8/2/07
New Leaders
Summerton council faces leadership changes
By Konstantin Vengerowsky
 |
|
Summerton Town Councilman DuValle Elliott, right, will soon gain a new seatmate, as Jay Bruner ascends to the mayor’s seat. A special election will be held on Sept. 25. Bruner is unopposed. |
With Mayor Pro-Tem Ken Wells opting not to run for the seat vacated by former Summerton mayor Beth Phillips, the town will soon see another familiar face gracing the mayor’s seat at the council table. Current Town Council member Jay Bruner is the only candidate on the ballot for the town’s top position.
Originally from Orangeburg, Bruner, 38, has resided in Summerton with his wife, Angie and two children, Abbie and Jeb, for the past14 years. A 1991 graduate of The Citadel, he holds a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration. For the past 15 years, Bruner has worked in the special investigations section of the S.C. Farm Bureau Insurance Company. Since February of this year, he has had been the owner of The Bruner Insurance Agency, located in downtown Summerton.
Bruner has served on the town council for the past three-and-a-half years.
“We’ve come along way in the last couple years, and I have a great desire to see Summerton succeed as a community,” Bruner said, when asked about his desire to run. “I want to make sure that the town continues to prosper.”
In his several years on the town council, Bruner has served as chair of the water and sewer and public safety (fire and police) committees. He is satisfied with the direction the town is currently heading, and does not plan to institute much change.
“We currently have a lot of valuable projects that will hopefully spur commercial development in the downtown area,” Bruner stated. “We’re in the middle of making significant changes in the waste water system that we believe will lead to increased development commercially, industrially and residentially, bringing revenue growth to the town.”
One of Bruner’s main goals is to improve the line of communication between the town and its citizens.
“One example would be a quarterly newsletter,” Bruner said. “The goal is to keep the citizens aware of what’s going on.”
Bruner is pleased with the current development between Summerton and the lake area, he stressed that preparation is crucial to the town’s growth.
“I want to make sure we remain focused on what we currently have and seek to improve the quality of life for our citizens,” he said. “These include recreational opportunities, as well as job and community development.”
One of Bruner’s first jobs to tackle will be finding the replacement for the town administrator, Rebecca Rhodes, who has resigned to take the city administrator’s position in Manning. Bruner said the council is in the process of accepting applications for that position.
“The council will move to interview these applicants and will make a decision in the upcoming months,” he said. “We have no desire to delay this process.”
Although Bruner’s term as council member will not expire till spring of 2008, another election will probably be held to fill Bruner’s vacant seat if he becomes mayor. According to Summerton Town Clerk Mary Johnson, the vacant seat will have to be filled within 180 days.
Another Summerton council seat has been left vacant by the resignation of Elease Solomon. At the close of filing on July 27, only one candidate had filed for that seat, Tony Junious. Junious currently holds a seat on the Clarendon School District 1 Board of Trustees.
“Mr. Junious is a very valuable CSD1 Board member and we hate to lose him,” said Dr. Rose Wilder, superintendent of School District One. “However, we are very proud and pleased that he will be assuming this leadership position on the Summerton Town Council.”
Dr. Wilder said that she was unsure of whether or not a special election would have to be held to fill Junious’ seat.
Although the filing passed last Friday for both the mayor and Solomon’s vacant council seat, the possibility of a write-in candidacy still exists. |
