There are two open seats on Beaufort City Council. The candidates have familiar faces

Familiar faces likely will remain in charge of Beaufort’s policymaking for the next several years.

Incumbents Stephen Murray and Phil Cromer were the only candidates to file for their open seats on Beaufort City Council by Wednesday’s deadline ahead of the Nov. 6 election. Each is nearing the end of an inaugural four-year term.

Murray and Cromer will still appear on the ballot to face the possibility of a write-in candidate, city clerk and human resources director Ivette Burgess said.

Cromer, 68, is a former city administrator for the towns of Port Royal and Ridgeland and consulted for the Municipal Association of South Carolina for more than 20 years before retiring in 2014. Cromer said his wife and others convinced him to run again when he had doubts. He said city initiatives to relieve flooding issues and to develop a long-term plan for the Beaufort Downtown Marina are among the priorities for the next term.

Murray, a 37-year-old small business owner who operates Kazoobie Kazoos and New South Shirts, is chairman of the Beaufort County Economic Development Corporation and past chairman of the Beaufort Regional Chamber of Commerce. Murray worked to establish the Beaufort Digital Corridor, an initiative to grow tech companies and draw high-paying jobs.

This story was originally published August 15, 2018 at 4:30 PM.