YORK COUNTY, S.C. (CN2 NEWS) – As the general election inches closer questions about how candidates run have come up in some municipalities. More people are interested in running on a party ticket or at least putting their political leanings out there. In Tega Cay for example, candidates are coming out with ads talking about the issue of red versus blue.
Tega Cay’s general election has led to questions about partisanship in government at the local level it was even a question at their candidate forum.
If a municipality wanted to run partisan elections York County Voter Registration and Election leaders say residents could petition their local councils to do so. but Leaders also say there’s more to consider when running a partisan election.
Director of York County Voter Registration and Elections Office, Wanda Hemphill, says, “The thing with partisan elections is now you start getting into primaries and a runoff, in addition to the general election.
York County leaders say most South Carolina municipalities are non-partisan — and if a city were to transition to a partisan system, the cost of running elections would go up significantly.
Hemphill says, “It’s a long process. There’s a lot of cost and logistics that go into primaries and partisan elections.”
A professor of history at Winthrop University, Mayor of the City of York for nearly 20 years, and a life-long York County resident, Dr. Eddie Lee, talks about his observations of York County elections over the years.
“Non-partisan local government works better. It’s more efficient and I think it’s more effective,” says Dr. Lee.
Dr. Lee explains that he believes partisanship is not necessary at the local level but adds that he sees more races taking that direction. He says local elections are being nationalized and says all candidates want to see their communities get better and should work together to accomplish that.
“We need to concentrate on the basics. Police protection, fire suppression, recreation, economic development — that’s what local government is and that’s what local government is at its best and that’s what public servants need to be united, to accomplish,” says Dr. Lee.
In the video above, CN2’s Rachel Richardson learning more about the history of elections in our area and why right now anyway, our local elections are non-partisan.
