Two running for mayor of Denmark

Incumbent Mayor Gerald Wright did not file for re-election, ending decades of public service on Denmark City Council.

Current Councilman Harold Johnson and Letitia Dowling filed to run for Denmark mayor.

The nonpartisan election will be held Tuesday, Feb. 11.

Wright was first was elected to Denmark City Council in 1975. He was the first African American elected official in Denmark and Bamberg County.

He served until 1992, when he was named superintendent of schools.

He has served as mayor of Denmark since 2009.

The two-week filing period for the city’s elections ended at noon Friday.

Should Johnson be elected mayor, his seat will have to be filled by a special election, according to Bamberg County Director of Voter Registrations and Elections Athena Moorer.

If he is not elected, he will retain his seat on council.

Dowling has run unsuccessfully for mayor twice before.

In addition to the mayoral seat, three at-large city council seats are also up for election.

Incumbents Rosa Ray James and Jake Bookard filed for reelection. Bonnie H. Love did not.

Chris Murray also filed. Murray unsuccessfully ran for a council seat in 2019.

James, Bookard and Murray all will run unopposed.

The seats carry four-year terms.

Councilmembers Calvin Odom and Charnda Williams were not up for re-election.

The early voting period for the election begins on Monday, Jan. 27 and ends on Friday, Feb. 7.

Early voters can vote from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday at the Bamberg County Voter Registration and Election Office located at 1234 North St. in Bamberg.

At the polls, voters will be required to show one of the following forms of photo identification:

• S.C. driver’s license

• S.C. Department of Motor Vehicles ID card

• S.C. Voter Registration card with photo

Registered voters who cannot vote in person are eligible to vote by absentee ballot, which can be obtained from the Bamberg County Voter Registration and Election Office by calling 803-245-3028.

On election day, polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the following locations:

• East Denmark – Brooker Center, 19 Maple Ave., Denmark

• West Denmark – Old Train Depot, 18748 Heritage Highway, Denmark

Any person who wishes to register to vote in the election must do so no later than 30 days prior to the election, or Friday, Jan. 10.

For more information about registering to vote, visit scvotes.gov or call 803-245-3028.