Lady’s Island attorney defeats longtime Beaufort County District 2 councilman Sommerville
Paul Sommerville of Beaufort lost his bid for a fifth term on the Beaufort County Council representing District 2 in Tuesday’s Republic primary to Lady’s Island attorney David Bartholomew, who emphasized civic engagement and using modern technology to connect with constituents.
Bartholomew finished with 1,331 votes or 52.44% to Sommerville’s 1,207 votes or 47.56%, based on unofficial results.
The district includes the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station, part of Beaufort and Lady’s and Fripp islands.
Going into the race, Bartholomew said, he thought he had a chance to win.
“I knew it would be a close race, especially going up against an incumbent,” Bartholomew said. “I think both of us had a very clean campaign and stuck to the merits.”
His key to winning, Bartholomew said, was getting out in the community and talking to people.
If elected, Bartholomew said during the campaign, he would improve community engagement by using available technology to run online polls for major issues, monthly e-mails and social media posts about important topics or events in the community.
Bartholomew also emphasized being proactive in managing the growth.
“People seemed genuinely excited I was running,” Bartholomew said. “Even people I’ve never met. They were just excited for the competition and to see a positive change.”
Bartholomew now advances to the general election where he will face Dataw Island’s Marilyn Harris, a Democrat.
Sommerville, who has served 16 years on the council, was running for a fifth term.
Bartholomew, if elected, Sommerville said, will make a good councilman.
“He won fair and square so I congratulate him,” said Sommerville, adding he respects the will of the voters, which is “what our system is all about.”
Sommerville ran on a 16-year track record, and not everybody agrees with every vote, he noted, but it’s hard to say why he lost. Nobody, Sommerville said, stays in office forever.
“I’m grateful I served,” Sommerville said. “I like to think i did a decent job. “Obviously, not everybody agrees with everything I did.”
In other races:
District 4
Incumbent Alice Howard, a retired natural resources and environmental director at U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, fended off a challenge from Josh Scallate, a firefighter and Realtor, in the district representing parts of Beaufort, the Town of Port Royal, Shell Point and Parris Island.
With 100% of the precincts counted, Howard had 1,060 votes compared with 925 votes for Scallate.
District 6
Businessman Mike Covert ran against Anna Maria “Tab” Tabernik, a retired educator. The district includes Sun City, Okatie and Pinckney Colony.
With 100% of the votes counted, Tabernik had 1,435 votes compared with 1,129 votes for Covert.
District 8
Paula Brown faced John Zmarzly in the Republican primary for District 8, which includes portions of Hilton Head Island and Bluffton.
With 100% of the precincts counted, Brown had 1,107 votes compared with 865 votes for Zmarzly.
District 9
Incumbent Mark Lawson and Shellie West Hodges, both of Bluffton, faced each other in the Republican primary representing Bluffton, Pritchardville and Daufuskie Island.
With 100% of the precincts counted, Lawson had 956 votes compared with 472 votes for West Hodges.
This story was originally published June 15, 2022 at 2:42 PM.
