Third vote makes Duke the mayor-elect of Society Hill
Mayor-elect Dwayne Duke. FILE PHOTO
Current Society Hill Mayor Tommy Bradshaw. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Current Society Hill Mayor Tommy Bradshaw. FILE PHOTO
By Bobby Bryant, Editor
After three elections, two runoffs and two recounts, challenger Dwayne Duke is officially mayor-elect of the town of Society Hill. Darlington County election officials on Dec. 2 certified Duke winner of the Nov. 30 “runoff of the runoff,” defeating incumbent Mayor Tommy Bradshaw by 2 votes. A recount confirmed that Duke led Bradshaw 112-110. Those results marked the end of a month-long series of elections and runoffs that were very rare, maybe unprecedented, in Darlington County history. The Nov. 2 general election ended in a runoff between Bradshaw and Duke. The Nov. 16 runoff resulted in a 98-98 tie vote. That prompted another runoff. County elections chief Hoyt Campbell said he had never seen a “runoff of a runoff” in the 30-some years he’s worked with county elections. What would have happened if the latest runoff had ended in a tie? There would have been a third runoff. Duke’s wife, Joanne, said having to vote three times for mayor did not seem to discourage Society Hill residents. “They were totally energized,” she said of Duke’s supporters. “It was electric.” Duke said in a statement: “The people of Society Hill have spoken in the 2021 election, not once, not twice, but three times. Thank you for all your support: Spiritually, physically and financially, we couldn’t have done it without you.” “To all the mayoral candidates, you have worked as hard in this campaign as I have,” said Duke, a welder who runs a bed-and-breakfast with his wife. “We look forward to working closely together with every one of our former candidates and all of the citizens of Society Hill, in town limits and beyond. Every voice counts!” He added: “To new and existing council members, we as a team will work together for the well-being of our town, and with the involvement of the town, develop a vision for the future direction of our beloved town. Let’s put the UNITY back in community.” The Dukes earlier clashed with Bradshaw about the number of farm animals they were keeping on their 44 acres of land, and Bradshaw ultimately persuaded Town Council to pass an ordinance to tighten up a 1970s ordinance to make the Dukes eventually remove most of their animals. Bradshaw, mayor for two terms, said: “I’m glad it’s over. (The election) has been drug out for four months. It started back in August,” when filing opened for the seat. “I lost by 2 votes,” said Bradshaw, who in effect served as town manager as well as mayor. “I wish Mr. Duke the very best. … I have no regrets. It is what it is. Somebody had to win.” At least some voters were confused by the number of times they wound up having to cast ballots, Bradshaw said. He said Facebook probably was a factor in his defeat. Bradshaw said “erroneous information” about him was put out on Facebook and he couldn’t counter it since he doesn’t use the online social network. Bradshaw was first elected mayor in 2013. He emphasized in the campaign how he helped rescue the town from financial crises: “We were $100,000 in debt. We had less than $400 in our checking account. Can you imagine that? I took a town from that to today – we’ve got $151,000 in the bank. … I’ve been a good steward of the town’s resources. I love this town.” Duke described himself like this during the campaign: “Born and raised in the Louisiana bayou, I’m a husband, a father, a grandfather of three.” He said “being raised in a Louisiana oil field” gave him a gift for welding, “which I continue to develop and teach today.” He began a welding business that has become Duke Metal Works. Duke said he has developed himself as “a minister, an entrepreneur, welder, foreman, educator, leader and lifetime learner.” More people voted in Runoff No. 2 than in Runoff No. 1. In the first runoff, 196 votes were cast (after a couple were discarded by election officials for technical reasons). In the second, 222 ballots were cast. Duke will take office in January. There’s some question now about the size of the town he will lead. Final 2020 Census numbers put Society Hill’s population at 438 – a drop of 22 percent from the 563 people that the 2010 Census listed. Bradshaw first said that there’s no way the town lost 125 people in a decade and that he believed that many people didn’t return their Census surveys. Last week, he said that after thinking about it more, he now believes the Census numbers are basically right.