Hilton Head candidate withdraws from Town Council race to run instead for school board

Shortly before the filing period ended Monday, Peter Kristian withdrew from the Hilton Head Town Council Ward 4 race and filed to run for the Beaufort County School Board in District 10.

Earlier this month, Kim Likins filed to run for her old Ward 4 seat on the Town Council against incumbent Tamara Becker. At the time, Krisitian was also a candidate in the race, but, in what Kristian described as “an interesting turn of events,” he decided to withdraw and instead run for school board.

“In that race, there are two fine candidates for the electorate to chose from who already know the position,” Kristian said. “My leadership is better suited for the school board.”

Kristian is general manager of Hilton Head Plantation, one of the island’s largest neighborhoods. He is a past president of the Community Associations Institute and served on Hilton Head Island’s Board of Zoning Appeals and the Planning Commission.

Kristian is no stranger to school board races. In 2018, he narrowly lost to Melvin Campbell for the District 10 school board seat. The two will face off again in a three-way race that also includes Elizabeth Hey.

An interesting situation developed in District 4 as well.

The boundaries for District 5 moved south due to redistricting, leaving the representative for the district, Richard Geier, now living in District 4. The current representative for District 4, Patricia Fidrych, isn’t running for reelection, paving the way for Geier to take over in her place. Geier is running unopposed for District 4.

As for District 5, no one filed to run for that seat, which means that a write-in candidate would win the seat. The Beaufort County Board of Voter Registration and Elections asks anyone who wishes to run as a write-in candidate to notify the office in advance.

Here’s who’s running for the Beaufort County School Board in the Nov. 8 election:

School Board District 2

• Chloe Gordon
• Terry Thomas

School Board District 3

• William Smith (i)

School Board District 4

• Richard Geier

School Board District 5

• No candidate

School Board District 7

• Tommie Broderick
• Rachel Wisnefski (i)

School Board District 8

• Carolton Dallas
• Joshua Mathianas

School Board District 10

• Elizabeth Hey
• Melvin Campbell (i)
• Peter Kristian

This story was originally published August 17, 2022 at 2:50 PM.