1 of 3
Hubbard
2 of 3
Latham
3 of 3
Higgins
Sullivan’s Island residents elected three new Council members May 2, while a former Council member garnered a competitive number of votes as a write-in candidate.
Elected to four-year terms on the Town Council were Carl Hubbard, with 399 votes, followed by Jody Latham at 306 and Ned Higgins at 290. Summer Eudy fell short in her bid for a Council seat with 196 votes.
A total of 569 people cast their ballots either in person, during the early voting period or through the mail – 30.58% of the island’s 1,861 voters, according to Isaac Cramer, executive director of the Charleston County Board of Elections. The results were certified by the Municipal Election Commission, chaired by Robie Scott, on May 4.
Chauncey Clark, who served on the Sullivan’s Island Council for eight years, until 2021, when incumbent Pat O’Neil defeated him in the mayor’s race, got 139 of 161 write-in votes. He said he was unaware of the write-in campaign “for the first several days.”
“It started four days before the election. Somebody asked me did I mind. I said that’s fine with me, but I don’t think it will do any good,” Clark commented. “I’m honored by it all.”
“I’m as surprised as anybody,” he added. “I have no idea who started it or why. But there’s a lot of people on the island who would have preferred to go another way.”
According to Cramer, the remaining 22 write-in votes were “not assigned” and came from people who chose to cast their ballot for Mickey Mouse, Donald Trump and others.
Hubbard, Latham and Higgins will be sworn in at the Council’s regularly scheduled meeting June 20. Three current Council members, Bachman Smith, Kaye Smith and Greg Hammond, did not seek re-election.