Beaufort Co.'s chief magistrate resigns post for a chance to represent Hilton Head
The county's chief magistrate has resigned his post so he can run for a Beaufort County Council seat.
Lawrence P. McElynn will run as a Republican in June's primary, according to a statement he emailed to The Island Packet and The Beaufort Gazette.
The announcement comes in the wake current councilman Steven Fobes' decision not to seek reelection for the District 10 (Hilton Head Island) seat. McElynn, an Indigo Run Plantation resident who's lived on the island for 19 years, will run for that spot.
McElynn's resignation comes on the day candidate filing opens for June 12's statewide primaries ahead of November's election. He served as chief magistrate beginning in 2013 after being appointed in 2010.
"I wanted to have the opportunity to continue in service to the citizens of Beaufort County," McElynn said Thursday afternoon during a phone interview. "And I am reaching, this fiscal year, a mandatory retirement (age) under the law."
McElynn, 71, said this will be his first time running for office and a chance to serve in a new branch of government.
"This is a new arena for me," he said. "I've been in government service for 40 years."
McElynn, a retired U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency special agent, said the current opioid crisis is something he feels strongly about and that his experience has prepared him to address.
He is one of several Republicans in recent weeks to announce his candidacy for county council, following Chris Hervochon (running for District 8 — Bluffton and Hilton Head) and Mark Lawson and Mike Raymond, both of whom will vie to represent District 9 (Bluffton, Pritchardville and Daufuskie Island).
Current District 9 representative Roberts "Tabor" Vaux, Jr. announced in late February that he would not seek reelection. So, too, did Rick Caporale, who holds District 8's seat, as did District 6's Jerry Stewart, who represents Sun City and Okatie and serves as vice chair of the council.
Stu Rodman, the third Hilton Head representative who holds the District 11 seat, told the newspapers last week he intends to run for reelection.
"My focus will be infrastructure, controlled growth, environmental awareness, responsible spending, and economic development as well as protecting our waterways from abandoned boats, pollution and other hazards," McElynn wrote in his candidacy announcement.
He has formed an advisory committee that includes Fobes, Rodman and S.C. Sen. Tom Davis, among others.
This story was originally published March 16, 2018 at 10:17 AM with the headline "Beaufort Co.'s chief magistrate resigns post for a chance to represent Hilton Head."