Walker leaves Richland County Council election. Here’s who wants to run in his place
Columbia attorney Tish Dozier Alleyne on Tuesday is throwing her name into the ring for Overture Walker’s seat on the Richland County Council.
But in order to win the seat, she has to win a Democratic Party special primary election.
Walker represents Richland County Council District 8, which covers the northern portion of Forest Acres to Arcadia Lakes and Northeast Richland County.
Walker won the Democratic nomination for County Council District 8, but withdrew from that race earlier this month after he also won the Democratic nomination for state Senate District 22. State law allows candidates to run for multiple offices.
His withdrawal from the county council race triggers a special election for the Democratic nomination for the seat. Filing opened Tuesday and runs through July 30.
The special primary election is scheduled for Aug. 13, with a runoff taking place on Aug. 27 if no candidate receives a majority of the vote in the primary election.
Jim Andreen of the Forward Party had been the only other candidate to file to run for the county council seat.
This is Alleyne’s first campaign for public office, according to a statement from the candidate released Tuesday. Alleyne is from Georgetown County and attended Choppee High School. She also attended the University of South Carolina and has worked as an attorney for Columbia’s Lourie Law Firm for the past 20 years.
“I believe in the power of local government to make a difference in people’s lives,” Alleyne said in the statement. “I have witnessed both the challenges we face and the opportunities we have before us in Richland County. My goal is to align government, community and business to achieve social, economic and environmental outcomes that benefit everyone.”
Walker, who was elected to the Richland Council in 2021, won the Democratic nomination in June in state Senate District 22 to succeed state Sen. Mia McLeod, I-Richland, who chose not to run for reelection.
He defeated state Rep. Ivory Thigpen, D-Richland in the June 25 runoff.
Walker still has a general election opponent, Gary Votour of the Workers Party. However, Walker is the favorite to win the district which is in the heavily Democratic Richland County. Dave Redistricting rates the district as Democratic plus 23 points.
This story was originally published July 23, 2024 at 12:36 PM.
