Who will be Port Royal’s new policy-maker? You can help decide Tuesday

Port Royal voters will choose a new Town Council member on Tuesday.

The special election will fill the seat left vacant with the death of Vernon DeLoach in February. Patty Crower, Bob Ellis, Marjorie Lamb and Darryl Owens are running.

Polls are open from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m.

Crower is a past member of the town’s historic preservation panel and active in the Historic Port Royal Foundation. She has regularly attended council meetings since moving to Port Royal in 2004 and said she has the time necessary to pore over documents related to the Port of Port Royal development.

Ellis, 61, is a former longtime journalist from Michigan and the co-owner of Port Royal Veterinary Hospital. He has also volunteered with the Sea Island Rotary Club, Historic Port Royal Foundation and is also a member of the town’s zoning board. Ellis has lived in Port Royal eight years and said he has regularly attended council meetings in recent years. The open seat is a chance to contribute, he said.

Lamb works as an operations manager at Alpha Genesis in Yemassee and in a previous role helped bring the public swimming pools to northern Beaufort County. She’s lived in the town more than 15 years and said she has more time for public office now that her children are grown.

Owens, 50, unsuccessfully ran in a 2015 election to fill two open council seats and said he’s still committed to serving. He is a member of the town’s zoning board and was a past member of the design board. He also served on the Metropolitan Planning Commission and is the chief operations officer for Jasper County School District.

The deadline to cast absentee votes is Monday at 5 pm. at the Beaufort County elections office, 15 John Galt Road in the Burton area. A sample ballot is available online at www.bcgov.net/vote.

Residents will vote at the following precincts:

Port Royal 1, 2: Town Hall, 700 Paris Ave.

Burton 1A: Burton Wells Recreation Center, 1 Middleton Recreation Drive.

Burton 2A, 2B: Community Bible Church, 638 Parris Island Gateway.

Burton 2C: Lovehouse Ministries, 423 Parris Island Gateway.

This story was originally published May 12, 2017 at 12:15 PM with the headline "Who will be Port Royal’s new policy-maker? You can help decide Tuesday."