Former Myrtle Beach mayor running for SC House seat vacated by Rep. Alan Clemmons
A former Myrtle Beach mayor will be running for a recently-vacated state House seat with one issue at the top of his mind: improving public safety.
Mark McBride announced his intention to run Friday to represent House District 107, a seat that had been held by attorney Alan Clemmons for more than 18 years before he announced his resignation two weeks ago.
McBride previously served on Myrtle Beach City Council 1994-98 and as city mayor for two terms 1998-2006 before losing to John Rhodes. He ran for mayor again in 2017, but placed fourth behind Rhodes, current Mayor Brenda Bethune and Ed Carey.
During a Facebook Live video announcing his candidacy, McBride said he hadn’t previously considered running for the office, but this opportunity presented a perfect opportunity to make changes he felt Clemmons and other local politicians should have already made.
Specifically, he plans to advocate for legislation that would allow Tourism Development Fee funds to be used for public safety, including to hire more police officers. He touted the need for the city to hire 100 more officers during his last mayoral campaign.
McBride emphasized that this change would allow for increased public safety without increasing local property taxes. Instead, the change would reduce Myrtle Beach’s out-of-market advertising dollars, though he argued a safer city would be the best marketing campaign.
The former mayor’s position stands in stark contrast to ongoing nationwide conversations sparked by Black Lives Matter protests about defunding police departments, which McBride called “absolutely ridiculous.”
McBride and attorney Case Brittain, both Republicans, are set to face off in a special election Aug. 18 to fill Clemmons’ former position. The filing deadline is noon Tuesday, Aug. 4.
Brittain previously ran unsuccessfully against Clemmons in the Republican primary, and he told The Sun News he would be running again once the resignation was announced.
This story was originally published July 31, 2020 at 5:39 PM.
