By Stan Welch
Ed Poore, current chairman of the Piedmont Public Service Commission is announcing his candidacy for the District 26 Greenville County Council seat recently vacated by the sudden death of Dan Rawls. His first announcement came Monday night, March 3, in front of a public group in Fork Shoals. Monday afternoon, he contacted The Journal to make his announcement public.
Charles Edward “Ed” Poore, Jr., a Republican and conservative, who has served a total of ten years on the Public Service Commission, offers a wealth of finance and accounting experience. He served thirty seven years as an auditor in the sales tax and use tax division of the S.C. Tax Commission, later named the S.C. Department of Revenue; before moving into the private sector as a sales and use tax consultant.
In addition, Poore served thirty years more than thirty years in the U.S. Army, retiring with the rank of Chief Warrant Officer Five. Poore laughs when he explains, “If you add up all my years of public service, it exceeds how long I have been alive. That’s kind of unusual, don’t you think?”
Poore is a native of Williamston and attended Palmetto High School, before receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree from Erskine College.
Poore told The Journal that he has spoken with the members of the Public Service Commission, as well as with Piedmont Fire Chief and Administrator Tracy Wallace. “I wanted to assure them that I am not abandoning them or the Piedmont area. Dan Rawls was a fine representative of that area, and I hope to be as well. I am hopeful that I can be of even greater service to the people of Piedmont as a member of the County Council.”
The schedule of the various primaries and special elections is a bit confusing and garbled. This is how it lines up.
A special election will be held to fill the term of Dan Rawls ending December 31, 2014. Filing Opens at noon Mar. 7 and closes noon Mar. 17. A Primary Election will be held April 29. If a run-off is required it will be held May 13. General Election voting for the unexpired term will be held on June 17, 2014
A general election to fill the District 26 Greenville County Council seat for the four year term beginning January 1, 2015, will be held in conjunction with other elections on Nov. 4, 2014.
Filing for the general election opens at 8:30 a.m. March 17 and closes at noon March 31. A Primary Election will be held June 10 and the General Election to fill the seat will be held Nov. 4.
