For Bluffton’s council race, 2 candidates take different paths to fundraising, endorsements
Local politics has long been a contest of money and influence and these themes are playing out as two candidates vie for Bluffton’s lone remaining town council seat.
Candidate Emily Burden, a local boutique owner, trails her opponent in fundraising but has a clear lead in the number of local politicians that have endorsed her. Candidate Emily Mayer, a former teacher and current political advocate, has taken a substantial lead in fundraising but lags her opponent in local endorsements. Neither of these measures are an indication of how the race will ultimately be decided by voters but it does show two differing approaches to the money versus influence conundrum of local campaigning.
Both candidates are raising money in different amounts and from differing sources - both inside and out of the local community. Mayer raised more than $9,000 which is $7,000 more than Burden’s $2,000 according to campaign finance disclosure forms filed with The South Carolina Ethics Commission on Jan. 24.
This town council contest is the only race on the upcoming Feb 13 ballot with both candidates hoping to be selected by voters to fill the council seat left vacant by newly-inaugurated Mayor Larry Toomer.
Mayer’s campaigned picked-up 104 donations totaling $9,494.50. Burden’s campaign had five donors raising a total of $2,050. The SC Ethics Commission caps individual donations at $1,000 for local races.
The entirety of contributions to the Burden campaign come from individuals with addresses within the town of Bluffton. The most notable is SC State Representative Bill Herbkersman (R-Beaufort) who donated $500 in the beginning of December. Conversely, many of Mayer’s contributions come from addresses outside of town. Donors to her race from outside of Bluffton outnumber those from inside at a rate of four to one, with 80 coming from outside and 24 from within. Those donations came in from across South Carolina, including Columbia and Charleston and towns in her home state of New Jersey and as far west as California and Washington.
“I think it just speaks to the variety of communities that I’ve lived in throughout my life,” Mayer said. “Very few are people who I didn’t personally know or meet on the campaign trail. So I think that just really speaks to people knowing who I am and what I stand for, and believing in me enough to give some of their hard earned money to the campaign.”
Burden said she doesn’t see the fundraising difference as a disadvantage.
“I just feel that I have a lot of local support here and I think that shows,” she said. “Fundraising has not been the top priority for me. My goal has really just been to get in front of people to meet with residents to hear what they have to say.”
Notable Mayer donors include Tameika Isaac Devine, who was recently elected to the SC State Senate for District 19 and Aditi Bussells, a City of Columbia Council Person.
Local Endorsements
Fundraising is only one side of the campaign coin with endorsements being the other. In that category, Burden outpaced Mayer with her list of local endorsements.
Burden’s supporters include Mayor Toomer, former Mayor Sulka, Town Council Member Dan Wood, state representative Herbkersman, SC State Representaive Weston Newton (R-Beaufort), SC State Senator Tom Davis (R-Beaufort), county council members Logan Cunningham, Mark Lawson and School Board Member Rachel Wisnefski.
Mayer’s lone local endorsement came from town council member Bridgette Frazier.
Perspective from a political veteran
The town’s former Mayor Lisa Sulka said that $4,000 was the average donation total she experienced across her many previous campaigns. Sulka was on the council for 20 years, starting as council member in 2004 and serving as mayor from 2008 to January of this year.
Sulka wasn’t sure that fundraising totals can point toward a front-runner. “Does the one with the most signs win? I don’t know,” Sulka said. “It doesn’t take that much money to do grassroots and I really believe Bluffton is still a grassroots kind of area.”
When and Where to vote
The special election is scheduled for February 13. For a few precincts in Bluffton, voting will happen at a different location.
The Bluffton 2C, Bluffton 2D, Bluffton 7A and Pritchardville 1 precincts, which usually vote at the Pritchardville Elementary School, have moved to May River High School, located at 601 New Riverside Rd, Bluffton, SC.
The Bluffton 2B and Sandy Pointe precincts, which usually vote at the H.E. McCracken Middle School, have moved to the Bluffton Elementary School, located at 160 H.E. McCracken Cir, Bluffton, SC.
The voting location changes are only for the special election and the precincts will return to the normal voting place after this election.
