Tuttle chosen to fill council seat in Pelzer

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By Stan Welch

Pelzer finally has a full five member town council. In a special election held Tuesday, voters chose Alisha Tuttle to fill the one vacant seat on Pelzer Town Council.

Since Mayor Roger Scott was sidelined early this year by the health issues that eventually claimed his life, the Council had operated with a bare legal quorum, following the resignation of Olene Bear.

In January, incumbent Eddie Waits won re-election, and former Councilman Will Ragland was elected after an absence of one term. Incumbent Mike Matthews, serving as mayor pro tem at the time, was not up for re-election. Still, for some time, the Council had to have perfect attendance in order to conduct business. The three sitting members rose t the occasion, and in a special election held in July, Skip Goldsmith won the fourth seat as a write in candidate. Ragland assumed duties as mayor pro tem. He later won election as mayor, defeating Harold Tennihill.
Still, the even number of Council members made for some awkward moments, as tie votes left some issues undecided.

But Tuesday night, the long hiatus was ended, as Alisha Tuttle won the fifth council seat in yet another special election. She garnered seventy one votes, with Donna Ide receiving fifty four votes. Margaret Jamison finished third with three votes.
Mayor Ragland declared himself very pleased with the outcome. “I welcome Ms. Tuttle to the Council and look forward to working with her, and with having a full Council at last. There is work to be done on behalf of our town and its citizens, and the entire Council is ready to get to work.”