New mayor chosen in tight race in Swansea. One town council seat even closer
At a troubled period in the town’s history, Swansea voters elected a new mayor Tuesday.
Two town council members, Doris Simmons and Jerome Williams, were running to replace Mayor Viola McDaniel.
After a tight race, Simmons, who works in financial services, emerged on top with 55% of the vote, beating Williams, a football coach at Swansea Middle School, who had 45% of the vote.
The winner will face a challenging time for the town of 700 people. Last fall, McDaniel warned town council members that the town was down to less than $600 on hand as expenses threatened to outstrip the town’s revenue before it received an infusion of annual tax collections at the beginning of the year.
The town has continued to struggle, as Swansea Town Council voted in September to eliminate its police department as a cost-saving measure, after the police chief, one of only two officers on staff, resigned.
The town water department has been a revenue generator, but Swansea is now in the process of franchising with Lexington County’s Joint Municipal Water and Sewer Commission to operate it.
A study found multiple faults in the town’s water operations, and projected that fixing them would cost Swansea $15 million over 10 years. Simmons said during the campaign that the town has around $700,000 in water bills that have not been collected.
The town of Swansea’s finances have been plagued with controversy before. Former Mayor Jerald Sanders was indicted in 2021 for allegedly embezzling $4,500 in town funds. That case was eventually settled through pre-trial intervention.
The next year, Simmons and fellow councilman Mike Luongo filed a lawsuit against McDaniel and the town alleging an audit found some $3.3 million in assets unaccounted for. McDaniel has disputed that interpretation of the audit results.
Two town council seats were also up for grabs on Tuesday. Melissa Williams was elected uncontested in District 2, while Linda Butler and Angie Alley tied in District 1 with 21 votes each, with all precincts reporting.
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