Emily Vaux Burden wins special election in landslide to fill last open seat on Bluffton Council
Local Bluffton boutique owner Emily Vaux Burden used her brand of retail politics to capture 1,902 votes to defeat her opponent and secure the final open seat on the town council Tuesday night. As the board of elections ended operations shortly after 10 p.m., Burden had secured 73 percent of the 2,589 votes cast to carry her to victory over another political newcomer, Emily Mayer. Mayer’s unofficial vote tally was 679.
When reached at home after all precincts were counted Burden said, “I am dedicated to this town. I love this town and I look forward to serving all the Bluffton residents,” and added “I think Bluffton spoke and they believed what I stood for,”
The official vote count totals will be completed on Thursday according to Marie Smalls, the Director of the Beaufort County Board of Voter Registration and Elections.
Burden will fill the seat on the town council left empty when Larry Toomer left the seat to assume the role of the town’s mayor.
Burden focused her retail politics-style campaign on gathering endorsements from established local politicians and other influential names. Mayer took a different path, leading in fundraising. Most Bluffton residents will remember this election as the battle between the ubiquitous signage that graced medians and intersections throughout the town.
Burden will be sworn in at the March 12 town council meeting and finish what’s left of Toomer’s term. She’s has seat until 2026 and, if interested, would need to be elected again next year to keep it.
Voter turn out for the election was 11 percent of the town’s 23,641 registered voters.
This story was originally published February 13, 2024 at 10:45 PM.
