On Nov. 5, the United States experienced elections in local, state and national governments. The city of Clemson was no exception, with local elections taking place for mayor and city council.
Incumbent Robert Halfacre defeated Councilwoman Catherine Watt in the mayoral race, and the three available city council seats were taken by newcomers Windsor Sherrill, Alma Evans and Adam Jones.
Winning a total of 3,122 votes compared to Watt’s 1,854, Halfacre’s goals for his new term include updating Clemson’s comprehensive plan and working with residents to determine how to use the land surrounding the University, making housing more attainable, including 99-year leases on housing and properties owned by the University and continuing to maintain strong city and University relations.
“We’ve worked incredibly hard to get our message out during this campaign. The challenges facing our city are a reflection of the enormous opportunity in front of us. The Clemson community overwhelmingly supported our message of smart growth, inclusive communities and continued enhancements to town-gown relations. This is the honor of a lifetime. And I am grateful to the voters of Clemson for putting their trust in me for four more years,” Halfacre told The Tiger in an interview.
Sherill, earning 2,498, is a professor and associate vice president for health research at Clemson University. She plans to better represent those in the community who have been “under-resourced and underrepresented,” work on infrastructure, create more sustainable economic development and increase affordable housing in her time on the city council.
“I am honored and excited to serve on Clemson City Council. We have an incredible community, and I look forward to representing my neighbors and friends. Clemson is a wonderful college town. We can be even better, even as we grow and evolve,” Sherrill told The Tiger in an interview.
Clemson alumna and Tri-County Technical College professor Evans, obtaining 2,527 votes, plans to foster the University’s relationship with the city, make housing more affordable and organize meetings with the Clemson University Board of Trustees to discuss limiting freshman student admissions for at least one year to build more dorms.
Jones, a Clemson alumnus and the president of HMC Builders Inc., earned 2,244 votes. His main plans revolve around increasing affordable housing, adding parking, fixing traffic issues and protecting the small college-town feel of Clemson.
The Tiger reached out to Evans and Jones, neither of whom responded by publication.
“To attain a seat on Clemson council, one takes the total number of votes cast divided by the number of seats (3), and divides by 2 to ascertain a majority,” Amy Sams, executive director of Pickens County Voter Registration and Elections, said in an article by Upstate Today.
Incumbent councilmember Bob Brookover reached 2,190 votes, which is over the necessary threshold of 2,081 votes for an individual to be eligible for city council.
“In the situation of more candidates qualifying than openings available, the top vote-getters will earn council spots, according to S.C. Code of Law 5-15-63 — the state statute the city follows for council elections,” according to Upstate Today. “A total of 12,538 votes were cast in the race between Pickens and Anderson Counties, according to unofficial results.”
However, Brookover declined the opportunity for a vote recount.
Candidates Nanda Edgerton and John Crolley, with 1,473 and 1,503 votes, respectively, did not reach the threshold.
The new terms will officially start in January 2025 and will last until December 2029.
