Three candidates vie for two seats in Bluffton Town Council election Tuesday

Three candidates will run Tuesday for two seats on the Bluffton Town Council.

Incumbents Oliver Brown, 56, and Charlie Wetmore, 43, seek re-election. Former town employee Mike Raymond, 58, also is vying for a seat.

Brown won his seat in a March 2008 special election. Wetmore was first elected to the council in 2007.

Brown, a maintenance engineer for the S.C. Department of Transportation, said his goals include bringing environmentally sound businesses to town to create jobs and increase tax revenue. He said creating jobs could help keep young adults in the area after graduation.

However, Brown owes the state of South Carolina at least $16,500 in fines after filing his campaign finance disclosure forms 18 months late, a spokeswoman from the State Ethics Commission said earlier this month. The outstanding fine doesn't prevent him from seeking reelection. Brown has not commented on the fines.

Wetmore, a small business owner, said his top three goals include improving the quality of the May, Okatie and New rivers; increasing communication between citizens and town officials; and being fiscally responsible with the town budget.

Wetmore, who has served on the May River Waterbody Plan Committee, said he helped develop the current guidelines for cleaning up the rivers.

Raymond, who formerly worked as an engineer in the town's Department of Environmental Protection and now works in advertising sales, also listed the environment as a top priority. He particularly wants to address drainage issues and pollution in the May River, he said.

Raymond said he wants tomanage the growth that will resume once the economy rebounds.

The winners are determined by dividing the total number of votes cast by the number of open seats -- or two. That number is then divided by two. The two candidates who receive at least that number of votes win. If a candidate does not score at least that number, the town will have a run-off election, Town clerk Sandra Lunceford said.

-- Renee Dudley