Pine Ridge, SC 06/16/2021 (Paul Kirby) – Citizens of the Town of Pine Ridge went to the polls Tuesday to cast their ballots in a special election to fill the vacant mayor’s seat. The position came open several months ago when former Mayor Robert Wells stepped down citing health reasons.
The race pitted political newcomer Kevin Nation against current Mayor Pro Tem Daniel Davis. The race between the two was cordial and for the most part, the issues remained the focal point of the race. Whichever man wins would serve the remainder of Wells’ term which expires in November of this year. At that time, another election will be held to select a mayor and several councilmembers that will serve full four-year terms.
After the polls closed at 7:00 p.m., the votes began being tallied. 210 of the town’s registered voters had made their selection in person at the polling place throughout the day. That’s approximately 13% of the registered voters of Pine Ridge which is an average turnout for any Lexington County special election.
At the end of the count of the in-person ballots, the uncertified tally had 105 votes cast for Daniel Davis, 104 votes cast for Kevin Nation, and one write in vote. This is before any early or absentee ballots have been counted.
Several things will happen now that those in-person ballots have been tabulated. Those results and ballots will be held at the Lexington County Voter Registration and Election Commission in Lexington while the early and absentee ballots are counted. According to our source, that is scheduled to be complete sometime Thursday morning. Then, because of the closeness of the race, an automatic recount will take place. Once that is complete, the results of the election can be certified Thursday afternoon and a winner announced.
This is the closest race for any position most can remember. SC State Representative R.J. May, a professional political consultant by trade, said Tuesday night he couldn’t recall an election with a one vote margin during his career in politics.
Pine Ridge Mayor Pro Tem and Candidate Daniel Davis said by telephone late Tuesday night he felt that some of the controversy during Robert Wells’ term had people upset and prepared to vote against any incumbent. He also said he believes that when the citizens are angry, they are more apt to get out and cast their ballots than they are when things are running smoothly. Both of these explanations are plausible and could partially explain why so many people voted for Nation, a man with great credentials and character but no political experience. He was virtually unknown in the town 6 months ago. and has publicly said he wanted no part in politics until town citizens began calling him and asking him to serve.
No matter the cause, it would appear that the citizens of the town sent a clear message with their votes. The turmoil, unrest, and the perception that town leaders were purposefully doing business out of the public’s eye that’s taken place over the past 3 years must all stop! They also clearly want their police department left alone to be run by an experienced career law enforcement officer with simple oversight from the town’s elected leaders.
In fairness, the present council which includes Davis has already taken steps in that direction. They’ve added public work sessions, hired a new police chief, and expect a lieutenant to start at the police department soon. Citizens have expressed their desire for these changes to continue as they look ahead to November when several other incumbent councilmembers will go through their own reelection process. No one knows if they'll have opposition and if so, will the anti incumbent spirit will still be strong enough to oust any of them.
Once we have received the final, certified results Thursday we will print those.
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