3 people are running for Beaufort mayor’s open council seat. Here’s who they are
Three candidates, including two who lost the November election, are campaigning for the City of Beaufort’s special March election to fill newly elected Mayor Stephen Murray’s vacated council seat.
The term has about two years remaining, ending in November 2022.
Mike McFee, Brantley Wilson and Fred White all filed before Friday’s noon deadline.
McFee was the sole incumbent in a pool of six candidates who ran for the two open council seats in November’s election. Wilson, who has never held public office, was also on November’s ballot.
Newcomers Neil Lipsitz and Mitch Mitchell won the two open seats.
Lipsitz had 23.54% of the vote, Mitchell had 22.47%, McFee had 21.49%, and Wilson had 7.53%, according to official election results. Lipsitz, Mitchell, and McFee had more than 2,000 votes. The other three candidates’ tallies ranged between about 700 and 1,500, including Wilson, who received 706 votes.
Mike McFee
Immediately after the election loss, McFee told The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette that he hadn’t thought about whether to run for Murray’s vacated seat but did plan to stay involved in public service. About a month later, when outgoing council members were being honored and new ones were being sworn in, McFee hinted at a possible campaign, saying “hopefully, I’ll be back” during his brief remarks.
Before losing reelection, McFee had served on council for three terms. He was first elected in 2008, then again in 2012 and 2016.
He’s a Beaufort native and real estate agent who graduated from Beaufort High School and the University of South Carolina before co-founding HomeTown Realty in 1991. In addition to serving on City Council as mayor pro tem, McFee was a member of the Tourism Development Advisory Committee and previously served as Beaufort Regional Chamber president.
Former Beaufort mayor Billy Keyserling, who did not seek reelection last cycle, endorsed McFee in the November election, commending his institutional knowledge among other characteristics.
“I’ve served with Mike for over 12 years now, and what I’ve found is he’s able to listen, to learn, to be fair, and to never take anything personally,” Keyserling said in a video endorsement on McFee’s campaign page. “Mike studies the issues, he talks to people, he listens with his ears, and he makes, what I think, are fair decisions.”
Brantley Wilson
Wilson, also a Beaufort native, graduated from the Technical College of the Lowcountry and the University of South Carolina-Beaufort.
He currently is an assistant principal at Hilton Head Island Middle School.
Serving on Beaufort City Council would be his first elected office, but he’s previously served as a board member of the SC SkillsUSA organization promoting workforce training.
Fred White
Fred White, who did not run in November’s election, is a Realtor with Keller Williams Realty of the Lowcountry in Beaufort and U.S. Coast Guard veteran.
Although not a Beaufort native, White has lived in the city for more than two decades, his Realtor Facebook page says.
He is a graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, Florida State University, and Shepherd University, according to his LinkedIn profile.
The election
The election is scheduled for March 2. Only city residents can vote.
The Beaufort County Voter Registration Office is conducting the election, and there are multiple deadlines for voter registration.
If voting in person, the registration deadline is 5 p.m. Friday, Jan. 29. If by online, email or fax, the deadline is 11:59 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 31. If by mail, registration must be postmarked no later than Monday, Feb. 1.
The Beaufort City Council is made up of four council members and a mayor, all elected at-large to four-year terms. All have the same voting power during regular public meetings. The council sets city policy, passes an annual budget, guides planning priorities and oversees the city manager to carry out directives and day-to-day city operations.
