Filing opens for 10 council seats and 3 mayoral races
By Bobby Bryant, Editor
Filing has opened for mayor or council seats in every municipality in Darlington County – off-year races that will be decided in November. Darlington is the only town in the county that will not hold a mayor’s race this year, although three City Council seats will be up for election. In Hartsville, the mayor’s post is wide open – longtime Mayor Mel Pennington won’t run again – and three City Council seats are up. In Lamar, the mayor’s post, currently held by Darnell Byrd-McPherson, is on the ballot, as are two council seats. In Society Hill, the mayor (currently Tommy Bradshaw) and two council seats are up for election. Filing for these races opened Aug. 2 and will close Aug. 16, said Darlington County elections chief Hoyt Campbell. The election will be Nov. 7. If needed, a runoff will be held Nov. 16, Campbell said. Here’s a closer look at the races in each town: DARLINGTON: Mayor Curtis Boyd was elected in 2019, began his four-year term in January 2020, and won’t face re-election until 2023. But three council seats are on the ballot for November – Ward 1 (currently represented by Sheila Baccus), Ward 2 (currently represented by Elaine Reed), and Ward 3 (now represented by John Segars). Three other City Council seats are elected at-large (citywide). Those seats now are held by Bryant Gardner, John Milling and Howard Nettles, who were elected or re-elected in 2019 and have two more years on their terms. HARTSVILLE: Mayor Mel Pennington announced months ago that he would not run again, and at least two candidates, Justin Evans and Jordan Flowers, want to succeed him. Besides the mayor’s race, three City Council seats will be on the ballot – District 1 (now represented by Kenzie DeLaine, who just took office in June, replacing councilman Tre Gammage, who resigned), District 3 (Teresa Mack) and District 5 (Bob Braddock). LAMAR: In addition to Mayor Byrd-McPherson’s post, two at-large seats are on the November ballot. Those seats are currently held by council members Mary Ann Mack and Tyler Cook. SOCIETY HILL: Mayor Bradshaw has said he intends to run again. Also up are two at-large council seats (all Society Hill seats are at-large), currently held by Carolyn Oliver and Tammy Gainey.