Thursday, Nov. 05, 2009

One Last Chance

Attacks on family members, anonymous mailers, allegations of kickbacks - the politics in the Myrtle Beach city elections were filthy enough the first time around that we hope the next two weeks will be an improvement.

No matter how they ultimately cast their ballots on Election Day, the intensity of the mudslinging lately has disgusted most voters, all but the most callous of political operatives. Now, with five candidates headed to what is sure to be a heated runoff (Mayor John Rhodes versus former Mayor Mark McBride, plus council incumbents Randal Wallace and Chuck Martino and challenger Mike Lowder), it's a sad possibility that the same style of campaign could continue.

It doesn't have to be that way. We would love to see the candidates use these two weeks to prove the quality of leadership they can offer, running on their own merit and the strength of their positions. When the dust from Election 2009 settles, what the city will need most is leadership and healing, and a clean, respectful runoff campaign would be an excellent place to start.

Most of the Grand Strand is finished with its election season, by contrast, and residents can begin moving on. In North Myrtle Beach, we had little to say before the election, except that we were disappointed by the lack of a strong challenge to a city government that has grown too protective of its own. Now, with the return of all the city's incumbents, we have to couple our congratulations to Mayor Marilyn Hatley and Councilmen Greg Duckworth, Bob Cavanaugh and Terry Riley with our hope that a fresh movement for reform and transparency will begin from somewhere within the government.

Elsewhere (except in Atlantic Beach, where post-election uncertainty is having is usual reign), we can offer heartfelt best wishes to the victors. Georgetown in particular stands to profit from the leadership of new mayor Jack Scoville and new city councilwoman Jeanette Ard, as well as continued ideas from Paige Sawyer and Brendon Barber. Conway had four strong candidates for its three council seats, and while Randy Alford's intellect and service will be missed, with the continued leadership of the other incumbents combined with newcomer William Goldfinch's fresh perspective, the city will surely continue its forward movement. The same is true in Aynor, where incumbent John Gardner was narrowly edged out by two challengers, Josh Johnson and Tony Godsey Sr.

In this year's peaceful Holden Beach, N.C., election, voters unsurprisingly kept all their incumbents. By contrast, Carolina Shores, N.C., overwhelmingly embraced a new administration, and we hope the two new council members will strive to end the acrimony that has plagued the town. Calabash, Shallotte and Sunset Beach, N.C., all saw varying degrees of turnover, but in nearly every case, their choices were so strong we can continue to feel confident in the area's future.