Narrow vote decides West Columbia special election, recount possible
A longtime West Columbia resident and State Fair director is on course to become the newest member of West Columbia City Council, if his final margin keeps up after a potential recount.
George Crowe, maintenance director of the S.C. State Fairgrounds, received the most votes in a special election Tuesday. Unofficial results put him four votes ahead of realtor Ashley Bennett Johnson, 146 votes to 142.
But election officials will open two provisional ballots cast in the District 3 race at a meeting of the Lexington County Election Commission to certify the results on Thursday. If those two votes go to Johnson, it will narrow the final margin to the point to trigger a legally mandated recount, the county election office said Tuesday.
A third candidate, former West Columbia Mayor Bobby Horton, received 35 votes.
The seat has been vacant since Casey Hallman resigned this past summer. The Gray Collegiate Academy assistant principal moved outside the city limits and had to give up her seat after 10 years on the council.
The race drew a wide range of age groups for the open seat. Horton was attempting a political comeback at the age of 87. Johnson was running for her first political office at the age of 34. Crowe is 69.
If his win is confirmed, Crowe will serve until the next regular election in 2025.
District 3 covers the northwestern corner of the city, including the Westwood Hills neighborhood. It is mostly north of Sunset Boulevard, west of Botanical Parkway and east of Interstate 26.
The town of Gaston also had a regularly scheduled town election on Tuesday for two seats on the town council. No candidates filed to appear on the ballot, so all votes were cast as write-ins.
Jimmy Cox received 16 votes, while Charles Sharpe received 14. Both men will be elected to serve on the council.
This story was originally published January 17, 2023 at 8:53 PM.
.jpg)