3 candidates declared re-elected

Charleston's municipal election is months away, but City Council members Robert M. Mitchell and William Dudley Gregorie have been declared re-elected by the city's Municipal Election Commission, as has Charleston Water System Commissioner David E. Rivers.

The three candidates were unopposed, and a state law says that unopposed candidates shall be declared the winners so long as no write-in candidates have declared themselves within 14 days after the close of the filing period.

The filing period closed Aug. 17.

Charleston expects to save between $21,000 and $25,000 by not having to open polling places in the areas where there were only unopposed candidates. Instead of a citywide Charleston Water System election and six City Council races, the election will be for four City Council seats.

Charleston's Municipal Election Commission also certified the list of candidates for the four remaining council seats Wednesday. During that process it eliminated City Council candidate Mark A. Peper from the ballot because his check for the $150 filing fee bounced.

Peper, an attorney, tried to convince the three election commissioners that his name should remain on the ballot for the District 2 council seat, and suggested that he might file an appeal in court.

Peper blamed the returned check on a bank error, but the commission's attorney and the commission chairman said the city's election ordinance left them no choice.

Paying the filing fee on time is one of the few requirements for being a candidate.

"I've looked at the ordinance, and in my judgment it does not allow discretion," said the chairman, Rutledge Young Jr.

Peper criticized the city for not attempting to cash his check for the filing fee for 20 days. He said it would have cleared if it had been cashed promptly, and should have cleared anyway, because he was supposed to have overdraft protection.

Covering the politics of the Lowcountry, South Carolina and the Nation.

"Clearly, this is not how I wanted to start my campaign for City Council," Peper said. "It was simply a mistake, and my bank is looking into it."

The remaining candidates for District 2 are William Blake Hallman Jr., Rodney Williams and Stephen H. Ziker. Incumbent Councilwoman Deb Morinelli is not seeking re-election. Peper has the option of running as a write-in candidate.

Mitchell, representing District 4, and Gregorie, representing District 6, will start their new four-year terms in January.

Election Commission attorney Lucas Padgett said the law requiring that unopposed candidates be declared the winners was pointed out by county Board of Elections and Voter Registration Director Marilyn Bowers.

"It was done as a cost savings," Bowers said. "We would have had to open all those precincts and put just one person's name on the ballot."

The remaining council races are:

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.

Dist. 10 (West Ashley): The open seat Councilman Larry Shirley held for the past 20 years has three candidates. They are Arthur L. Beane Jr., Dean C. Riegel and Virginia "Ginger" Rosenberg.

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