Folly Beach election today

Five candidates are running for three open seats on Folly Beach City Council.

Incumbents Wallace Benson, Eddie Ellis and Tim Goodwin are seeking re-election. Newcomers Charles McCarty and Chris Wilkerson also are in the running.

Voting continues through 7 p.m. today at Our Lady of Good Counsel parish hall, 105 W. Hudson St.

All the candidates have experience with Folly government.

Wallace Benson

Benson has been on Folly Beach City Council for 20 years, elected first in 1988. He was a volunteer firefighter and served as the city's director of public safety 1976-81. He managed the city's sanitation department for a year in the late 1970s. He helped coordinate the city's purchase of the Folly River Park site and served as chairman of the Folly Beach River Park Committee.

He is a member of the Folly Beach Civic Club, has been a member of the Exchange Club and headed the Folly Beach Rescue Squad. He attended The Citadel and graduated from Trident Technical College, majoring in chemical engineering and criminal justice. He has taught at The Citadel for 21 years in a variety of subjects.

Eddie Ellis

Before being elected to City Council in 2004, Ellis was on the city's Board of Zoning Appeals. He graduated from the Municipal Elected Officials Institute of Government and is a student at the National League of Cities Leadership Training Institute.

Ellis served four years in the Navy and is a veteran of operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield. He is a member of the Folly Beach Arts and Crafts Guild and member of Folly Beach Baptist Church. Ellis is the owner of Cutting Edge Landscaping.

Tim Goodwin

Goodwin, who has been on council for six years, was the first elected official of Folly Beach to graduate from the Municipal Elected Officials Institute of Government. Before being elected to council, he was a member of the city's Planning and Zoning Commission.

Goodwin is president of the Folly Beach Civic Club and is the Finance Committee chairman and lay speaker at Folly Beach United Methodist Church. He also is a member of the Folly Beach Turtle Team. He is the co-owner of C&T Services with his wife, Charlotte, and a retired Occupational Safety and Health Administration manager. He graduated summa cum laude from Limestone College with Bachelor of Science degrees in business administration and marketing.

Charles McCarty

McCarty has served on the city's Board of Zoning Appeals and has been vice chairman of the city's Planning Commission. McCarty is a retired director of the Center for Human Resource Strategic Planning and Policy, Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

McCarty graduated with honors from Boston College, where he is a teaching fellow, and attended the Coast Guard Academy. He is vice president of the Folly Beach Civic Club and is a production volunteer for the club's calendar.

Chris Wilkerson

Wilkerson serves on the city's Parks and Recreation Board and is a member of the Folly Islands Voters Association and civic club. She attended the University of South Carolina, graduating with a degree in child development.

She has been a youth leader, Sunday school teacher and started a Girl Scout troop. Her work experience has been in consulting and sales. She works for a staffing employment agency.