign trail. I hope that you will join me in bridging the gap for a better Darlington.”
The next mayoral election will be Nov. 5; filing opens Aug. 1 and closes Aug. 15.
At this point, the only other certain candidate in the race is businessman Curtis Boyd, owner of Out of This World Screen Printing and World Fitness Gyms.
Boyd has not yet formally announced, but he has said he plans to run. At a March 5 Darlington City Council meeting where he spoke against now-scrapped plans to tighten council’s rules for allowing public comment, Boyd said he was moving into the city limits to qualify for the mayor’s race.
