‘Loyal’ councilman, or ‘young blood’? Voters are split on North Myrtle Beach council race
In just a matter of days, longtime Horry County Councilman Harold Worley will face one of his toughest political challengers at the ballot box: Jenna Dukes, a Cherry Grove pharmacist.
Dukes, who is backed by several high-profile Horry County developers, has managed to out-raise and out-spend Worley, a figurehead of North Myrtle Beach politics for more than three decades and a county council member since 1999.
Driving around North Myrtle Beach, the fight is evident: Dukes and Worley signs plaster the sides of roads and highways, business fronts and neighborhood streets.
Dukes, according to the most recent campaign finance reports, has spent $93,000 on her race to unseat Worley so far, out of $130,000 raised. And Worley, the reports show, has spent $89,000 of his own money to counter Dukes. That fundraising has made the race one of the most expensive county council races in recent years.
Voters, though, are split. Some said they’re ready for a changing of the guard and said Dukes could bring “young blood” to a council made up primarily of older men.
Others, though, said they’ve known Worley for years, and believe him to be good for the community.
And some business owners, meanwhile, are attempting to stay neutral, fearful of a messy political battle affecting their enterprise.
That’s the situation Todd Fineran, a co-owner of the popular restaurant The Shack, has found herself in. Her restaurant is next door to Dukes’ Cherry Grove pharmacy, and she has signs for both Worley and Dukes outside.
“I’m just so Switzerland, I have to be,” she said as she was attempting to fix the restaurant’s point-of-sale system as customers streamed in for the Monday lunch rush.
Fineran, though, as well as other business owners, are watching the race closely.
“This is going to be something. I really want to know exactly what they both stand for,” she said. “They’re both small business people so that’s interesting too, because small business people are hurting, everywhere.”
Ray Williams, a co-owner of the North Myrtle Beach institution OD Arcade, said he, too, is attempting to remain neutral because he doesn’t want to risk angering customers or one of the candidates.
“A lot of time we’ll know people running against people and...I try to stay out of politics,” Williams said. “I have my opinions but I try to keep them to myself.”
Some voters view Dukes as compassionate, Worley as loyal
Donna Kirby is certain of who will earn her vote on the June 14 primary.
“I would vote for a dog before I would vote for Harold Worley,” she said. “I don’t think there’s going to be a race at all, I think Jenna Dukes has got it.”
Kirby, works at a Main Street store selling clothes, jewelry and home decorations. Worley owns several buildings and businesses where Main Street intersects with Ocean Drive.
“I’ve dealt with (Dukes) as a pharmacist, I think she’s very professional,” Kirby said. “I think she conducts herself in a way that I would want a politician to conduct themselves.”
Jackie Heubi, the manager of the Main Street Cafe, said she had a similar impression of Dukes’ work as a pharmacist in the community, and plans to vote for her. One time, she said, her husband needed a special prescription that Dukes’ pharmacy couldn’t fill, so Dukes referred her to another pharmacy that could help.
“She could tell I was a little in distress and she went out of her way to make sure that I was okay and she even called to check up later,” Heubi said. “She didn’t have to. I will probably vote for Dukes just because I’ve met her several times at the pharmacy. She’s been very helpful, very kind.”
Heubi added that she thinks county council needs some fresh faces, in part because older people like herself can’t always key in on new ideas to solve old problems.
“I think change is good and I think young blood brings new ideas,” she said.
Chris Kurtz, though, said she would be supporting Worley.
Sitting in a lawn chair under an umbrella in the Ocean Drive parking lot where she works as an attendant, Kurtz said Worley helped her get the job when she needed one. She said she appreciates what Worley has done for the North Myrtle Beach community and believes him to be a upstanding, loyal businessman.
“He’s always nice, he always checks to see if I’m okay, if there’s anything I need,” she said. “If you knew him you’d find out he’s just a nice guy.
“I just hope he gets re-elected,” she added. “I really do.”
Who are Worley and Dukes?
The race for North Myrtle Beach’s seat on Horry County Council has become heated in part because of the buckets of cash being poured into the race. Some pro-Worley signs around North Myrtle Beach accuse Dukes of being bought off by developers, a charge Dukes has refuted. Meanwhile, some pro-Dukes signs accuse Worley of being a career politician.
And voters said they face a tough choice because Worley and Dukes are both business owners who are frequently out in the community to form relationships with residents.
Worley, the son of a sharecropper, became a successful hotel and restaurant owner after starting as a contractor and farmer. He owns the Ocean Drive Beach and Golf Resort, the Spanish Galleon restaurant and several shag dancing clubs.
Worley, throughout his career, has been a booster of small businesses in the North Myrtle Beach area and founded the North Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce. In recent years, as Horry County has grown, Worley has been one of several council members willing to slow development so the county could focus on infrastructure. His push for a rezoning moratorium on part of S.C. 57 laid the groundwork for a second rezoning moratorium on S.C. 90 after residents there began organizing.
Dukes, meanwhile, is a transplant to Horry County, as many residents are today. She grew up in West Virginia and found her way to North Myrtle Beach while working at a local pharmacy as she finished pharmacy school.
Dukes, 36, moved to the area after school to work for a pharmacy chain. She opened her own pharmacy, Cherry Grove Drug, in 2018.
Dukes, while backed by high-profile developers , has said she supports “responsible growth” that puts infrastructure spending on pace with the rapid construction of new homes and subdivisions around the county. She also said she supports protecting the environment and recruiting new industries to Horry County.
Some voters still undecided
Outside the International Cafe, Joni Pack said she’ll vote for whichever candidate will best support the middle class in Horry County.
Pack runs a construction business that builds the wood framing of houses before other builders come in to finish the homes. She said a strong middle class is crucial for the county, and she supports the area’s growth and development, as long as developers hire local companies for the construction work.
“I don’t care as long as people get back to work, that’s where I’m at with it,” she said. “As long as you’re using local I think you’re okay. If you’re not using local and you’re outsourcing, I’m not okay with that.”
Joe Jackson, meanwhile, said he’s watching the race closely. He runs a tourist-supply shop on Ocean Drive and was helping some visitors find a leather belt on Monday. He has a Worley sign in the front window of his business, but said Dukes was giving him a strong challenge.
“I’m really curious,” he said of the race. “I figured she had to be going head-to-head, because he has never put this many signs out.”
This story was originally published June 7, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
