Theories abound over the reasons voters ousted Berkeley County Supervisor Jim
Rozier and may also have ousted Dorchester County Council Chairman Skip Elliott
in Tuesday's Republican runoffs, but many are pointing toward explosive growth
as the culprit.
It may be people were just ready for a change, but many are saying that
growth drove residents to look for new leadership because they feared their way
of life would be trampled. Growth encouraged them to choose former Hanahan City
Administrator Dan Davis over Rozier, and possibly choose political newcomer
Jamie Feltner over Elliott.
Scott Malyerck, executive director of the state Republican Party, said South
Carolinians tend to vote for the incumbent, as shown by long terms of their
favorite sons, former U.S. Sens. Strom Thurmond and Fritz Hollings.
But they also tend to vote in fewer numbers in runoffs, as was the case in
Dorchester District 7, where Feltner is ahead of Elliott by only five votes in
unofficial results. A recount and final results are expected today.
In Berkeley County, though, 837 more people showed up for the runoff than the
primary, indicating a hotly contested local race, Malyerck said.
"It is astonishing that more people came in the runoff than the primary," he
said.
Rozier has held the top job for 15 years and had easily won re-election until
Tuesday, when he finished with 49 percent of the vote. Davis, who finished with
51 percent, won the majority of votes in more than half of the county's
precincts, including all but a few of the most rural ones.
Davis said his grass-roots approach to campaigning was the key to his
nomination.
"A lot of people in the county felt a little left out by county government,"
Davis said. "Most of the attention was given to the urban areas, not a lot to
the rural areas. ... They felt disenfranchised and uncared for."
Davis, who pledges to eliminate the supervisor position and replace it with
an appointed administrator, will face Democrat Ben C. Coker Jr. in November.
Rozier holds his position until January.
Berkeley County Councilman Steve Davis, who represents residents in
Wilder/Forty One in the northern reaches of the county, said Dan Davis' plan to
change the form of government resonated with rural residents.
"I think it sold pretty good with the folks in the rural areas," said Steve
Davis, who is known to butt heads with Rozier.
Rozier said voters in the rural areas were misled about his stance on
growth.
He had never backed down from difficult decisions, including ones about
zoning and building codes that weren't always popular. Now he is looking at job
offers and some fishing.
Analysts on both sides of the Dorchester runoff agree Feltner's potential
victory is a message that residents are worried about the county's rapid
growth.
While the candidates split neighborhoods along Dorchester Road, Feltner got
27 more votes in the Beech Hill precinct, which includes Legend Oaks near the
controversial Watson Hill tract on S.C. Highway 61.
Feltner criticized Elliott for opposing a plan to limit density in that
area.
Elliott argued that strict zoning limits would simply cause developers to
annex into other municipalities, as happened when North Charleston annexed
Watson Hill.
Feltner also blamed Elliott for voting to approve too many new subdivisions
that are adding to traffic problems.
"I think people could see that Elliott had voted for every zoning ordinance
change that the developers requested," said Joe Kress of Ashborough, who
campaigned for Feltner. "We keep getting nailed with congestion, and our
property taxes went up this year."
Elliott has a plan to control growth, but voters may not have gotten the
message, said Earl Capps, one of Elliott's campaign advisers.
"I don't think people gave Skip a chance to talk about what he had done,"
said Capps, a public relations consultant. "When people are anxious, it's a
knee-jerk reaction a lot of the time."
In the Berkeley runoff, Al Parish, an economist with Charleston Southern
University, said the fact that Rozier took a majority of votes in the some
county's largest precincts and not the rural ones is evidence that growth was a
major factor in the race.
People in the more urban areas can see that Rozier did a good job of managing
development in a environmentally friendly way, while those in rural areas such
as those near The Parks of Berkeley, a 13,500-home subdivision that was approved
in December, are afraid change is coming too fast, he said.
Parish, who lives in the county and supported Rozier, said he was surprised
Rozier lost. He said Rozier did not campaign enough before the primary while
many Rozier supporters expected him to win as handily as he had in the past.
Wayland Moody, who challenged Rozier for the GOP nomination in 1998 and 2002,
said people are looking at their pocketbooks. Rozier should have reduced the
county's tax rate more than the 15 percent he did, Moody said.
"When you have growth like we do in Berkeley County, we should be reducing
taxes," Moody said. "More and more people see that. ... More and more people
have gotten discouraged."
Another theory about Rozier's defeat is that he has alienated too many voters
over the years.
Recent feuds with the Berkeley County School District over taxes might have
turned some residents away.
Kathleen Bounds, school board chairwoman, said the board never endorsed a
candidate. Many of its members celebrated with Davis at his victory party
Tuesday.
"Rather than rehash reasons for the vote, my focus is on more productive,
more cooperative relations with County Council and the school board," said
Bounds, who declined to name which candidate she supported.
Ron Harvey of New Hope said Rozier's defeat is bittersweet. He is part of a
contingent in the Jedburg Road area that lobbied Rozier to slow approvals on The
Parks of Berkeley in order to make plans for infrastructure improvements outside
of impact fees for road improvements.
"I think Jim Rozier had done a good job for many years and done a lot of good
things for Berkeley County," said Harvey, who supported Davis.
Harvey said he heard Rozier was planning on spending a little time fishing
after the runoff.
"I hope he catches the biggest fish he's ever caught in his life," Harvey
said.
By the numbers
Berkeley County Supervisor Jim Rozier lost the Republican nomination to
former Hanahan City Administrator Dan Davis by 167 votes. Rozier took 5,929
votes, or 49 percent, to Davis? 6,096 votes, or 51 percent. Davis will face
Democrat Ben C. Coker Jr. in November.
Here?s a breakdown of the precincts where each candidate received
his five highest vote totals:
DAN DAVIS
1. Macedonia: 332 2. Pinopolis: 267 3. Carnes
Crossroads 1: 266 4. Moncks Corner 4: 264 5. Whitesville: 217
JIM ROZIER
1. Moncks Corner 4: 339 2. Pinopolis: 286 3.
Hanahan 3: 265 4. Hanahan 4: 233 5. Hanahan 1: 212
Reach Dave Munday at dmunday@postandcourier.com or
745-5862.
Reach Yvonne M. Wenger at ywenger@postandcourier.com or
745-5891.
