St. Helena men face off in only contested Beaufort County Council race

Two St. Helena Island men — Democrat York Glover and Republican Wyman Haigler — are vying for the District 3 seat on the Beaufort County Council, the only contested council race on Tuesday’s ballot.

Councilman Bill McBride, the district’s current representative and the longest-tenured member of the board, is not running for re-election.

Glover, who won 53 percent of the vote in the Democratic primary earlier this year, is a lifelong Beaufort County resident and former chairman of the county’s school board.

“After (McBride) announced his retirement, people have been asking me to run,” Glover, 65, said.

If elected, Glover said improving and diversifying the local economy will be a major area of focus.

“The bulk of the constituents in my district are working hard jobs, multiple jobs just to make ends meet,” he said. “Jobs play a factor in every facet of life — our health, our youth, our safety.”

Because so many people are working long hours or several jobs, “a lot of kids are basically raising themselves,” said Glover, a North Carolina A&T State University graduate and retired agent for the local Clemson University Extension.

“We need to invest in our youth, and provide them the kind of training and education they need to go into the workplace and get good jobs,” he said.

Glover said one potential source for new, high-paying jobs is the Jasper Ocean Terminal, a giant new port facility set to open around 2025.

Haigler, a St. Helena Island resident since 2005 who did not face a Republican challenger in the primary, agreed that supporting the port is critical for any County Council member.

“I’m really excited about the potential for the port,” Haigler, a 78-year-old retiree from pharmaceutical company Abbott Laboratories, said. “We need to think about attracting jobs (in industries) other than tourism.”

Haigler, who grew up in Florence and graduated from the University of South Carolina, said another major issue for him is keeping the county’s convenience centers open.

In recent years, county staff and officials have occasionally considered slowly phasing out the centers, which allow residents to drop off trash and recycling, and moving to countywide curbside pickup.

Some have suggested that closing the centers would encourage recycling and make the waste disposal process more efficient.

Haigler disagrees, saying the idea of closing the facilities has “left me scratching my head.”

“People, especially people like me in rural parts of the county, depend on those centers,” Haigler said.

Closing them and moving to full curbside pickup system “is not going to be good for the county,” he said.

While Haigler has no prior elected office experience, he said he has been “involved in politics for a long time behind the scenes” helping advise local officials.

“I’ve had some friends who are County Council members now who have encouraged me to run,” he said.

County Council incumbents Gerald Dawson and Brian Flewelling, as well as Republican primary winner Mike Covert face no competition in Tuesday’s election. Barring a successful charge from a write-in candidate, they will represent Districts 1, 5, and 7 respectively.

Other Beaufort County officials running uncontested:

▪  Beaufort County Clerk of Court Jerri Roseneau (R)

▪  Beaufort County Coroner Ed Allen (R)

▪  14th Circuit Solicitor Duffie Stone (R)

This story was originally published November 1, 2016 at 5:51 PM with the headline "St. Helena men face off in only contested Beaufort County Council race."