STAFF

Turnout weak for high-priced runoffs

Web posted June 29, 1998

By John Boyette
South Carolina Editor

AIKEN -- Two primary runoff elections cost Aiken County taxpayers more than $10,000, but it could have been worse.

``We were really disappointed with the runoffs,'' said Denton Johnson, executive director of elections for the county. ``We had to work just as hard for those runoffs as we did for the primaries.''

Mr. Johnson estimated Tuesday's runoffs -- one held by Republicans for a spot on the Aiken County Council and the other by Democrats to choose their nominee for state superintendent of education -- cost taxpayers about $10,500. With roughly 1,500 votes cast, the cost per ballot was $7.

Aiken County helped reduce the cost by not buying new ballots for the runoffs and keeping personnel to the legal minimum, Mr. Johnson said. The cost could have been as much as $20 per vote if not for the cost-cutting measures.

``We tried to cut down every way we could,'' he said. ``I hate to spend taxpayers' money.''

The June 9 primaries cost taxpayers $35,000, a little more than $4 per vote, Mr. Johnson said.

Tuesday's runoffs saw Susan Giddings defeat Gregg Gregory for the GOP nomination for District 2 on county council and Inez Tenenbaum get past Tom Parks on the Democratic ballot for education superintendent.

The Giddings-Gregory race was decided by only 44 votes -- 541 to 497 -- but Ms. Tenenbaum, a former candidate for lieutenant governor, easily outpolled Mr. Parks 363 to 130 in the county and she beat him as well statewide.

Ms. Tenenbaum will face David Eckstrom, the GOP nominee, in the general election Nov. 3. With no Democratic opposition, Ms. Giddings is almost assured of winning the council seat.

Although turnout for the primaries was low, Mr. Johnson expects voters to turn out in higher numbers in the fall.

``It will be higher but I don't expect a lot of interest still,'' he said. ``If we hit 25 or 30 percent we'll be lucky.''

Races for the Aiken County Board of Education, which are nonpartisan and therefore not a part of the primary process, could bring some voters out, Mr. Johnson said. Three incumbents -- Sheran Proctor, Glover Hickson and Charles Reames -- announced last week that they would not seek re-election. Candidates have until noon on Aug. 1 to file for the school board races.

Although statewide races, particularly the battle between incumbent David Beasley and Democrat Jim Hodges for the governor's seat, have created interest, there aren't many contested races on the local level.

Of the five local members of the state House of Representatives, only Democrat William Clyburn has opposition. He will square off against Edna Daniels to see who gets to represent District 82, which covers parts of Aiken and all of Edgefield counties.

For Aiken County Council, only two of the four races are contested. Kathy Rawls, a Democratic incumbent, will take on Andy Windham in District 1. Phil Napier, who won a primary showdown on the Republican side, will face Dale Stephens in the fall.