Filing begins Friday for elected officials in Polk’s three towns 

 

POLK COUNTY—Filing for this year’s municipal election begins Friday. There are council and mayor seats open for Polk County’s three municipalities of Columbus, Saluda and Tryon.   

Filing for mayor and city council seats begins July 5 at noon and ends on July 19 at noon, according to the Polk County Board of Elections.  

In Columbus, the seat of the mayor and three council seats are up for re-election.  

Mayor Eric McIntyre’s seat is up, as well as the council seats of Margaret Metcalf, Richard Hall and Mark Phillips. Metcalf is finishing a four-year term, with Hall and Phillips finishing two-year terms.  

In Saluda, the council seats of Leon Morgan and Stanley Walker are up for re-election. Both the Saluda seats were four-year terms.  

In Tryon, Mayor Alan Peoples is up for re-election as well as the council seats of Crys Armbrust and Chrelle Booker. The mayor seat is a two-year term and both council seats are for four-year terms. Booker was elected in 2017 to finish out the term former commissioner Roy Miller, who resigned. The new seat will be for a four-year term.  

To file for a municipal seat in Polk County, candidates must live within the city limits of the town/city they are running and pay a $5 filing fee.  

Any candidate that raises or spends money or makes a public announcement that they intend to run must file campaign finance paperwork with the board of elections within 10 days of the announcement.  

The 2019 election will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 5. There are no primaries for municipal elections and candidates run non-partisan.  

Election day voting hours will be from 6:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m. at each municipality’s polling place.  

Saluda will have a special referendum this year regarding alcohol sales. The referendum will ask Saluda voters if they are for or against permitting the sale of mixed beverages in hotels, restaurants, private clubs, community theatres and convention centers.  

If the referendum passes, all establishments who qualify will be allowed to serve mixed alcoholic beverages if they so choose and acquire the necessary permits.  

Saluda residents located in Henderson County will have the same question as Polk County.