Town of James Island ballot set; Woolsey to run unopposed

The last mayor of the town of James Island appears destined to be its next mayor as well.

Former Mayor Bill Woolsey was the only candidate listed as seeking the top job when the two-week filing period closed Thursday, leaving him unopposed.

Meantime, seven others filed for the four Town Council seats: Mary Beth Berry, Leonard Blank, Marilyn Clifford, Sandi Engelman, Sam Kernodle, Darren “Troy” Mullinax and Linda Womack.

Council seats will be elected at-large, with the top four finishers declared the winners. The terms for mayor and council are two years.

Woolsey said running unopposed means he has more time to work on ordinances and begin preparing a budget.

The candidates are all hopefuls in the July 31 election to represent the town in its fourth bid at incorporation. Three previous tries were overturned by city of Charleston legal challenges.

However, Mayor Joe Riley said in a letter Friday that the city will not challenge this incorporation.

All the candidates correctly filed statements of economic interest with their paperwork, said Faye Lohr, chairwoman of the town of James Island’s election commission.

That was the same paperwork issue that tripped up so many candidates on the June 12 primary ballot, forcing them to be disqualified.

In April, by an 85 percent to 15 percent ratio, island voters backed a fourth attempt at self-determination.

The boundaries of this new version is much more compact than the previous, geographically spread-out map that was struck down by the S.C. Supreme Court.