No filing period extensions needed
Polk County’s municipal election this year will include 11 candidates vying for nine open seats.
Filing ended Friday, July 15 with at least one person filing for each open seat.
The election will include two races this year, one in Saluda for the city’s board of commissioners and one in Tryon for town council.
Both incumbent mayors up for re-election filed to run again. Columbus Mayor Eric McIntyre and Tryon Mayor Alan Peoples are running unchallenged.
Saluda will have two open council seats, and incumbents John Morgan and Leon Morgan both filed for re-election. Also filing in Saluda for council is Lynn Cass.
In Tryon, three candidates filed for the open seats of Austin Chapman and Roy Miller. Chapman is not seeking re-election. Miller filed for re-election, and challengers George Baker and Jim Scott also filed for town council.
Columbus will not have a race this year. Three town council seats are open and three residents filed as candidates. The seats of Michael Gage, Richard Hall and Ernie Kan are up for re-election. Hall and Kan filed for re-election, but Gage did not file. Ricky McCallister filed for the open seat.
Cass in Saluda is a newcomer to Polk County elections, while both Scott in Tryon and McCallister in Columbus are former councilmen. Baker has sought election before for Tryon Town Council.
Each town in Polk County will have to decide whether to have one-stop, or early voting, which is normally done about two and a half weeks prior to the election. Early voting will be done only at the Polk County Board of Elections Office in Columbus.
This year’s municipal election will be held on Nov. 8. Polk residents have until Oct. 15 to register to vote.
Landrum City Council also has seats open this year with the filing deadline on Aug. 8. The council seats of Jon Matheis, Randy Wohnig and Joyce Whiteside will be available. Residents interested in running for election as a Landrum council member can file at Landrum City Hall. Landrum residents will have until Oct. 8 to register to vote.
No one had filed to run for Landrum City Council as of press time Monday, July 18.