Filing closes for Charleston City Council

There will be contests in November for four Charleston City Council seats, while two incumbents will face no ballot opposition, assuming all of the candidates who filed for the election by today's 5 p.m. deadline are certified as eligible.

All of the even-number City Council district seats will be on the Nov. 3 ballot, representing half the City Council.

With the filing period freshly closed, here's the uncertified list of candidates:

Dist. 2 (West Ashley): Four candidates have filed for the seat that Councilwoman Deb Morinelli has held since the spring of 2002. Morinelli is not seeking re-election. The candidates are William Blake Hallman Jr., Mark A. Peper, Rodney Williams, and Stephen H. Ziker.

Dist. 4 (Charleston and Cainhoy peninsulas): Councilman Robert M. Mitchell is unopposed in his bid for re-election.

Dist. 6 (Charleston peninsula, West Ashley): Councilman William Dudley Gregorie, who won his seat in a special election earlier this year to fill out the unexpired term of Wendell Gilliard, is also unopposed in his bid for re-election.

Dist. 8 (Charleston peninsula, West Ashley): Councilwoman Yvonne D. Evans is seeking re-election to a sixth term, opposed by Michael S. Seekings, a Charleston lawyer who was a congressional candidate in the 1st District Republican primary nine years ago.

Dist. 10 (West Ashley): The race for the open seat that Councilman Larry Shirley held for the past 20 years has attracted three candidates. Shirley is not seeking re-election. The candidates are Arthur L. Beane Jr., Dean C. Riegel, and Virginia (Ginger) Rosenberg.

Dist. 12 (James Island): One-term incumbent Councilwoman Kathleen Wilson is seeking re-election, opposed by Craig T. McLaughlin.

The Charleston County Board of Voter Registration will be asked this week to certify that the candidates are registered to vote in the council districts in which they are candidates.