ATLANTIC BEACH — Atlantic Beach’s mayoral race remains undecided.
The town’s Municipal Election Commission on April 3 declared the results of November’s contest between Town Councilman John David and Mayor Pro Tempore Josephine Isom to be “significantly doubtful” and they ruled that 13 challenged ballots should be thrown out.
The commission voted to hold a special election in the coming weeks between David and Isom. The date of that election has not been announced.
“The mayoral election is hereby deemed invalid,” Commission Chairman Kenneth McIver said. Commissioners Derrick Stevens and Carolyn Gore supported McIver’s motion to throw out the November results.
The protest hearing was held in response to Isom’s complaint that 18 provisional ballots in the election came from people who live outside the town.
Those 18 ballots had initially given David a 65-64 edge when they were counted Nov. 9, after Isom appeared to be the winner on Election Day. A runoff would have still been required, though, because a candidate would have needed 66 votes out of the 131-ballot total to prevail due to two write-in votes, according to the S.C. Election Commission.
During the protest hearing, the 13 ballots were thrown out because commissioners agreed those voters were not Atlantic Beach residents.
David and his attorney Ian Duggan disagreed with the votes being discarded.
“We already had them upheld once, and then the Election Commission has apparently reconsidered,” Duggan said. “On what authority, and on what basis? We don’t know. We’re going to take a look at it, and we can always go to the courts to seek redress.”
Initially, the commission had accepted the challenged ballots when it considered them Nov. 9. But before the results could be certified, outgoing Mayor Jake Evans convened an emergency meeting to disband the election commission, a decision that came shortly after Isom’s allegations about the provisional ballots.
Less than three weeks later, Atlantic Beach leaders reinstated the panel but ousted chairman Joe Montgomery, publicly accusing him of violating election laws. Montgomery denied any wrongdoing.
Isom’s attorney Kenneth Davis told the commission this week that when the provisional ballots had been accepted Nov. 9, that hearing had not been “properly constituted” because a court reporter had not been present.
He also pointed to Montgomery getting disqualified as chairman as another reason why the commission should disregard the 18 ballots the panel had initially accepted.
“He was not impartial and not in a position to properly adjudicate the provisional ballots,” Davis said.
After the election upheaval in November, David sued Evans, Isom, Town Councilwoman Jacqueline Gore, the town and its Municipal Election Commission for preventing the certification of the election results. The defendants have denied any wrongdoing, and the case remains pending.
Before April 3, the commission had delayed making any decision on the results of the mayoral race for four months.
On March 20, the commission had to reschedule its planned meeting to certify the results due to a lack of a quorum. Then, a week later, it held a meeting to certify them, but then voted to hold the protest hearing before the certification.
David had even petitioned the court to force the commission to certify the results.
“It’s time to move on with the democratic process in Atlantic Beach,” Duggan said after the hearing. “This was not a hearing that should have taken place today. It should have taken place four months ago, and it’s just a shame that we’ve got this sort of stuff happening in Atlantic Beach.”
Despite his frustration with the process, David said he will run in the upcoming special election.
“I can do good for the town of Atlantic Beach,” he said. “I have had the opportunity to serve my country for over 30 years. And I have the skills, the knowledge and ability to help this town, and I will help this town.”
Isom could not be reached for comment.
On April 3, the commission did certify the races for two Town Council seats that were up for grabs in November. For four moths, those races had also remained uncertified.
Town Councilwoman Jacqueline Gore maintained her seat with 71 votes, and candidate Carla Taylor won the second seat with 69 votes. Remaining candidates Shaun Swinson Sr. and Jerry Finney Sr. received 62 votes and 41 votes, respectively.
