Florence County Council appoints youngest chairman

Taylor Ford
·1 min read

FLORENCE COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) — Florence County Council members elected William Schofield as their new chairman at their first monthly meeting of the year on Jan. 18.

Schofield, 40, is the youngest person to hold the position. He is following in the footsteps of his father, James Schofield, who served on the council for 16 years.

James Schofield also served as chairman. He died in July 2020 after suffering a stroke.

William Schofield defeated Frank J. “Buddy” Brand II for the seat held by his father in 2022. After suffering a tough loss in 2020 to Brand in a special election to fill his father’s vacant seat, William Schofield committed himself to a “comeback” campaign and he completed his goal.

James Schofield

Initially, Schofield said he had no desire for politics, but a year before his father died, the “political bug” bit him and he dove headfirst into community service and found a deep love for Florence.

Each year, Florence County Council members appoint executive officers at the the first meeting of the year.

Schofield released a statement about his appointment.

“To my fellow members of council, I am honored and humbled by your decision to elect me as your chairman. Each of you brings a passion to this council and I am confident your continued contribution to the dialogue will help us as we move forward and work together proactively to solve problems that affect our county citizens and businesses. As chairman I will always try to provide information to every member of this council with an open-door policy focusing on transparency not only to you but to the citizens. As well as making sure that the needs of every district are fairly considered by this Council. The future of this great county is bright.“

* * *

Taylor Ford is a digital journalist for News13. She joined the News13 team in January 2023. Taylor is a Florence native and covers the Pee Dee out of News13’s Florence Bureau. Read more of Taylor’s work here.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WBTW.