Special election set for Nov. 27

LANDRUM — Landrum voters will have two elections to participate in next month.

A special election is being held on Tuesday, Nov. 27, to fill a vacant city council seat, left when councilman Jon Matheis died from cancer in August.

“The city had to request the election because of the passing of Jon Matheis,” said Landrum City Clerk Rita Bruce. “Per South Carolina Code of law, this creates the need for a special election.”

It was too late to add the seat to the Nov. 6 regular election. The election will be run by the Board of Voter Registration and Elections of Spartanburg County.

Filing for the seat was from Sept. 14 through Sept. 24, with candidates Carol Browning and Shannon Dotson the only ones to file for the seat.

Both candidates are political newcomers. Browning is a retired financial planner, and Dotson the current director of Landrum’s Petty Funeral Home.

Browning, 76, has lived in Landrum for 15 years. Dotson, 50, has been a funeral director at Petty Funeral Home since 2009.

Matheis, 75, was a city councilman for Landrum for a little over 10 years.

He retired from the Eastman Kodak Company in the Research and Engineering Division. 

His seat was up for re-election in December 2019.

Only residents of the city of Landrum will be able to vote in the special election.

As of Aug. 30, 2018, Landrum had 1,483 registered voters.

Landrum voters cast votes at the Landrum United Methodist Church on Election Day from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. There is no early voting in South Carolina.

The regular election for state and federal seats is Tuesday, Nov. 6. The last day to register to vote in South Carolina is Wednesday, Oct. 17. Registration can be done in person, online or by mail.

For more information about the elections or how to register to vote, people can visit spartanburgcounty.org/161/Registrations-and-Elections.

The Board of Voter Registration and Elections of Spartanburg County is located at 366 N. Church St., Spartanburg, and is open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The phone number is 864-596-2549.