Republican Don Weaver wins Richland County Council District 6 race

Republican Don Weaver will be the next Richland County Councilman in District 6.

After all the ballots were counted on Tuesday night and into the wee hours of Wednesday morning, Weaver unofficially had 7,876 votes (57%) to Democrat Bryan Boroughs’ 6,037 votes (43%). The results of the election will have to be certified by the Richland County Election Commission later this week.

The matchup between the Democratic Boroughs and the Republican Weaver was a showdown to see who could grab the seat that has been held by Republican Joe Walker III for the last four years. Walker, who chose not to seek re-election this year, served a single term.

Prior to Walker, the District 6 seat was held for 20 years by Republican Greg Pearce. District 6 is in the south central portion of Richland County. There are 11 total seats on the Richland council.

Weaver is a Realtor and property manager. He campaigned on, among other things, improving accountability and transparency in county government, particularly as it relates to the Richland transportation penny tax, as well as working collaboratively with local school boards and supporting local law enforcement agencies.

Meanwhile, in Council’s District 1, Republican newcomer Jason Branham cruised to victory. Branham was not facing competition on the ballot, though there was a group supporting a write-in campaign for incumbent District 1 Councilman Bill Malinowski, who did not file to seek re-election this year. Branham got 90% of the votes in District 1.

Several other Richland County Council incumbents cruised to new terms on Tuesday night, as they were not facing general election competition. Those included District 4’s Paul Livingston, District 5’s Allison Terracio and District 11’s Chakisse Newton.

This story was originally published November 8, 2022 at 9:07 PM.