It was closer than most Kentucky Derby races and needed final confirmation and certification from the Charleston County Board of Voter Registration and Elections to verify the winners. But with eight candidates running for four seats on the Isle of Palms City Council, two challengers and two incumbents prevailed in the Nov. 7 election, which brought out more than half of the island’s eligible voters.
“There were 2,569 votes cast in the Isle of Palms election, with voter turnout coming in at 56.86 percent – which is pretty high for a municipal election,” said Matt Dillane, marketing and communications coordinator with the Charleston County Board of Voter Registration and Elections. “Whereas for all of the rest of Charleston County’s municipal elections, voter turnout was only 22.91 percent.”
The high percentage of IOP voter turnout was due mainly to a long-simmering referendum question on the issue of whether or not to cap short-term rentals and partly to the combination of old and new candidates.
First-time electee Elizabeth Campsen polled 1,346 votes – more than any other IOP candidate. Scott Pierce finished a close second, gaining re-election with 1,300 votes. First-time candidate Ashley Carroll placed third with 1,239 votes. Longtime city council member Jimmy Ward gained his fifth non-consecutive term of office by tallying 1,230 votes.
“I’ve always tried to pay attention to the job and come prepared for positive solutions for the city,” said Ward, a resident since 1986. “Employee retention will be an issue for us in the new year, and we need to hold onto good people, especially police and fire workers.”
Carroll, co-owner of Carroll Realty, stated that she is grateful to have been elected, and her initial focus now is to “foster a more united council and community to keep our island progressing.” She added, “Trust and communication is what I hope we can put back into the council as a whole. And I want us to get started on the right foot, even if we tend to disagree on some things.”
Aside from choosing candidates, residents were asked on the election ballots whether the city should cap the number of investment shortterm rental business licenses at a maximum of 1,600. A total of 1,393 residents not only said ‘no’ to a cap, their decisive 54.5 percent of the vote means that any future cap as originally proposed by proponents is unlikely to happen across the island. “I’m very pleased the residents voted down a very poorly written and misguided referendum,” said Terri Haack, the designated representative of Wild Dunes, LLC, owner of Wild Dunes Resort. “A very small percentage of residents were attempting to regulate property rights. And if the two-thirds of the property owners that didn’t have a say in this vote had voted, I think the outcome would have been even more lopsided.”
Mayor Phillip Pounds pointed out that the issue will likely be settled at some moment in the near future only by “an action of the council.”
Current council member Blair Hahn said that both new and old members will have to set aside differing opinions to come up with a long-term solution. “Now that the election is behind us, I would like to start the process of crafting a short-term rental ordinance that does what the vast majority of the island says they want: protect residential neighborhoods,” asserted Hahn. “And in 2024, I expect the state legislature to pass a measure which, going forward, will void any STR cap ordinance.” The state house currently has a pending bill that, if passed, would require any qualifying short-term rental properties to be assessed at 6 percent of their value. “Primary residencies are taxed at 4 percent of their assessed value, second homes and STRs are taxed at 6 percent,” said Rep. W. Lee Hewitt (R) of South Carolina House District 108, which includes Charleston and Georgetown counties. “So even if a property owner on Isle of Palms wanted to turn their primary residence into a part-time STR, they would have to exceed 72 days as an STR for the tax rate to go from 4 percent to 6 percent.”
“I’m sure we can look at the facts and data and see if we need to craft an ordinance that will work for everyone on the island,” Carroll added.
Carroll, Campsen, Pierce and Ward will be sworn into office in the new year on Jan. 2, 2024.
Editor’s Note: Candidates Elizabeth Campsen and Scott Pierce were contacted for comment, but were unsuccessfully reached by the print of this article’s publication.
By L. C. Leach III
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