NORTH CHARLESTON — Community leaders gathered June 19 in front of City Hall to press for electing the city’s first African American mayor.
Led by local business owner Beverly Gadson-Birch, members of the newly created North Charleston Mayoral Committee said the African American population in the city should unite behind a single Black candidate.
“We are seeking community support to change the trajectory of politics in North Charleston,” said Gadson-Birch. “It is important that every citizen be given a fair opportunity to succeed.”
All of the mayors in North Charleston’s history have been White, including retiring incumbent Keith Summey, who has held office since 1994. The city was founded in 1972.
The group, numbering about 20 people, will attend debates and forums, engage with Black candidates and eventually pick one to fundraise for ahead of the Nov. 7 election, it was announced at the event.
Six candidates in the running so far are Black: Reggie Burgess, Stephanie Ganaway-Pasley, Teddie Pryor, Brandon Trollinger, Jesse Williams and John Singletary.
Ganaway-Pasley, who entered the race June 19, is the only Black woman in the running so far.
The other known candidates are: Rhonda Jerome, Russell Coletti and Todd Olds.
Filing for the race officially opens Aug. 7.
North Charleston is the third-largest city in South Carolina, with the 2020 Census data — the latest available, marking the population just shy of 115,000.
