In a hard-fought Charleston City Council contest with the highest voter turnout in the city Tuesday, five-term Councilwoman Yvonne Evans narrowly lost her bid for re-election to challenger Mike Seekings.

Seekings, an attorney, captured nearly 52 percent of the vote in District 8 versus Evans' 48 percent, according to unofficial returns. The district serves part of the peninsula and West Ashley.

"We went into this race ready to work for the city, and I think people were just ready for a new voice," Seekings said. "We're going to address the issues we ran on -- flooding, green space and making Charleston the best city in America for biking and walking."

About 22 percent of District 8 voters went to the polls, compared with between 7 percent and 10 percent in other city races.

Councilwoman Kathleen G. Wilson, the only other council incumbent facing a challenge, easily won her bid for a second term in District 12 representing much of James Island. Wilson captured 61 percent of the vote, leaving the remaining 39 percent for challenger Craig T. McLaughlin.

In West Ashley, where two council seats were up for grabs because the current council members did not seek re-election, the District 2 seat was won by Blake Hallman, known for his work to protect Morris Island from development.

The District 10 seat will go to a Nov. 17 runoff between candidates Ginger Rosenberg and Dean C. Riegel.

In Charleston, municipal candidates need to capture more than 50 percent of the vote to win, which can be difficult in a race with more than two candidates.

In West Ashley, the council seats currently held by Larry Shirley and Deb Morinelli were the hot contests because neither sought re-election. Those two districts cover most of the area west of the Mark Clark Expressway, and each race attracted three candidates.

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In District 2, currently Morinelli's seat, the candidates were Hallman, Rodney Williams and Stephen H. Ziker. Ziker captured just 3 percent of the vote, allowing Hallman to win the more than 50 percent needed for victory, against Williams with just under 44 percent.

In neighboring District 10, the seat Shirley has held for the past 20 years, the candidates were Art Beane, Riegel and Rosenberg.

Rosenberg landed the most votes, 40 percent of the total, but not enough to avoid a runoff election with Riegel, who received just under 37 percent.

Two additional City Council seats and a Charleston Water System board seat were up for election, but in each case the incumbents seeking re-election were declared the winners in September because they faced no opposition.

Those candidates were City Council members Robert M. Mitchell (District 4) and William Dudley Gregorie (District 6) and water system Commissioner David E. Rivers.

The victorious City Council candidates will begin four-year terms in January.

Reach David Slade at 937-5552 or dslade@postandcourier.com.

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