What’s at stake in the Beaufort County Council race — and who’s running

Beaufort County Council has seven seats up for election this November, and with four incumbents retiring, the county will see at least a third of its makeup change — and possibly its strong Republican tilt, too.

Although four of the seven races feature unopposed Republican candidates — including incumbents Paul Sommerville, Alice Howard and Stu Rodman — the other three have Republican and Democrat candidates vying for the seats. That was the case for only one of the four contests in 2016, which Democrat York Glover won in District 3.

Candidates include a former attorney, a magistrate judge, an accountant and a former business administrator. Additionally, Republicans currently serve all seven districts up for grabs this election.

But, with statewide voter registration rates up this election cycle, Democrat candidates could mount a larger challenge than is usually seen in Beaufort County.

The most prominent issues recently have been the search for a new county administrator and monitoring rapid population growth throughout the county.

Here’s what you need to know before you head to the polls on Nov. 6:

ELECTION DAY

• Where do I vote?

• How do I know which county district I’m in?

CANDIDATES

District 2 (Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, Beaufort, Lady’s Island and Fripp Island)

• Paul Sommerville (R), the current chairman of council, is running for his fourth term. According to previous reporting, he wants to oversee $30 million of planned Lady’s Island traffic improvements and other transportation and drainage issues throughout the county.

District 4 (Beaufort, Port Royal, Shell Point and Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island)

• Alice Howard (R) is running for her second term on council. An environmental officer at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, she said in March that the county needs to coordinate its stormwater strategy, advance transportation projects and address affordable housing needs.

District 6 (Sun City Hilton Head, Okatie)

• Joseph Passiment (R) is running for his first term to succeed the council’s vice chairman, Jerry Stewart, who is retiring after three terms. He retired to Sun City in 2015 after being a business administrator and business teacher in New Jersey and New York for 30 years. He said he wanted to focus on developing education, healthcare, road infrastructure and economic growth in the area, according to a release at the time he announced his candidacy.

District 8 (Bluffton, Hilton Head Island)

• Chris Hervochon (R) is running to succeed Rick Caporale, who endorsed Hervochon in a Facebook video over the summer. He serves as the treasurer of the Greater Bluffton Republican Club and claims to have 10 years of experience in forensic accounting and corporate finance.

• Brenda Brandt (D) moved to the area within the last few years. Her goals, according to a League of Women Voters (LWV) questionnaire, are environmental protection, ensuring a balance between growth and development and creating an economic climate that gives opportunities for all residents.

District 9 (Bluffton, Pritchardville, Daufuskie Island)

• Mark Lawson (R) is running to succeed one-term incumbent Tabor Vaux, who decided not to run for re-election. Lawson is running on a platform he calls “smart growth,” along preserving quality of life and protecting the environment, according to the LWV.

• Mark McGinnis (D) is running on a similar platform, in that protecting the environment and allowing for business growth with a slowdown of housing are among his key priorities. He lists affordable housing as his third goal in his LWV questionnaire answers.

District 10 (Hilton Head Island)

• Lawrence McElynn (R) runs to succeed Steve Fobes, who served a full term and finished the remainder of a partial term in 2013. McElynn said to the LWV that he wants county spending to be more transparent and responsible. He also discusses transportation infrastructure and environmental protection on his platform.

• Cathy McClellan (D) listed her top priority to LWV as diversity and inclusion throughout the county. She also wants to see more public transportation available to Beaufort County residents, along with responsible growth and economic development on Hilton Head.

District 11 (Hilton Head Island)

• Stu Rodman (R) runs for his fourth term on council unopposed. He told the LWV that he considers his biggest priority to be improved infrastructure, including seeing the current referendum passed. Additionally, Rodman is focused on an improved quality of life and smart investment decisions by the county.

KEY ISSUES

• County administrator search: The county has been without a permanent administrator since Gary Kubic’s retirement in September 2017. John Weaver recently was announced as the third interim administrator, but his contract calls for him to serve initially for only six months.

• Affordable housing and keeping up with fast-paced growth: Last year, The Island Packet and The Beaufort Gazette reported that Beaufort County is among the fastest growing in the state. Results from a county-wide survey on housing also showed that current residents are incredibly concerned about affordability of living in Beaufort County, and council will be tasked with finding ways to alleviate that problem.

WHAT’S AT STAKE

• Although current County Council Chairman Paul Sommerville runs unopposed, the vacancy of the vice chair position means current and soon-to-be elected council members could challenge the leadership.

• The search for a new county administrator has been controversial, and council has taken heat for twice failing to fill the position in the past year. Only one of the incoming candidates took a definitive stance against Josh Gruber, the former interim administrator, whose employment with the county has been a polarizing topic for this council. Nonetheless, the next council will have the responsibility of appointing the next permanent administrator for Beaufort County, whether that’s Gruber or otherwise.

• Should any Democrat candidates win, the council could start to lean more to the left. All but two of its current members are Republican and neither of the incumbent Democrats, Glover and Gerald Dawson, are up for re-election this year. In the event all three Democrat candidates won, the council would only favor Republicans by one member. It would find itself needing to bridge both conflicting philosophical beliefs — as evidenced with the county administrator issues — and political ideologies.

This story was originally published October 29, 2018 at 8:20 AM.