New county councilmen set to take the helm

Recently elected and re-elected county councilman were officially sworn into office Tuesday to begin their four-year terms in January when the council begins its 25th session.

The five councilmen were surrounded by family members as each individually swore an oath on the Bible to serve the county and protect the Constitution and thanked voters for their support.

“I look forward to working with each and every one of you during the coming year as we have a lot of issues we need to deal with, and work on, for the good of the citizens of Horry County,” said Mark Lazarus, Horry County Council chairman, introducing the new council.

“It will be a good time, a tough time, and it will be a challenging time, but we will all learn a lot and we will all certainly work together to do what we can for the betterment of Horry County,” Lazarus said.

Councilman Paul Prince, the longest-serving member on the council who will begin his ninth term, was re-elected in a primary challenge to continue serving District 9, and pledged to keep working hard at a job that he loves.

“I’ve enjoyed it, that’s what keeps me going,” Prince said.

Also sworn in to serve another term were Councilman Gary Loftus, who was reelected in the general election to serve District 4, and Councilman Cam Crawford, who was reelected from District 6.

Newcomer Dennis DiSabato, who defeated incumbent Councilman Jimmy Washington, was sworn in to serve District 3, and Danny Hardee was elected to fill the seat of retiring Councilman Jody Prince to serve District 10.

“Anybody who knows me knows I’m passionate about public service, and this is something I’ve been looking forward to for a really long time,” DiSabato said. “I’m glad I finally have an opportunity to do it.”

The new members will begin their terms on Jan. 1.

This story was originally published December 13, 2016 at 4:32 PM with the headline "New county councilmen set to take the helm."