Port Royal voters pick familiar faces in Tuesday’s town council race
Port Royal voters chose who they know Tuesday over an unknown candidate in a three-way race for two seats on the Town Council, returning incumbents Darryl Owens and Mary Beth Gray Heyward to the town council for another four years.
The race featured long-time incumbents Heyward and Owens and newcomer Angie Tillman running for two open seats in the town of 16,000 residents.
With 100% of the precincts reporting, Owens, with 469 votes, or 45%, led the field, followed by Heyward, who grabbed the second seat with 446, or 43% of the vote, according to unofficial results from Beaufort County Board of Voter Registration and Elections. Tillman had 127 votes or 12%.
During the campaign, Heyward and Owens touted their records of achievement while in office, while Tillman promised to bring new ideas and fresh vision to the the council often wrestles with balancing growth while protecting the town’s environment and charm.
One of the biggest issues facing Owens, Heyward and the rest of the five-member town council town in the coming months will be whether redevelopment of two miles of Battery Creek waterfront by Safe Harbor Marinas finally gets off the ground. After years of disputes between the town and developer over the details, the project appears to be on track but town officials still are waiting for Safe Harbor to present a master plan for the property.
Heyward, 70, is one of the longest-serving council members in the town’s history, having already served for 34 years. First elected in 1992, Heyward retired in 2021 as the pre-arrival manager at Beaufort Memorial Hospital, where she also worked in customer service and financial aid.
Owens, 59, who works in facilities management for the Beaufort Jasper Economic Opportunity Commission, has served on the council for eight years.
Tillman, 52, is the owner and CEO at Phickles, which started as a small-batch artisan pickle company in 2008 and now operates as a specialty food company. She moved to the area about a year ago.
Hundreds of local elections across South Carolina were decided Tuesday.
In another Beaufort County election, Emily Vaux Burden and Fred Hamilton won unopposed races for seats on the Bluffton Town Council. Hamilton had 876 votes and Burden, 816.
Voter turnout in Port Royal was about 9.4% of the registered voters.
This story was originally published November 4, 2025 at 9:01 PM.
