Statehouse District 14, LCSD 55 board contested Tuesday
By Judith Brown and John Clayton
Staff Writers
Two seats on the Laurens County School District 55 Board of Trustees will be contested in Tuesday’s election, and for the first time in nearly three decades Susan Calhoun Ware will not be on the ballot.
Ware is stepping down and ending her long career as an advocate for local school children on the board after 29 years representing District 6.
Peggy Nance and Brooke Temples are running to fill the District 6 seat, while incumbent Mike Hughes is being challenged by Betty Ann Neely in District 4.
Incumbent Stewart Jones (R-Laurens) is being challenged in the Nov. 8 general election for the District 14 S.C. House of Representatives seat by Democrat Daniel Duncan.
In District 13, which is primarily located in Greenwood County but includes a small swath of Laurens County near Ware Shoals, incumbent John McCravy (R-Greenwood) is being challenged by Democrat Bill Kimler.
Ware served six years as the District 55 School Board Vice Chair and then for six as Board Chair from 2013 to 2018.
“I’ve seen a lot of changes, and more changes are forthcoming, and it’s always time to be forward thinking,” Ware said. “While I feel I’ve brought that, I want to spend more time with my family.”
Ware said she’s honored by the many great board members she’s served with and the five different superintendents she’s worked with.
“I still stand for justice and equality for all children, and I always said I wanted to be looking out for those who didn’t have anyone else looking out for them,” Ware said, adding that she plans to continue volunteering with the school district as she’s able.
“I will continue to support the district because our children need the ability to compete globally,” she said, adding that Laurens County is growing and changing.
“The walls of the current buildings will not change, and as things continually evolve, so must we,” Ware said, “but it might be time for fresh ideas.”
Other uncontested local races include School District 55 Seat 2 (Cathy Little) and three seats on the School District 56 Board held by incumbents Teresa Corley, Jan Simmons and Keith Richardson.
Laurens County Council seats in District 1 (Kemp Younts) and District 5 (Jeff Carroll) are uncontested. Brown Patterson is also uncontested on the ballot for the District 4 seat although Betty Walsh has mounted a write-in campaign.
In the nonpartisan Watershed Conservation District, voters will select two commissioners for each seat.
Lewis Croxton and Maxcy Hunter Jr. are on the ballot for Beaverdam Warrior Creek (District 3), while Harold McClintock Jr. and Samuel Roper are running for the Duncan Creek seat (District 12). Matthew Brownlee and Casey Robinson are on the ballot for the Rabon Creek District 25 seat.
