The State endorsement: Our Lexington County Council choices

The nine-member Lexington County Council could see five new faces next year, so The State Editorial Board is offering recommendations in the decisive June 11 primary.

Many of Lexington County’s 310,000 residents are new. The population is exploding, and that won’t stop. It’s projected to soar past 580,000 by 2050. That makes managing growth and maintaining infrastructure huge priorities.

The strain is showing. County Council canceled a 45-year-old contract with cities and towns within its borders in December and the dispute over road funding and development standards has only intensified. A stalled effort to get a new ambulance led to finger pointing, and a new crackdown on vacation rentals is getting mixed reviews.

A heated campaign and early voting are underway, but only one of the four incumbents’ challengers makes a strong case as an alternative. With no Democrats or third-party candidates waiting on the Nov. 5 general election ballot, the Republican primary will determine who is sworn in next year.

In District 1, The State endorses two-term incumbent Scott Whetstone. Whetstone’s approach seems more comprehensive and shows greater depth, breadth and nuance than that of his opponent Michael Bishop, a former mayor of Springdale. Both have business backgrounds, but Whetstone’s 30 years in the utility industry will serve him well as government grapples with how to balance energy needs in a changing climate.

In District 3, The State endorses two-term incumbent Darrell Hudson. As in other council races, the clash is over housing density. Incumbents like Hudson support fewer homes per acre. He has more experience as council vice chair and on the board of the Central Midlands Council of Governments, and more gravitas. His opponent, Brent Munnerlyn, who owns a pharmacy and a fireworks business, accused the council of corruption without proof last week. And in an interview with Lexington Life, Munnerlyn said a council vote to restrict fireworks at night was “one of the key motivations behind my decision to run for County Council.” That’s too self-serving for us.

In District 4, The State endorses Doug Leonard. Both he and opponent Todd Cockrell would take long views on decision-making and focus on fixing county roads. That’s essential because a 2023 report said 70% of them could be in “fair” or worse condition by 2030. Both also have strong business backgrounds. Cockrell serves on several chamber of commerce boards, and Leonard has managerial experience at several large companies, including Pepsi, Mobil Oil and Southeastern Freight Lines. But Leonard got granular; he said the county needs to “immediately” identify a process to maintain a third of its roads and needs more data to decide how to maintain them over the next 5/10/20 years. That shows how he would do the job.

In District 5, The State endorses Clifford Fisher. Incumbent Gene “Bimbo” Jones has lived in Lexington County all his life and has served on County Council since 2020. Fisher works in road development and construction and is a reserve Richland County sheriff’s deputy. That background would be helpful. There’s also this: Before registering to run, he went and talked to Jones in person. Fisher says they’ve been friends for a long time and he and his companies have bought an estimated $1 million of tires from Jones’s business. “When we parted ways,” Fisher told the Lexington Ledger, “we shook hands and agreed we’d still be friends no matter what.” What a refreshing approach to politics. We hope Fisher keeps modeling it.

In District 6, The State endorses incumbent Charli Wessinger. She merits a second term because she sees the bigger picture and sweats the small details. Challenger Jason “J.J.” Resnick, a former emergency medical technician who owns a concrete construction company, says the council failed when it didn’t pursue a new ambulance with state funds. Wessinger blames strings on the money and poor communication. Her broader focus on everything from abandoned animals to agritourism will be valuable, assuming that communication improves.

This story was originally published May 28, 2024 at 9:15 AM.