North Myrtle Beach city manager who resigned from top post announces his run for mayor
A North Myrtle Beach’s former city manager has announced his plans to continue his career in the city.
But this time, as an elected politician.
Mike Mahaney previously worked in the city’s top staff role for almost two decades before he resigned during attempts to have him removed from office by a majority of city council during a special meeting on Sept. 19, 2024.
“City Manager Mike Mahaney did not pursue the hiring of a Grants Coordinator despite being urged to do so by multiple members of City Council on or about February 21, 2024, and February 22, 2024,” the notice of removal approved by council said.
On Monday, he told local media outlet MyHorryNews that he is planning to run for Mayor in November 2025, an article by the outlet said.
An email was sent to Mahaney for further comment on his announcement on Tuesday.
Over the summer, Mahaney submitted a job application for the City Manager position at the City of Fernandina Beach in Florida, according to previous reporting. Local property records show that Mahaney also owns a home on Amelia Island, where the City of Fernandina Beach is located.
A search on the South Carolina Election Commission website Tuesday did not yield any results for either North Myrtle Beach or Mike Mahaney.
An employee at the South Carolina State Ethics Commission declined to comment over the phone on Tuesday and insisted all questions must be sent via email.
Director of Elections for Horry County, Sandy Martin, said via email that North Myrtle Beach handles their own filings and elections. An email was sent to the City of North Myrtle Beach for further corroboration and information about this year’s mayoral race.
After Mahaney’s departure from the city manager position, he emailed a reporter and an editor at The Sun News saying that previous coverage of him wasn’t fair.
A subsequent email asking Mahaney for a copy of his personnel file went unanswered. The Sun News has previously submitted multiple Freedom of Information Act requests for a copy of the file, all of which were illegally denied by the city.
