Thursday’s editorial reminds Myrtle Beach candidates that they have two
more weeks to show voters real leadership.
Attacks on family members,
anonymous mailers, allegations of kickbacks – the politics in the Myrtle Beach
city elections was 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
election, voters unsurprisingly kept all their incumbents. By contrast, Carolina Shores 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
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.
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