Filing for Sumter City Council closes; who will be on ballot?

One mayor’s seat, three wards and 11 candidates. Sumter City Council filing ended at noon Wednesday, July 31, and the competition has surrounded the positions of Ward 4 representative and mayor.

Wards 2, 4, 6 and the mayor’s seat are going to be on the ballot this November, and while Ward 2 occupied by James Blassingame and Ward 6 occupied by Gifford Shaw have only their current occupants running for the respective seats, four candidates will be running for mayor and five will be running for City Council Ward 4.

David Merchant, Sumter’s current mayor, is running for reelection against Reggie Evans, Travon Adams and Foxy Campbell.

This will be Adams' first election, but the USC Columbia political science graduate and combat veteran spent time campaigning with Bernie Sanders during the 2020 presidential election.

This will be Evans' first time running for mayor but not his first time running to be on city council. In 2022, Evans, who has an MBA from Webster University and served in the Marine Reserves for 20 years, was a dual candidate for Sumter City Council Ward 1 and Sumter School District Board of Trustees Area 9.

Campbell is a real estate broker who ran for mayor in 2020 and was ranked three out of six in the election. She said her concerns include reducing crime, giving better access to health care and providing good education through further funding.

As for Merchant, he was elected in November of 2020. He was on city council representing Ward 6 from 2012 until he became mayor. Merchant and his wife, Laurie, are the owners of Merchant Iron Works Inc.

After current Ward 4 representative Steve Corley announced he is not running for reelection, five new candidates are vying for his position: Lucy Mahon, Jimmy Davis, Scott Burkett, Rebecca Lynn Kennedy and Gene Weston.

Mahon is a physical therapist who has worked in health care for more than 20 years and said she discovered her passion for politics after running for S.C. State Senate earlier this year.

Davis is the owner of Air Solutions Heating and Cooling in downtown Sumter and the 2023 Greater Sumter Chamber of Commerce's Philip L. Edwards Business Person of the Year. It has been the Sumterite’s goal to run for city council for about 10 years.

As a former event manager for the City of Sumter for about 17 years, Kennedy has a long track record of volunteering for the city. She was also the director for Sumter Green and the Iris Festival, and now she owns a butcher shop on Bultman Drive called Carnivore Butcher and Bottle.

Burkett was born and raised in Sumter's historical district, and he lives there currently. A Realtor who owns Stretch Zone Studios, Burkett founded the litter council that is known today as the Litter Advisory Board.

Weston was born and raised in Sumter and the owner of his own concrete company. He ran for the City Council Ward 4 position once before in 2000, the year former Mayor Joe McElveen was first elected before serving 20 years.

Filing began at noon July 14 and ended on the last day of July. During this period, those interested could file to run for mayor for a fee of $400 or city council for a fee of $240.