Over 30 candidates running for North Charleston City Council

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – There is a large candidate field running for offices in the state’s third-largest city. More than 30 people have filed to run for North Charleston City Council and 10 candidates are seeking the office of mayor.

Filing closed for local races on Monday; come November, the candidates in each race with the highest percentage of votes will win by plurality rather than majority.

In addition to the 10 city council seats, the office of mayor is also up for grabs after Mayor Keith Summey announced earlier this year that he was stepping down after 29 years. Many longstanding council members are also retiring.

Councilmember Dorothy Williams has served for over three decades. Williams is just one of the five council members leaving their positions, and right now only two council members are running unopposed.

Another city council member stepping down is Virginia Jamison. She noted being surprised to see that so many people had filed to run for a position and that she hopes they realize the importance of the role she is stepping down from.

“They need to know it’s not from 9 to 5, they need to know that you will get that phone call at 10 o’clock at night,” she said. “This is not to discourage anybody from their heart’s desire, but this is to say, come ready to fill some big shoes and to wear some big pants,” said Councilmember Jamison.

The election will take place on Tuesday, November 7th.