Pelzer mayor candidate comments draw media attention

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By Stan Welch
Pelzer Town Council met Monday night to hold a public hearing on the proposed budget for the coming year. But first Sheriff and candidate for reelection Chad McBride took the floor to present his case for that reelection.  McBride spoke on law enforcement under his leadership, organized protests in the county in recent days, effects of the pandemic (See separate story). He then answered several questions from the audience before mayor pro tem and acting mayor Will Ragland moved on to the public hearing on the budget.
Predictably, the public hearing morphed into a town hall meeting, with the citizens conversing with each other as well as the council members.
The second reading of the budget is scheduled for June 16. A meet and greet event will be held on July 2 at 7 p.m., two weeks before the special election for mayor and two council seats, scheduled for July 14.
The race for mayor took an odd and unfortunate turn recently, when candidate Harold Tennihill used a racial slur on his face book page. His comment  was essentially that n_____s can be found in all races, and all colors. Not surprisingly, in the racially and politically charged atmosphere that exists, the comments were not well received. Area newspapers and other media outlets got wind of the incident and covered it heavily.  Social media has also responded actively. The impact of his comments on the election remains to be seen.