Do you know who you are voting for Tuesday? Are you voting? Do you even know what I’m talking about?

(If you have already read the newsletter, scroll down.)

On Tuesday, Nov. 7 Greenvillians will vote in the 2017 Municipal Elections Greenville County – a.k.a. Choosing candidates for 22 seats in City Council and to serve in public service districts (such as fire, water, and education commissions and boards).

There are 65 polling places throughout the city + county, which will be open from 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. on Tuesday. If you don’t know your polling location address (or even what district you’re in), simply type your name + DOB here. If you’re registered, it’ll give you all the info you need.

Here’s a list of polling locations within city limits (West Greenville to Verdae + Augusta to Pelham Rd.), and here if you live outside of city limits (Greer, Mauldin, TR, etc.)

DYK: Turnout for municipal elections is 10-15% on average? Think about that. 85 – 90% of Greenvillians don’t exercise their right to vote on who represents them in the legislative body of the city. And, you can’t be mad about the outcome if you didn’t vote.

What are we voting on?

Well first, let’s talk about Greenville City Council, which has 6 members, plus Mayor Knox White. Two of the City Council members + the mayor are “at-large” which means they represent the whole city.

The other four members are elected by smaller districts. Each city resident can vote for a council member from his/her district, as well as the two at-large seats. Need a refresher on current city council members + areas?

📝: Here’s our election cheat-sheet from the Primaries back in June.

Read the newsletter? Start here ---> All City Council members (and the Mayor) serve a four-year term. Every two years, one half of the City Council is up for re-election. Like presidential elections, City Council has primary elections if there are two parties running in their respective parties.

However, in some cases, there isn’t a challenger. For example, this past June, City Council District #4 incumbent David Sudduth was challenged in the Republican primary by Wil Brasington. Wil Brasington won with 59% of the vote and since no candidate filed to run against him, he was certified the winner + will not be on the ballot Tuesday.

Who are we voting for?

The District #2 (West Greenville area) seat is currently held by incumbent Lillian Brock Flemming, a Democrat (D). Her challenger is Matt Cotner, a Republican (R). Here are the details of where they stand on subjects like transit, housing and growth.
The at-large seat, which is currently held by Gaye Sprague (D), will be open because she is not seeking re-election. John DeWorken (R), and Russell Stall (D), are both running for that seat. The Greenville News put together “meet the candidate videos” for both John + Russell.

Greenville will have to make some really big decisions over 10-15 years as we continue to grow and the candidates we choose as our elected City Council officials will be the ones leading us.

Not in Greenville? Below are the links for election info on other municipalities in the Upstate.

Fountain Inn: Ward 3, Ward 5, and a referendum – specifically, if they’ll keep a “strong mayor” form of government or change to a “council” form. More info.
Greer: District 6
Mauldin: Seat 3
Simpsonville: Ward 2, 4, 6
Travelers Rest: Mayor, City Council

Jil Littlejohn was voted as a City Council member city by only 24 votes (and there were a total of 540 voters). Seriously, y’all, every 👏🏽 vote 👏🏽 counts.

Have a great weekend and figure out where you need to be to vote Tuesday morning.

– Mary