Newcomer Newsome wins Turbeville council seat

By ROBERT BAKER
Item Staff Writer
bbaker@theitem.com

TURBEVILLE — When political newcomer Jason Newsome decided to run for one of two open seats on Turbeville Town Council, he said he wanted to help make his community stable.

The 29-year-old will have his chance: Newsome was elected, along with incumbent Dr. Kate E. Smith, to Turbeville Town Council on Tuesday, winning 88 votes.

"Economic development would be my top priority," said Newsome, who works as the assistant manager at the Turbeville IGA. He could not be reached for comment but said before the election that he hoped a new, "Fresh set of eyes could help the town improve further."

"We need to be able to make the community stable for the citizens in the long term, and I think a fresh set of eyes would be good for that," Newsome said.

A graduate of East Clarendon High School and Winthrop University, Newsome is married to Kimberly Newsome and is the father of Maddie, 5, and Graham, 3.

"I really think that I can do something for this community," he said. "I plan to be here for a long time, so I"m looking to do something that will help us grow in the future."

Smith garnered 85 votes in the election, defeating J. Doyl Gray, who had 67 votes, and fellow incumbent Marion Dukes, who netted 31 votes.

A family practice physician with East Clarendon Medical Center in Turbeville, Smith currently serves as council's mayor pro tempore and is completing her second term. She could not be reached for comment.

Town Council is made up of four members and a mayor, all of whom serve staggered four-year terms.

Town Administrator Pat Goodwin said that Tuesday's election turnout was better than expected.

"It's a little better than normal for an off-year, actually," he said. "Generally we have about 90 folks who vote. This year, we had 144 votes."

He said the results would be certified Friday and that he expected Tuesday's outcome to be confirmed.

"We had two challenged ballots: one person voted three names instead of two and one person voted who should not have because they weren't registered 30 days prior to the election," Goodwin said. "(Those votes) will not be counted, but I don't see the numbers changing significantly at all."

He said Newsome and Smith would be sworn in during council's regular meeting in December.

"(Newsome) won't begin serving until January, though," Goodwin said.



Contact Staff Writer Robert Baker at bbaker@theitem.com or (803) 435-8511.