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Lisa Sulka joins race for Bluffton mayor

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Bluffton Town Council member Lisa Sulka filed to run for mayor Thursday, challenging fellow council member Charlie Wetmore in the November race.

Sulka, 48, of 37 Stock Farm Road was first elected to the council in 2004. If she does not win the mayoral post, she will not return to her council seat because her term is up in November.

Wetmore, 42, still has one year left on his term.

Sulka was a Realtor in Hardeeville before recently taking a similar job at Carson Realty in Bluffton. The change allows her more time and flexibility to be mayor, she said.

As a Realtor, Sulka works in various communities that come up in council discussions, such as Berkeley Hall and Rose Hill. But she said that would not be a conflict of interest for her as mayor.

"I would not let it cloud my judgment," she said, noting she has recused herself from several votes while serving as a council member.

Sulka has two daughters and a son -- one is in college and the others are Bluffton High School students.

If elected mayor, Sulka said, she wants to

foster improved town unity.

"I live in old town and work in new town," she said. "If we could get more people involved and connected, that would make me very happy."

Also Thursday, council member Fred Hamilton, 49, filed for re-election to his council seat. Hamilton, of 52 Goethe Road, has served on the council since 2005.

Filing ends at noon Oct. 3. Candidates must complete a form at Bluffton Town Hall and pay a filing fee. The filing fee to run for mayor is $20. The filing fee for a council run is $10.

The election is Nov. 4.

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