Just a few days into the signing up period for the coming primary elections, the majority of incumbents on the Anderson County Council have declared for reelection.
Current Council Chairman Tommy Dunn, from District five, has signed up as has vice-chairman Ken Waters, from District Six. Councilmen Eddie Moore and Tom Allen, from Districts Three and Four, respectively, are also seeking to retain their seats. Councilwoman Gracie Floyd, from District Two, and the Council’s only Democrat, has also signed up. As of press time, the District One Council seat has drawn no official candidate.
District One’s Councilman Francis Crowder, the Council’s elder statesman stated, although obtusely, Tuesday night that he will not run again. During a presentation he made on the challenges facing Anderson County, Crowder proposed a county road tax to bolster available revenues for paving, saying, “Since I am not running, I can say this.”
Rep. Brian White, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee of the General Assembly, has signed up. Incumbent state representatives Don Bowen and Joshua Putnam have also signed up for reelection. Representatives Anne Thayer and Mike Gambrell are expected to seek reelection, but have not officially registered yet.
Dan Sharp is running for the office or probate judge. In that race, in a strange twist, incumbent Martha Newton, who, along with County councilwoman Gracie Floyd, was one of two Democrats holding public office in the County, changed her party affiliation to republican, sating, “It is apparent that the political power in Anderson County lies with the Republican Party.
The last day to register for the elections is March 30th.
