EXCLUSIVE: Bernice Scott considering a Richland County Council comeback?

Richland County Councilman Kelvin Washington, facing a felony DUI charge, does not plan to resign from County Council, his fellow Lower Richland Councilman Norman Jackson said Thursday.

Jackson said he was told by one of Washington’s family members Thursday that Washington is working through some health issues and will decide by the end of this month whether to run for re-election. His term as the District 10 representative is up this year.

If Washington decides not to run, Jackson said, his mother-in-law, Bernice Scott, may decide to run. Scott, who held the seat before Washington was elected, told Jackson that a group of citizens had approached her and asked her to consider running, Jackson said.

Scott, a force in county government for 20 years, served from 1988 to 2008.

Filing for County Council and other partisan seats statewide opens March 16 and closes March 30.

Washington is charged with felony DUI in connection with a crash Saturday night on Bluff Road that sent him and two other men to the hospital, one with a severe head injury.

Washington did not attend Tuesday night’s council meeting because, according to his attorney, he was recovering from the weekend’s crash, in which authorities say his car rear-ended another.

On Wednesday, Gov. Nikki Haley publicly called for the resignation of Washington and 11th Circuit Solicitor Donnie Myers, who also recently was charged with DUI. Myers’ charge, however, is a misdemeanor.

This story was originally published March 3, 2016 at 8:01 PM with the headline "EXCLUSIVE: Bernice Scott considering a Richland County Council comeback?."