BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C.—For the first time in nearly eight years, Berkeley County voters have elected a new county supervisor.
Since 2007, Dan Davis has served in that position; however, current Moncks Corner Mayor Bill Peagler defeated him Tuesday night by receiving 56.2% of the vote. Davis received 43.80% of the vote.
Peagler celebrated his victory with family, friends and supporters at the old Moncks Corner Train Depot.
“I am very happy,” stated Peagler. “Like I said the last time, voters made a statement. They came through. We had a concerted effort by councilmen, leaders, Hanahan Mayor Minnie Blackwell—they came to support me.”
Since 2005, Peagler has served as the mayor of Moncks Corner, a part-time position. Because the role of county supervisor is a fulltime job, Peagler will now have to give up his longtime law practice. He said he hopes to make the transition from mayor to county supervisor a smooth one for the town of Moncks Corner.
“When I step down as mayor—Michael Lockliear, he’s my mayor pro-tem, he’s going to be stepping in and then after 120 days, I think it is, there will be a special election,” explained Peagler.
As soon as Peagler takes office, he stated that the first thing on his agenda will be to meet with each county department head.
“We’ve got people who’ve not been able to do things because they haven’t been compensated, and we want to help our employees,” Peagler stated. “My heart goes out to them.”
To his supporters, Peagler stated that he plans to work closely with the local municipalities in an effort to make the county more united.
“From Moncks Corner to Goose Creek to our Daniel Island, from St. Stephen to Hanahan to Pinopolis – together we can make a difference,” he told the crowd.
Some of the many people who attended Peagler’s victory party included: SC State Senator Larry Grooms, Moncks Corner Town Administrator Marc Hehn, Berkeley Co. Councilman Tim Callanan, Berkeley Co. Councilman Kenneth Gunn and Jerry Beckley—who originally ran against Peagler and Davis but then endorsed the mayor a day later after coming in third during the primary.
“Without his work and without his people, we may not have been celebrating tonight,” stated Peagler.
Although Beckley received 16.28 percent of the vote on June 10th, he stated that he looks forward to working with Peagler to help make Berkeley Co. a better place for the people who call it home.
“I think we can do great things. We aligned ourselves so closely on what needs to happen in Berkeley County,” Beckley stated. “It’s a good day for the people of Berkeley County.”
Tuesday’s runoff also included the District 6 race. Incumbent Jack Schurlknight received 51.08 percent of the vote while James Law received 48.92 percent.
According to the South Carolina State Election Commission, a little more than 10,000 people showed up at the polls in Berkeley County—that equates to about 10 percent of the registered voters.
