By Stan Welch
Pelzer Mayor Kenneth Davis has resigned his position, effective Wednesday, Feb. 8 to spend more time with his family and job. According to Davis’s letter of resignation, which was tendered to town administrator Skip Watkins, Davis said that various factors prevent him from dedicating the time to the Town which he feels it deserves.
He add that the goals he had set when he ran for Mayor ( he began his third term in last month) had largely ben accomplished. Those goals included restoring Pelzer’s recreational program, as well as to upgrade the Monkey Park and adjacent community building.
Davis also stated in his letter that his sanitation business is flourishing and he needs to spend more time at the job. He also expressed a desire to spend more time with his family, and especially his teenage daughter, before she goes off to college. He also expressed a desire to be more active in his church.
The letter of resignation continues, “I face the same time constraints issues as all of you. I had to take a good hard look at my life and prioritize things. Of course, God and my family come first, followed by my business.”
Watkins said that a special election will have to be held. State code sets the thirteenth Tuesday following the resignation as the day for the election, which will be non-partisan. Watkins says he has no indications of who might run. “Incumbents in Pelzer tend to stand unopposed for re-election. I believe the entire Council, along with Kenneth, were in their third term, and had been unopposed the last two election cycles.”
Pelzer has four streets and contains less than fifty households in its town limits, a circumstance Davis acknowledges in his letter. “Even though there are only a few streets and residents in the actual town of Pelzer, I have always looked at the town as a whole. I have always felt incorporating the other streets to unite the town is the best thing for Pelzer.”
