Myrtle Beach Council: Render, Chestnut, Jeffcoat celebrate wins, look to future

Cheers erupted inside the Ted C. Collins Law Enforcement Center Tuesday night as two incumbents and one former council member learned they had won the three open seats on the Myrtle Beach City Council.

With all 13 polling sites reporting by 8 p.m., incumbents Philip Render and Mike Chestnut were reelected and Mary Jeffcoat won the third seat.

Render and Chestnut tied for the highest percentage of votes in the council race, each taking 21 percent of the total 8,851 votes cast in Tuesday’s election. Jeffcoat took 17 percent, beating out contenders Jackie Vereen with 15 percent, Mark McBride with 8 percent, John Krajc with 7 percent, Rick Sarver with 5 percent and Robert Palmer with 4 percent. Results remain unofficial until votes are canvassed at 10 a.m. Thursday.

The races are nonpartisan and the terms are four years.

The day started early for candidates Krajc, Render and Sarver, who came to the popular Jetport II polling site at 800 Gabreski Lane in the Market Common district, to thank voters for turning out.

Chestnut and Jeffcoat watched the numbers come in on a large projection screen inside council chambers. Render walked in after his victory was already posted, learning the results as he stepped in the room to people ready to congratulate him.

“I’m looking forward to another four productive years. We have a very supportive mayor and city council,” Render said. “Good things happen when you have a team with no singular agenda.”

A dentist and dean at Horry-Georgetown Technical College, 61-year-old Render has served three terms on city council after joining the governing body in 2004. He was a former member of the Myrtle Beach Economic Development Corporation, South Carolina Independent Colleges Board of Trustees and the Horry Higher Education Commission.

In a candidate forum before the election, Render said the top three concerns facing the city were making sure Myrtle Beach maintains sound finances, diversifying the city’s economy and broadening ties to higher education.

A happy grin spread under the brow of Mike Chestnut’s signature white fedora as the numbers reflected a clear victory.

“It feels good,” he said. “It makes you feel good to know that the voters turned out and put you back in. I look forward to serving another four years.”

A party with homemade meatballs, chicken wings and other snacks awaited Chestnut at his restaurant, Big Mike’s Soulfood Grill on 16^th Avenue North where his family had gathered. Chestnut said he spent the day visiting all but about two of the city’s polling sites, reaching out to remind people to vote.

"I feel like we’ve done what the voters have asked us to do. We’ve had to make some tough decisions for that (past four years) time. I think we’ve done a good job at listening to the concerns of the people," he said, adding that he was excited about the next four years.

Chestnut, 52, has served on city council since 2000. He was a founding member of the American Culinary Federation Myrtle Beach Chapter and has served the community through boards such as the Myrtle Beach Housing Authority, Grand Strand Housing Authority and the Grand Strand Regional Hospital board of directors.

Chestnut mentioned making sure taxes are not raised, making sure the city continues to be first-in-service, balancing the needs of the residential and business communities, redeveloping downtown and diversifying the job market as top priorities in a candidate forum last week.

"We’re moving in the right direction, but it takes everybody working together" to get there, he said.

Jeffcoat said she rose to victory with the help of her daughter, Sarah Jeffcoat, who served as her campaign manager.

"I feel so very grateful to the voters in Myrtle Beach who have given me this privilege to serve them again. I’m really quite overwhelmed and excited and looking forward to getting to work," Mary Jeffcoat said.

The 63-year-old candidate owns Long Bay Professional Services, Inc., helping nonprofit and governmental organizations with strategic planning and media relations. Also a member of the Myrtle Beach Rotary Club, Mary Jeffcoat served on city council from 1984 to 1992 and decided to run again after outgoing Councilwoman Susan Grissom Means elected not to seek another term.

Mary Jeffcoat followed the routine of her past successful elections, starting her campaign about eight months before the vote to build up support.

She listed public safety, economic development and making sure the council continues to work well together as top priorities moving forward.

This story was originally published November 3, 2015 at 9:19 PM with the headline "Myrtle Beach Council: Render, Chestnut, Jeffcoat celebrate wins, look to future."