Filing closes with heavily contested seats for mayors, councils, in March 7 municipal elections

Laurens County, South Carolina – Filing closed at noon today,

After 29 years serving on Clinton City Council,  Shirley Jenkins opted not to run for her Seat 2 post. Photo by Judith Brown

Friday, Jan. 6, ahead of the county’s March 7, 2023 municipal elections.

In Clinton, there are already four candidates for the City of Clinton District 2 council seat, but incumbent Shirley Jenkins is not among them.

“I decided about a year ago that I would not run again,” Jenkins said. “I’ve been on council 29 years and it’s time to give some other people a chance.”

Jenkins said she’s always been concerned about the need for affordable housing and ridding neighborhoods of dilapidated houses, and there’s been real progress in recent years on those fronts. 

“Our city is growing and there are a lot of good things happening,” Jenkins said. “We have a great city manager and city staff who have the best interest of our city at heart.” 

City of Clinton:

The City of Clinton has three council seats and the mayor position up for grabs in the upcoming election, and each one is contested.

Clinton Mayor Bob McLean, center, did not file for re-election. Photo by Judith Brown.

In the mayoral race, current Clinton Mayor Bob McLean did not file for reelection, but there are three candidates for the post. 

They include Leonard Pitts, Randy Randall – and filing late on Friday morning – Ronnie Roth, city council member for Seat 5. 

The four candidates seeking Jenkins’ Seat 2 include Shaquille Harp, Anita Williams, Kenneth (Ken) Turner and Reginald Vance.

Seat 4 incumbent Gary Kuykendall has refiled for his post, as have contenders Stewart Owens and Vernon E. McCall. 

Seat 6 incumbent Megan Walsh will be facing Andy Howard.

City of Laurens: 

Laurens Mayor Nathan Senn faces two opponents. Photo by John Clayton.

Positions for mayor and three council seats will also be on City of Laurens ballots.

Mayor Nathan Senn will be facing two candidates. Randy Garrett filed soon after filing opened last Wednesday, and later this week District 2 Council member Alicia Latrina Sullivan also filed. 

City council incumbents Cassandra Campbell, seat 3, and Martin Lowry, Seat 5, have no opposition. 

Seat 6 incumbent Johnnie Bolt will face candidate Jeremy Hudson.

Laurens Commission of Public Works:

There will be two commissioner seats on the ballot for the Laurens Commission of Public Works, and so far District 1 incumbent Tomika Craig and District 2 incumbent Jeff Thompson are the only ones to have filed for  those seats.

Town of Gray Court:

Town of Gray Court Mayor Stellartean B. Jones is the only mayoral candidate for the Town of Gray Court.

There are two at-large council seats available in March, and candidates for those seats are Laura B. Cook and Nadine Phillip.

Town of Waterloo:

Incumbent Johnny Cheeks and new candidate Gina Fleeman have filed for the two at large seats in Waterloo. Current town councilman Bruce Smith did not file for re-election.

The Town of Cross Hill will have its municipal election in two years.

This story has been expanded since it ran on Page 1 in the Wednesday, Jan. 4 issue of the Laurens County Advertiser.