Saturday, Oct. 11, 2008

Mayoral election redo pits same pair

Court ruling may lead town out of stalemate

The state Supreme Court removed a major obstacle to progress on Atlantic Beach's stalled Town Council on Friday when it ruled that the town must hold a new election for mayor, but it restricted the race to the same two candidates who ran in November's contested election.

"I'm just glad they're doing something to move things along," Councilman Donnell Thompson said of the ruling.

In its decision, the court chose a path few expected. Many Atlantic Beach residents and observers were waiting for a completely new election open to all new candidates, or for Town Councilwoman Retha Pierce's 71-70 victory to be upheld over Mayor Irene Armstrong, who is suspended because of criminal charges.

Instead, the court said that the circumstances of the election and the improper disqualification of a handful of Armstrong voters rendered Pierce's victory "doubtful" and created the need for a new election. But the court also ruled that a lower court judge overstepped his authority by ordering an altogether new election with a reopened filing period for new candidates.

Armstrong's attorney, David Canty of Myrtle Beach, said he completely agreed with the court's decision. He said it was "abundantly clear" from the record that her voters were improperly disqualified and that a new election was needed.

"They only looked at the issue of the election," said property owner Mike Kelly, whose father was one of the town's founders. "That's being fair."

A Pierce-Armstrong rematch creates its own considerations, given Armstrong's charges of misconduct and bribery and her suspension by Gov. Mark Sanford. Despite the pending charges, which have not been set for trial, Armstrong will be allowed to run for her old seat in the special election, said Sanford spokesman Joel Sawyer, but if she wins, she will remain suspended and not be seated.

Although there will be no filing period for new candidates, state law requires a write-in space on the ballot, so it is conceivable that others could mount a write-in campaign against both Armstrong and Pierce, said Garry Baum, spokesman for the S.C. Election Commission.

"Trust me, there'll be a write-in candidate," said interim Town Manager Charles Williams, though he declined to name any challengers.

A date for the new election - which will be conducted by Horry County - was not included in the order, but Baum said it could be in about 90 days, placing it in early 2009. Both Canty and Williams said they hoped the election could be earlier, and Williams said it gives the Municipal Association a timetable for its withdrawal.

"Within a week of the election, we should be able to leave," Williams said, adding that he hoped the Town Council would concentrate on finding a new town manager in that time.

With a new election comes the possibility of an end to the deadlock that has for months paralyzed the Town Council. Only four council members were left after Armstrong's suspension, and they split their votes 2-2 on many major issues, sometimes even failing to approve the beginning to a meeting.

Now, if Pierce wins the special election, a new election to fill her old seat would bring a fifth council member aboard. If a write-in candidate wins, Pierce would retain her seat and the council would return to its full strength. Only if Armstrong wins but remains suspended will the current council stalemate persist indefinitely.

Whether Armstrong plans to run is unclear, as she has made no public appearances or statements since the indictments and did not participate in the appeal to the Supreme Court. Neither she nor Pierce - whose own legal difficulties after the election included a highly publicized arrest on traffic charges that ended in a mistrial - returned calls for comment Friday.

Councilwoman Charlene Taylor, who has served as acting mayor in the eight months since Armstrong's suspension, said she would wish Pierce well and that she looks forward to breaking the 2-2 split.

John Sketers, an Atlantic Beach resident and former councilman, suggested that the mayor's election be put off until the resolution of Armstrong's criminal case, so that the town does not get into a cycle of repeating elections that have to be redone. He said he also hoped a fifth tie-breaking member reached the council soon.

"Atlantic Beach has to come to grips with itself," Sketers said.

The S.C. Supreme Court's decision is essentially final, said Amanda Bailey, attorney for the town's election commission. It could still be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, but she said the case does not appear to have any federal claims that would lead the nation's high court to consider it.