Conway political season already heating up

Conway’s political season seems to be taking cues from the weather.

Things are starting to warm up.

Although city elections are nearly eight months away, candidates have begun organizing campaigns and some are even making announcements.

Mayor Alys Lawson launched her reelection bid last week. Two incumbents have also confirmed that they will run again and a third said she will be on the ballot, though she hasn’t revealed which office she will pursue.

Along with the incumbents, a college student from Conway said he’s seriously considering a run for mayor.

“So far, I’ve been getting great positive feedback,” said Dewon Huggins, a 21-year-old junior at the College of Charleston. “I’ve had plenty of people tell me, ‘I’ll vote for you.’ ”

The political science major is moving back to his hometown and plans to finish his degree through online courses. Huggins said he wants to encourage more development in Conway and, if he runs and is elected, he said he would lobby for uniting and expanding local nursing education programs.

Lawson has held the mayor’s post since 2008, when she filled in after the death of Greg Martin. A manager at Conway’s Rivertown Bistro, she won a special election for Martin’s unexpired term and was reelected in 2011. She has served on city council since 1999.

The mayor said she opted to announce early because she kept hearing rumblings that she wouldn’t mount another campaign.

“Just to be clear about my intentions and to dispel any rumor [I thought] that I would go ahead and announce,” she said. “I’m not sure where the unfounded conversation was coming from.”

Lawson said she wants to spur economic development in the city. She added that during her time in office the city has built a public works facility, an indoor recreation center and a public safety complex.

“The city has seen great progress over the past seven years and I wish to continue my role in further growth,” she said.

Incumbents Tom Anderson and Larry White also said they plan to seek reelection.

“I’m running at least one more time,” said Anderson, a contractor who was first elected to the council in 1998 and served as mayor pro tem in 2000 and 2011. “Conway is in really good shape and I think it’s in good shape because of continuity and [having a] council that respects each other and works with each other.”

White, who works for the state Department of Health and Environmental Control, came to the council via a special election in 2009. He said he’s already organizing his campaign.

“I’m official,” he said, adding that he’s sought spiritual support from his constituents.

“Getting people to pray for you,” he said, “that’s the first thing.”

The wild card in this election may be Mayor Pro Tem Barbara Blain-Olds, a lawyer who has served two terms on city council. The first was in the mid-1990s and she was elected again in 2011. She also was mayor pro tem in 1996.

“The voting public can expect to see my name on the ballot in November,” Blain-Olds said, hinting that she may pursue another office. She declined to reveal which one.

City council members are elected at large and serve four-year terms. The mayor is paid an annual salary of $16,000, the mayor pro tem makes $11,000 and other council members receive $10,000.

Filing for the November election opens Aug. 21 and closes Sept. 4.

This story was originally published March 19, 2015 at 11:00 AM with the headline "Conway political season already heating up."