Assuming the City of Charleston doesn’t find a way to overturn the town’s incorporation, James Island is going to need some elected officials. The election for mayor and town council will take place July 31.

There will be four members of council elected at large, and the terms for mayor and council will be two years each. If you will be living in the proposed town at the time of the election, you may file for candidacy at the offices of Kernodle, Root, & Coleman (914 Folly Road, Suite 2, James Island). Filing will begin May 21 and will be open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Filing will close at noon May 31. The filing fee for mayor and council candidates is $100.

James Islanders have tried to establish their own town three times already, but each iteration has been disbanded by the S.C. Supreme Court after facing a legal challenge from the City of Charleston. James Islanders made a fourth attempt at incorporation on April 24, when 85 percent of the voting residents voted in favor of becoming a town again. Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr. has not said whether the city will challenge the legality of the newest James Island, which has roughly two-thirds the population of the last one.


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